Brandon Triche had a clear breakaway at Madison Square Garden, the ideal situation for a true point guard: two other teammates to dish to and just one defender lingering between him and the basket.

But like freshmen do, Triche hesitated. In the slightest, momentary stall, an extra defender was able to come from behind and swipe the ball away. The fast break was foiled and the substitution buzzer sounded, signaling his departure just minutes into the game.

‘I don’t know,’ Triche said in the locker room after that game, a blowout win over California, in which his replacement, sophomore Scoop Jardine, came in and scored a career-high. ‘I guess I played pretty bad.’

It’s been only two weeks, but the memory seems distant for Triche now. With each game, his teammates and coaches say he has immersed himself further into a role that was handed to him without hesitation. Drives toward the basket have become less tentative and passes more crisp, a trend the team hopes Triche will continue Saturday when the No. 8 Orange (7-0) takes on Maine at 7 p.m. in the Carrier Dome.

‘Game by game, you can see he’s progressing very well,’ senior guard Andy Rautins said. ‘We’re getting used to each other throughout the practices and the games. We talk to each other throughout plays, and he makes adjustments here and there. He’s doing a great job for us. Very selfless, and the chemistry is definitely flowing between us.’

Coming off a 2K Sports Classic tournament victory, in which the Orange defeated two top 15 teams, Triche’s ability as the team’s premiere point guard was in question. His replacement, Jardine, played more minutes, scored more points, compiled more assists and coughed up fewer turnovers over the two-game span.

The rut Triche was in created a sense of urgency, with no bigger proving ground than the team’s next game against surging in-state rival Cornell with an active perimeter designed to boggle point guards.

But against the Big Red, Triche reveled in the opportunity. Cornell was at a loss trying to contain the bulky 6-foot-4 point guard as he ravaged its defense to the tune of a team-and-career-high 21 points. And perhaps more importantly, just one turnover.

‘I don’t consider him a freshman anymore,’ sophomore Kris Joseph said after the game. ‘I think he’s really comfortable in the system. He’s a smart player, and he takes good shots. And he plays within the offense, and I think that’s great in a point guard – and he can pass the ball, too.’

The game vaulted Triche’s name in the postgame press conference from afterthought to primary concern. Questions about Wes Johnson and Rautins were put on the backburner as reporters asked head coach Jim Boeheim about his take on the young point guard.

‘I’m not surprised,’ Boeheim said.

The emphatic performance against Cornell highlighted a game the timid point guard hid for the first four games. Opponents saw a quick-step drive toward the basket, complemented with a healthy amount of touch around the basket when things get dicey – a highlight of his at nearby Jamesville-DeWitt High School during the team’s 2008-09 state title run.

‘I am just playing my game and being aggressive,’ Triche said. ‘It is part of being on offense and being a point guard.’

More roadblocks in the freshman’s progression will lie ahead. His drive-and-dish mentality will inevitably be tested through the rigors of Big East play. His initial hesitation to shoot from the outside will be thrown into the limelight during tight-game situations SU has not encountered yet this season.

But like the initial hurdles, the ones that come with the monumental jump from high school into a Division I starting lineup, his teammates say the freshman will be able to handle the next set of challenges, too.

‘Brandon, like I said, is a great player,’ Jardine said. ‘And there’s more to come.’

ctorr@syr.edu

Published on December 2, 2009 at 12:00 pm