CINCINNATI – Go to Scoop Jardine’s crib and there’s a good chance he’s in full YouTube mode, fully immersing himself in highlights of NBA stars like Deron Williams and Chris Paul. He studies every no-look pass, every decision in transit.

He played with one of those pros himself.

‘Scoop’s a great floor general,’ sophomore Kris Joseph said. ‘He has learned so much from his years with Jonny Flynn.’

Funny how quickly memories fade. Message boards and bars alike have run amuck with fans claiming Syracuse is better off without Flynn, but we’re not playing that game here. Flynn was special. With each game last year – with each springboard sacrifice into a gantlet of bodies – Flynn hinted that he had an extra heart valve. No player left more on the court.

But after Sunday, it’s clear. Brandon Triche and Scoop Jardine are far more than a consolation prize. SU’s timeshare at point guard is a luxury few title contenders have. It’s simple. When one struggles, the other carries the load.

One day after Flynn’s birthday, the formula worked again. Triche was shaky, Jardine came in and Syracuse slowly ripped apart Cincinnati’s Velcro-tight man defense to win, 71-54.

Jardine scored 11 points and had six assists in 30 minutes. Triche only played 10 minutes. But that’s just fine. SU rides the hot hand.

‘I just have to be ready at all times,’ Jardine said. ‘We’ve been switching. Sometimes Brandon gets the bulk of the minutes, sometimes I get the bulk of the minutes. You just have to keep your mind mentally ready.’

Way back in November, this figured to be a season-long scab that would never heal. Both were largely unproven, unknown.

But what Syracuse lost in Flynn’s 40-minute tutorials of toughness, it gained with newfound options. SU no longer needs an insomniac running the point. Shuttling in and out of the game for each other, they’re always fresh. Both average 21 minutes per game. With their legs under them, they activate Syracuse’s fast break.

Like a hockey team, Syracuse craves odd-man rushes. Depending on the opponent, the Orange often wants the game to speed into 2-on-1 and 3-on-2 breaks. This game, Jardine was entrusted with the tempo of the game. At times, he pushed the ball. Other times, he looked inside.

Like many games this season, Syracuse started slow. The Bearcats raced to an 11-2 lead and Boeheim beckoned Jardine.

The game changed. Up top in the 2-3 zone, Jardine was a moving construction cone, shutting off passing lanes. With nowhere to go, the Bearcats turned it over and Joseph knifed through the lane for a bucket. The next possession, Cincinnati went 35 seconds without a shot – launching a pathetic heave from 30 feet away as the horn blew. A timeout was called, and fans booed vehemently.

This with the lead against the nation’s third-ranked team. That’s Jardine’s effect.

‘He’s been huge,’ senior Andy Rautins said. ‘He’s a big pick-me-up for us. He’ll get in the lane, he’ll find people and he also plays good defense. We’re vocal up top.’

Both of the point guards have been on an unlikely rise this winter.

Triche was the forgotten one. When a torn ACL as a sophomore in high school scared off so many teams – including Connecticut and Georgetown – Boeheim stood by. He recommended a surgeon to Triche and reaffirmed his interest in a 45-minute talk after the injury.

Now, he’s a cagey voice of reason in Syracuse’s offense, most responsible for Syracuse’s keynote win to date. In a West Virginia hellhole, Triche was clutch.

Jardine, meanwhile, has become a shooting threat. While missing all of last season with a stress fracture, he stripped his awkward shooting form that would make Ben Wallace blush. Assistant coach Rob Murphy said Jardine began to ‘take the game more seriously.’ He absorbed Flynn’s qualities. He stayed in the gym longer. His shot got better.

‘Competing with Jonny Flynn over the past two years – even in the year he was sitting out – helped him,’ Murphy said of Jardine. ‘He always learned from Jonny.’

Neither is Flynn. Neither will ever reach Flynn’s celebrity status – at least not this year. But both are extensions of Flynn in their own way. Whereas Triche once battled Flynn in a high school classic at Manley Field House with Jamesville-DeWitt, Jardine was a teammate.

Game in and game out, one or the other sheds memories of No. 10 corralling himself toward the rim. A different, refreshing recipe for success at the game’s most important position.

‘It’s really unbelievable,’ Murphy said. ‘You start with Brandon, who’s a true freshman that is really, really good. But if he’s not playing well, you have a veteran that has played in the program three years. He understands and knows what coach wants. He can come in and put his stamp on the game.

‘They’re two different types of players. You get a different dimension with both.’

Most importantly, Syracuse keeps on winning.

Who knows who will strike next?

thdunne@syr.edu

Published on February 7, 2010 at 12:00 pm