Syracuse, N.Y. – In Syracuse’s last two games, Judah Mintz has scored a total of 24 points and shot 6-for-24 from the field.
The Orange won both games, including Saturday’s thrilling 72-69 win over visiting Miami.
The secret to those victories has been the way Mintz has performed in areas outside of scoring.
He is distributing the ball. And he is collecting missed shots.
He accumulated 13 assists against Miami, including the pass that led to Quadir Copeland’s game-winning 3 at the buzzer. And in his last two games, Mintz grabbed 17 rebounds.
His coach, Adrian Autry, appreciates what he’s witnessed. He characterized Mintz’s last two games as his best outings of the season.
“Thirteen assists. Ten points. He just controlled the game,” Autry said. “He made plays. He got our shooters shots. He took what the defense gave him. He gets a lot of attention and we’ve been talking about that. That’s how he can impact the game. He doesn’t always have to score 20.”
Miami on Saturday assigned a big guard — 6-foot-8 Kyshawn George — initially to cover Mintz. After George found foul trouble, the Hurricanes relied on Matthew Cleveland for a bit, then Wooga Poplar. All of those players are big, rangy guards.
Mintz is always central to how teams defend the Orange. In the SU locker room after Saturday’s win, he said he watches film “every day” to see how teams work to stop him.
He had noticed, he said, that Chris Bell and Justin Taylor are open in the corners more times than he’s seen during games. SU associate head coach Gerry McNamara keeps telling his guard group that after they penetrate the paint, the play is not always at the rim.
On Saturday, it was often on the perimeter and frequently in the hard-to-guard corners. JJ Starling went 6-of-10 from the 3-point line against Miami.
Mintz assisted on four of those makes.
“I’ve been trying to work on being patient,” Mintz said. “Just seeing my guys, knowing I can get a shot off whenever I want, but knowing that we’re not going to be so successful unless everybody eats. That’s kind of what I’ve been trying to improve on.”
“It’s really watching film,” Autry said. “I think he’s starting to understand how teams are playing him and he’s making them pay for it.”
Teams have focused their defenses on helping whenever Mintz gets into the painted area. And often that help comes from a much bigger defender.
Mintz said every team SU has played this season has helped from a different area. His ability to absorb the origin of that help determines whether he should attempt a shot at the rim or distribute it to someone in better scoring position.
“I feel like my first option has always been to score. Today I was able to pick ‘em apart. They kept helping off of corners and things like that, which is not characteristic,” Mintz said. “If a team is going to do that, then Chris and JJ or whoever’s in the corner is gonna get a shot every single time. That’s what happened today.”
Starling said that as Syracuse has moved through this season, the team has developed better chemistry, more trust in each other. When players start knocking down open shots from a Mintz pass, those makes give Mintz more confidence that his shooters can bury balls.
Starling, in particular, has been an enticing target of late. In his last two games, he is averaging nearly 20 points on 15-of-24 overall shooting and 8-of-15 shooting from the 3-point line.
On the final play of the game, Autry put the ball in the hands of his point guard and trusted him to make the right read, the right play.
Mintz assisted on the final play of the afternoon.
“Just trying to get downhill to my right hand,” Mintz said. “Coach called a play to clear out that side. Maliq’s man came over to help and Qua’s man came over to Maliq and that left Qua open on the opposite side.”
“Judah did a really good job, as he had the whole time in the game,” Starling said. “He kept his eyes on the rim coming off the pick and roll. They helped and he found the open man, which was Quadir. And he knocked the shot down.”
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