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As Adrian Autry stood at the stand during his postgame press conference, it didn’t take long for him to say that Syracuse needs to improve its rebounding. Though the Orange won 89-77 over Canisius, the two teams both finished with 37 rebounds.

But when it came to collecting boards, a glaring difference was that the Golden Griffins don’t have a 7-foot-4 center. Naheem McLeod, the tallest player in SU men’s basketball history, towered over opponents, his teammates and coaches.

Although McLeod soars over those around him, he never could become a full defensive presence, finishing with just three defensive rebounds while going against the Golden Griffins’ Frank Mitchell and Youri Fritz. It was an up-and-down night for McLeod as he finished with five blocks, six points and a total of nine rebounds. While receiving praise for his overall performance in Syracuse’s (2-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) victory over Canisius (0-1, 0-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference), McLeod said he’s still learning on defense. Autry added that he expects “a lot” from McLeod and will push him throughout the season.

“Today was actually a game that was more (of) what he would face going forward with the guys with the size,” Autry said.

McLeod felt this shift immediately. On his second attempt for a rebound, which came off a missed 3-pointer from Justin Taylor, McLeod got hit a few times by the right elbow of Mitchell. McLeod turned and said “yo,” to the official, looking for a call. The referee obliged and gave Mitchell his first foul of the day.

McLeod said he needs to crash to the boards more, especially since he knew Mitchell wasn’t trying to box him out and hit him instead. On plays like that, McLeod said he needs to get into a better position.

Ten seconds after the Mitchell foul, however, J.J. Starling tried for a 3-pointer after working a pick-and-roll with McLeod. Starling’s attempt hit the left side of the rim while McLeod was crammed in between Fritz and Mitchell.

To make up for his lack of crashing the glass, McLeod made up for it with his blocking ability. His first of five blocks came about 3:30 into the contest when Tahj Staveskie drove to down the center of the lane and immediately faced McLeod’s right hand. With a minute left before halftime, Staveskie tried a reverse layup to shake off the center, but McLeod rejected the shot with his right hand again. McLeod had one more block in the first when he sent the ball to the glass after Fritz tried a short jumper.

Then, within 10 seconds during the second half, McLeod blocked both Fritz and Mitchell on layup attempts.

Along with the blocks, McLeod had a proficient day on the side of the floor, having more offensive rebounds than anybody on either SU or Canisius. Thus far with Syracuse, McLeod’s offensive rebounding has created a statistical anomaly.

Including Syracuse’s two exhibition games, McLeod now has 16 offensive rebounds and only six boards defensively. All four of the Orange’s centers from last season — Jesse Edwards, John Bol Ajak, Mounir Hima and Peter Carey — had more defensive rebounds than offensive ones.

McLeod said this comes from simply watching his teammates and their tendencies to shoot at certain spots on the court. He noted that Judah Mintz, who finished with a career-high 25 points, likes to drive and shoot from the left side. So when that happens, McLeod has an idea of where to position himself.

“So I just stand on (the) left side whenever he shoots and the ball just comes to me and I’m like, ‘OK, cool,’” McLeod said.

Sure enough with two minutes and 25 seconds left in the first half, that exact scenario played out.

Mintz drove to the foul line before vaulting himself upward for a floater. While Mintz’s shot hit the rim, McLeod was there on the left side of the basket to put in the easy put-back to make the score 37-28. The point guard said he’s still getting used to playing with a player as tall as McLeod, adding that he’s glad the Orange have him.

“He’s not just tall, he’s also coordinated,” Mintz said of McLeod. “He wedges his way in, he gets possession and he gets the ball. It’s a plus for us.”

Five minutes in the second half, Canisius’ Tre Dinkins attempted a jumper from the right side. His shot clanked off the glass. McLeod had his eyes on the basketball, then Fritz crouched underneath his left arm and then pounced to get a touch on it. The ball ricocheted off the board and eventually got into the hands of Mitchell, who made the put-back shot. McLeod’s attempt at a block on Mitchell’s shot came up short.

McLeod went to help on defense a few times, though, he never got back to the middle and help rebound under the hoop. He emphasized getting back to the right place at the right time. When he was asked about his overall defensive game, McLeod laughed before answering.

“Learning, still learning spots where I got to be,” McLeod said.

If there’s anybody on the team who knows exact the ins and outs of his game, it probably is backup forward Quadir Copeland who said he has known McLeod since he was a “youngin.” Copeland’s older brother played with McLeod in Philadelphia, so Copeland said the two hold each other accountable in a different way than the rest of their teammates. Therefore, nine rebounds wasn’t enough.

“I feel like he can always have more. I tell him that all the time,” Copeland said. “Nothing is gonna be enough for him.”

Published on November 8, 2023 at 11:56 pm

Contact Henry: henrywobrien1123@gmail.com