During the Syracuse men’s basketball team’s practice yesterday afternoon, Billy Edelin joked with center Jeremy McNeil during brief intermissions. He stayed late to improve his footwork, jump shot and stamina.

But tonight at 7 in the Carrier Dome, Edelin will do the one thing that he can’t do for the next two months — suit up for the Orangemen. Edelin will compete in SU’s final exhibition contest, against Upstate New York AAU, before beginning a 12-game, NCAA-imposed suspension for playing in a recreational league last winter.

The NCAA prohibits student-athletes from participating in non-school sanctioned events.

“They always talk about these kids that jump to the NBA and say what they’re missing,” Edelin said. “But then when you go to college, they mess with people. I feel like Grant Hill. I can’t get out on the court, man. Every time, it seems something happens.”

Syracuse Director of Athletics Jake Crouthamel said the original suspension was levied last month, but Syracuse appealed the ruling, believing the punishment was excessive. Nine of the 12 recreational games came in a four-on-four league in DeWitt, which featured mostly adults between ages 35 and 45.

Edelin was not attending SU at the time because he was suspended indefinitely after two females accused him of sexual misconduct. He was never charged.

“We had certainly hoped for better than what we got,” Crouthamel said. “I was hoping that it would not be 12. Under the circumstances, I think that was excessive because he wasn’t a student and because of the kind of competition.”

While Edelin will play in the exhibition, Syracuse assistant coach Troy Weaver said his time will be limited because SU needs to focus on regular season contests. Freshman Gerry McNamara will see most of time at point guard, but sophomore Josh Pace may play there as well.

Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim declined comment for this story.

Weaver said Edelin is allowed to sit on the bench in street clothes for each of the 10 home games during that stretch but can’t travel. Valparaiso, Georgia Tech and Missouri, as well as Big East opponents Seton Hall and Boston College, are among the teams that will miss Edelin in that time. Edelin is eligible to return Jan. 18 at Pittsburgh.

While Weaver said the Orangemen had no expectations entering the appeal, Edelin said he was hopeful that the punishment would be reduced after an interview with the NCAA’s Subcommitte on Student-Athlete Reinstatement on a conference call.

“I thought the meeting went well, and everybody who was in there said it went well,” Edelin said. “It seemed like they would be sympathetic, but when they made the final ruling they didn’t make any changes. I guess it didn’t make too much of an effect on them.”

Edelin said the appeals committee decided Syracuse should have informed Edelin about the rule.

“They felt that somebody should’ve told me,” Edelin said. “That’s what they kept harping on. That shouldn’t make me culpable for what somebody else should’ve done or something that wasn’t stated clearly in the rules meeting (that the team goes through in September).”

Both Weaver and Crouthamel were on the conference call but declined to discuss specifics.

“(The competition level) seemed to be the critical point of analysis,” Crouthamel said. “We thought it was. Apparently, it wasn’t that critical.”

After the season opener last Thursday against Memphis, Boeheim said the rule was created to stop players from playing with teammates in summer-league games.

Edelin said the subject of outside competition was hardly discussed during Syracuse’s regularly-scheduled compliance meeting last September because it is normally only an issue during the summer.

“You can go over the general rule and still not have a complete understanding,” Edelin said. “I think that’s what happened. (Summer leagues) are what all the writers pay attention to. But this wasn’t a summer league, and I wasn’t in school. I guess that’s where the fine line was drawn.”

Asst. sports editor Darryl Slater contributed to this story.

Published on November 18, 2002 at 12:00 pm