Sixth-man James Southerland scored 35 points in the Syracuse Orange's 91-82 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks on Friday. It was a career-best performance for Southie and the kind of performance that made a lot of people sit up and notice.

Andy Katz was one of those people and Southerland was named ESPN's Player of the Week for it.

Southerland, said Katz, "has become the top player off the bench for any team in America." The Orange, he said, also looks like a Final Four contender.

Southerland shot 12-for-17 overall and 9-for-13 from three-point range which, when you really think about it, is nuts. I thought only guys on opposing teams could do that.

Southerland currently leads the Orange with 19.2 PPG, which I'm sure will hold. The only downside of all of this is that the "well he's not a real sixth-man" talk will begin. Then again, who cares? People need something to complain about when it comes to Syracuse, might as well let them have that.