BUFFALO — At the very moment Syracuse’s foot was on Gonzaga’s throat, Scoop Jardine took pity. After all, the point guard has seen this too many times. Jardine knows exactly when Andy Rautins is going to erupt. There’s an extra hitch in Rautins’ cuts, a cruel snarl in his lip.

 So Jardine found him. And, well, sympathized.

 ‘Once Andy hit one or two shots, I felt bad for the opponent,’ Jardine said. ‘Andy does a great job of running and getting to the spot more than any shooter. A lot of guys in this country can shoot, but a lot of guys in the country can’t get to the spots as fast as Andy.’

 The result was a hailstorm of 3s that buried Gonzaga, 87-65, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Friday. Rautins’ one-man scoring spree rendered Gonzaga a speck in SU’s rearview mirror. He turned HSBC Arena into his personal driveway, exploding for 11 points in a span of 2:08.

 By the time the Zags could call a mercy timeout, Rautins was already backpedaling and holding up a ‘3’ symbol with each hand. The Orange coasted from there.

 ‘Just trying to set the tone at the start of the second half,’ Rautins said. ‘Staying aggressive. I think that has been one of our flaws all season, coming out in the second half when we have the lead.’

 Shooting 60 percent from the field, Syracuse took a 47-32 lead into halftime. But considering Rick Jackson had three fouls — and the Bulldogs were unapologetically pounding the ball at freshman DaShonte Riley — it seemed SU would need to sweat out the next 20 minutes.

Then, like he has done so many other times, Rautins put the game on his shoulders.
Treating Gonzaga like JV practice dummies, Rautins easily broke loose for a pair of 3-pointers to resounding cheers. The next possession, he drove to the basket, drew a foul and hit two free throws. Seconds later, he tossed an inbounds pass to Rick Jackson, received the ball back and launched another trey from the left corner.

Suddenly, the Orange held a 58-34 lead and the game was effectively over. Rautins finished with 24 points, going 5-of-9 from deep.

‘Andy’s a great shooter,’ sophomore Kris Joseph said. ‘We all know that. Everybody in the crowd knows that. And so does Gonzaga. But he does a great job of getting open and knocking down shots.’

Believe it or not, Rautins used to be tentative. He used to shy away from this role. Five years ago — even though his Dad, Leo, was Team Canada’s senior coach — Rautins was nearly cut from the country’s Under-21 team. Content going through the motions, Rautins couldn’t differentiate himself during tryouts. The junior coach, Dave Crook, told Leo that Andy had to go.

‘Dad, I might get cut,’ Leo remembers Andy saying on the phone. To which Leo replied, ‘Damn right! What are you going to do about it?’

So Rautins turned on the jets at the tryouts, made the team and led Canada to a bronze medal.

This mindset has only grown over time. Shots are earned, not granted. Against Gonzaga, Rautins hunted down his shot and lifted Syracuse to the Sweet 16. It’s not as much the quick release as the quick cuts that have Jardine in awe.

‘He runs the whole game,’ Jardine said. ‘Andy never stops moving. You know when Andy really, really wants it because he gets to that spot. It’s easy for me.’

Rautins can no longer sneak up on anybody. Synonymous with Syracuse, he is arguably the purest shooter in college basketball. So he has to earn it, has to remember that tryout with Canada. He knows that passiveness can halt a shooter more than any exotic defense a coach throws at him.

Chances are, Thursday will be the same story. Butler will dog Rautins. At which point, the fifth-year senior knows what to do.

Syracuse’s second-round whitewash was a rerun of so many games this season. At certain times, Rautins must take over.

‘It’s just setting the tone for the team and being aggressive,’ Rautins said. ‘If I hit one or two, I’m going to keep going and look for my shot.’

thdunne@syr.edu

Published on March 20, 2010 at 12:00 pm