Syracuse Alumni In London 2012 Olympics

   

     The 2012 Summer Olympics in London won't take place without a Syracuse presence. The Syracuse Orange have 5 athletes and 1 coach that are alumni.
     In basketball Team USA will have Carmelo Anthony again in men's basketball and his head coach in college and current Syracuse head coach, Jim Boeheim, is an assistant for the men's team. The team was undefeated in exhibition play, never even coming close to losing a game. They won their opening round game against France. They are huge favorites to come away with the gold.
     In other sports, Shannon Taylor will take the field for Team USA in field hockey. Taylor was an All-American in college. In rowing Mike Gennaro is on the Team USA men's team and Natalie Mastracci is on Canada's women's rowing team. Uhunoma Ozazuwa will compete in the heptathlon for Nigeria. She was a 2-time Big East champion in the event.

     The Summer Olympics opened on July 27th and will conclude on August 12th.

Carmelo Anthony Keeping Team USA In Game vs. Spain

    Although relegated to the bench by Coach K for team USA, Syracuse great Carmelo Anthony is not letting that get him down.
  The Dream Team struggled against international power Spain early in the first half until Anthony entered the game.
    Anthony is getting ready to play in his third Olympics, and his familiarity with the shorter three-point line showed as he connected on 5 threes in the first half. He leads the game with 23 points.
  Team USA turned up the pressure defense during the second quarter to come from behind to gain a 48-40 lead at halftime.

Joseph, Melo Have Solid NBA Summer League

      The NBA's Orlando Summer League wrapped up yesterday with yet another victory for the Boston Celtics.  Two former Syracuse players, Fab Melo and Kris Joseph, helped lead Boston to a 4-1 record in the 5-day summer league session. Here is a look at what each player did.
      Kris Joseph, the Celtics' second round pick, had a very impressive week for Boston. He ended the week averaging 9.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game. He shot 75% from the free throw line and shot 39% from the field. He averaged 21.6 minutes per game while making 3 starts in the five games played. His most impressive game came against Detroit on Thursday where he had 17 points and 11 rebounds in the loss to the Pistons. Overall a very good week for Kris Joseph.
     Fab Melo, one of the Celtics' first round picks, showed his defensive ability in the 5 games he played. Melo averaged 1.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1 block, and 1 assist per game. He had a rough go of it from the field only shooting 29%. He made 2 starts in the 5 games and averaged 15.8 minutes per game. His best game was Friday against Orlando where he had 5 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 steals. Although he did not play a ton this week he showed glimpses of his defensive abilities.
     The Las Vegas NBA Summer League started yesterday and will run until July 22nd. The Vegas league will feature former Syracuse alumni Wes Johnson, Dion Waiters, as well as Fab Melo and Kris Joseph.  

Joseph And Melo 2-0 In Summer League Play

     In Orlando the annual NBA summer leagues began on Monday. Fab Melo and Kris Joseph took the court for the Boston Celtics. On Monday the Celtics defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder and today they defeated the Brooklyn Nets. Summer League teams are mainly made up of rookies and second-year players looking for experience with the occasional veteran trying to keep the NBA dream alive. Joseph, Melo, and fellow draft pick Jared Sullinger played significant roles in the Celtics victories.
     Kris Joseph, the Celtics second round pick out of Syracuse, had the most significant contribution among Syracuse alumni. On day one Joseph had 7 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals as the Celtics won 73-65. He shot 3 of 8 from the field and played solid defense. On day two Joseph earned a start. In over 25 minutes of action he had  11 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, and a blocked shot. He continued his stat stuffing ways helping the Celtics win 82-73. He shot 4 of 9 from the field and made all 3 free throw attempts.
     Fab Melo played solid defense in his first two games of action. In his first game he had 2 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots. In today's game Melo did not score, but had 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and a blocked shot. He has averaged just under 14 minutes per game thus far.
     Summer league action continues in Orlando until July 13 and the Las Vegas summer league runs from July 13-22.