BOSTON — Hakim Warrick finally found something that could keep him weighted to the ground — even if he’s not sure what it is.

During this weekend’s NCAA Tournament wins over Manhattan and Oklahoma State, Syracuse men’s basketball fans weren’t treated to the usual array of highlight-reel dunks and tape-measure leaps because Warrick, a sophomore, struggled through both games with what he called a “weird virus.”

The illness relegated Warrick to his bed for three days and brought him a fever of 102 degrees.

“He just stayed in bed and kept his blanket over his head,” said sophomore Josh Pace, Warrick’s roommate for the trip. “He didn’t feel good, and he didn’t want any of us to get sick either.”

Warrick was held out of practice for several days before the tournament.

Against the Cowboys, Warrick played 37 minutes but scored only 11 points. In the first-round victory over Manhattan, Warrick played 16 minutes. After a turnover and a pair of mental mistakes in the first three minutes, SU head coach Jim Boeheim yanked Warrick for the rest of the half.

Warrick fared better in the second half, taking advantage of a huge height advantage to score all 10 of his points.

Still, he looked nothing like a potentially dominating power forward. Instead of dunking, Warrick settled for jump shots and layups.

Boeheim said Warrick felt better before yesterday’s contest but still wasn’t 100 percent.

“Hakim’s still struggling a little bit,” Boeheim said. “Hopefully he’ll be back to full strength next week.”

Knocked straight

With poor performances in both Big East tournament games, a poor NCAA Tournament debut and a dud of a first half against Oklahoma State, one had to wonder what was wrong with SU freshman guard Gerry McNamara.

Boeheim shot down suggestions of McNamara hitting a “freshman wall,” often stating: “That’s an NBA thing. I’ve never heard about that in college basketball.”

Apparently, all McNamara needed was a stiff knock on the noggin.

Until the second half of Friday’s game against Manhattan, McNamara had shot 6 of 21 in the postseason, including a putrid 2 of 12 in the Big East tournament.

Yesterday, McNamara looked poised to continue the trend, missing all six of his shots in the first half.

“Gerry is Gerry, he’s a big-game player,” Boeheim said. “He can miss 10 in a row, but he’s going to make the big shots.”

With 14:24 left in the second half, McNamara absorbed an accidental elbow and then a head-butt from OSU guard Victor Williams. With blood trickling into his right eye, McNamara buried a 3-pointer to give SU its first lead of the game.

“I don’t think my right eye was working too good,” McNamara said. “I used the left eye to shoot. I was wobbly so I tried to get my legs into it a little more.”

Officials immediately stopped the game, sending McNamara off the court until he stopped bleeding.

Minutes later, Boeheim rose from the bench and demanded that someone “go get Gerry. I need him now.”

“I don’t have much patience for medical people,” Boeheim said.

With a circular bandage covering the cut — which would need two stitches after the game — McNamara finished the game 5 of 13, making 4 of 10 3-point attempts.

“Once he got hit in the head, he started to play better,” Boeheim said. “I guess we’ll just have to hit him a little earlier next time.”

This and that

With the win, Syracuse improved the Big East’s record to 8-0 in this year’s NCAA Tournament. Connecticut, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame all advanced to the Sweet 16. … Sophomore guard Josh Pace’s 27 minutes marked the third consecutive game in which he’s played double-digit minutes. That hadn’t happened since Jan. 18. … Syracuse began the second half without its regular starting lineup on the floor for the first time this season. Senior guard Kueth Duany and sophomore center Craig Forth were replaced by junior Jeremy McNeil and freshman Billy Edelin.

Published on March 23, 2003 at 12:00 pm