The legend of the #22 on the Syracuse Orange lacrosse team is well known, being worn by some of the best offensive players in SU history including Gary Gait and all three Powell brothers. In 2013 JoJo Morasco held the coveted number as a senior, while coach Desko had his eye on the top recruit in the nation. For an article in Syracuse.com, Desko said: “The last 22 (Evans), we recruited him hard with that number. This time, I think, we'll wait and see. We're going to to be evaluating players and watching players.”
However, in the last decade or so a parallel number has emerged on the defensive end. The #11 has developed into THE defensive number. It started off with Steven Panarelli followed by Joel White, Brian Megill, Brandon Mullins, and, most recently, Scott Firman. Firman received the number prior to the season after being invited to wear it by the previous 11s.
History of the #11
2004-2007 Steven Panarelli
2008-2011 Joel White
2012-2013 Brian Megill *previously wore #10
2014-2016 Brandon Mullins *previously wore #20
2017 Scott Firman
History of the #22
1983 Sun Ho Lee
1984-1987 Chris Baduini
1988-1990 Gary Gait
1991-1994 Charlie Lockwood
1995-1998 Casey Powell
1999-2000 Ryan Powell
2001-2004 Mike Powell
2006-2009 Dan Hardy
2010 Cody Jamieon
2011-2013 JoJo Morasco
2014-2017 Jordan Evans
With the graduation of Jordan Evans and Scott Firman, both the number 11 and 22 are available at the same time for the first time since 2013.
There are certainly plenty of candidates to take over both, but after four years of Evans with the 22 I think some folks are pretty hard set on not giving it to a newcomer or a younger player.
So I asked around to get some thoughts on the matter.
First up is Chris Jastrzembski (@CFJastrzembski) who you may know from CollegeCrosse.com but who is also one of the managers for the SU lacrosse team. Keep in mind, Chris is not sharing any “inside information”, these are just his personal opinions and we thank him for pitching in:
#11: We'll start with the best defenseman on the team. It's a fairly new tradition that started in the early 2000s with Steve Panarelli. Last year it was Scott Firman, a former LSM who moved to close defense. There's still only one LSM that ever got the number, and that was Joel White when he entered school back in 2008. Since then, Brian McGill and Brandon Mullins have worn the number. Could we see another LSM get it in the form of Austin Fusco? He became a big vocal leader late in the season. He should be a captain in 2018, and he could be a viable candidate. What about Nick Mellen, who missed all of last season with an injury? His loss was seen as a big one, but the current defense prevailed without him. It might be a risk giving the defense’s version of #22 to a guy that hasn’t played since the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2016. But he certainly makes plays when he’s on the field. A dark horse is Brett Kennedy, who redshirted this season. When he practiced, he was probably the best defenseman on the field. Not a lot of people know about Cuse’s freshmen and redshirt-freshmen, but many of them will be on the field next season, and will make an immediate impact.
#22: The famed #22 took a hit in the eyes of many critics the past four season with Jordan Evans. It’s a huge responsibility for a player to wear the number that was also worn by Gary Gait and the Powell brothers and JoJo Marasco. Even players in youth leagues and high school wear #22 if their favorite college team is Syracuse, my good friend and teammate at La Salle did. Will the magic of that number made a big return in 2018? A few contenders for #22, and it starts seven numbers above at #29 in Stephen Rehfuss. He never started a game for the Orange this season, but the rave surrounding the former Holy Cross Crusader is tantalizing. We saw a sneak peak of him throughout the latter part of 2017, especially with big games against Cornell and North Carolina in the regular season, as well as Yale in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. His small resume might be a reason why he won’t get it, but he sure has the talent of a starting attackman. Speaking of attackmen, Nate Solomon is also a possibility, even though he’ll be a junior. He’s already wearing his number (#3) in honor of Liam Banks, a former Orange attackman who played a big part in Solomon’s career with his LB3 club team in Atlanta. Solomon was tied for second on the team in goals with 28 a year ago, and had veterans like Evans and Brendan Bomberry around him for the season. He’ll need to take a leadership role in the unit next season. A midfielder that got plenty of talk after the Duke game is freshman Jamie Trimboli. He put a spark in the first midfield once he was put in as a starter, and his performance got better and better with each week. In the last five games of the season, Trimboli scored seven of his 13 goals on the year, and scored two goals in three of those five games. He’s the only mainstay on that first midfield, but will have some help with Matt Lane probably returning to the top unit, along with possibly Ryan Simmons. A dark horse in my mind is another redshirt in Logan Wisnauskas. He’s always showed flashes in practices of a star attackman. He was also one of many star attackmen from Boys’ Latin that produced Pat Spencer, Colin Chell, Colin Heacock, and Shack Stanwick too.
I have no insight on who has an inside track for both numbers. These are only my thoughts based on watching the players in the 2017 season. The decisions are made by the coaching staff.
Next, Michael Lehr (@MichaelELehr) has some thoughts:
The numbers should be given out. Not for the fans, the media or anyone outside the locker room. They should be given to players that Desko chooses as leaders for 2018.
When an SU player puts on #22 or #11, they know what it means. It motivates them to be better and it establishes another branch of leadership in the locker room.
Countless factors lead to being selected as a captain, but these numbers are the team's way of saying "go out and dominate, make the number proud."
When Jordan Evans was recruited in 2014 with the #22 in mind, he wanted the sky-high expectations. He knew it was worn by offensive gurus like Mike Powell (307 career points) and Gary Gait (192 career goals).
Sure, he didn't quite meet the "expectations." He posted 92 career points and just barely came into his own in his last two years with the Orange.
So the negative impact? Media and fans criticized a student-athlete for not being a superhuman. That meant almost nothing to a Syracuse team that was looking for a National Championship.
Evans didn't kill the meaning of the number. He might not make the list of greats to wear it, but it still holds the same meaning for the players and coaches at SU.
The best possible Orange lacrosse team would be one where every player wants to wear #22 and wants to push themselves to play at the highest level. It's not too much pressure, it's the perfect amount of pressure coming from the head coach.
The new #22 doesn't have to be the next Powell brother, Gait or JoJo Morasco. The new #11 doesn't have to be the next Brandon Mullins or Steve Panarelli. But they should want to be.
The players around the #22 won't sit back and watch, that's just not the way these athletes think. They all want to be the best and wearing a meaningful number just adds more motivation.
Desko should keep tradition alive and distribute both #22 and #11 to players he believes deserve them. And that's exactly what he's going to do this offseason
My Take (@Orangelax):
It sounds like Desko is aware of the pressure the 22 puts on a player, and it doesn’t appear that it has been used as a recruiting lure this time around. Evans’ career will always be judged in the shadow of the number 22. He had a very good career at Syracuse but the majority of the fanbase will never give him the credit he is due, simply because of the number he wore.
If the 22 stays vacant in 2018, it will be just the second time in the last 36 seasons, but would that be so bad? I have a hard time believing that Evans didn’t feel pressure with it on his back. It is difficult to imagine that as a senior in high school he, or any recruit, could understand the expectations that come with the double deuce. From my perspective, this is not a recruiting tool that should be used.
What about retirement? Absolutely not, there’s no fun in that. The number is a living breathing legacy for Syracuse Lacrosse. Seeing it on the field and having it awarded to a player helps build and maintain the program’s history and legend. Still though, that doesn’t mean it has to be on the field every year.
I expect, and would like, the jersey to remain on the wall for the 2018 season, maybe give it a year or so for everyone to gain some perspective. I don’t think there’s any reason to rush into a decision but instead let’s let some of the younger guys develop. If the number hadn’t been promised to Evans during his recruitment, it instead could have gone to Kevin Rice or Dylan Donahue who really came into their own during the 2013 season.
Assuming the 22 takes a year off, there are two current freshman who immediately to mind as candidates. If I had to pick someone right now, I think Rehfuss is my front-runner. In his freshman year, he proved to be an exciting player who could certainly change the pace of the game. I love his dodging ability and the fact that he is not just a goal scorer but also a distributor. I have huge hopes for him going forward. Jamie Trimboli is the other frosh who is definitely in the running going forward. I would also imagine Nate Solomon is a potential, but like Chris said, he is wearing his number three to honor a former Syracuse star who was influential in helping him get to where he is and assuming no one wears 22 in 2018 Solomon would be a senior when it is given out in 2019.
Does it have to go to the best offensive player on the team? Yes, I think it does. The pressure that comes with that number is so immense that Evans could have been the best leader on the field at any given moment and it wouldn’t have mattered unless he was putting up big numbers. Of course, that’s just how the fans are going to view this whole thing. You can say that what the fans think doesn’t matter, but it does. I will never believe that Evans never heard or understood how he was perceived by the fanbase, and that kind of pressure can potentially cripple a player.
As for the #11, There are three 2018 juniors who are in the conversation. Personally, I think it goes to Mellen but Austin Fusco and Tyson Bomberry are also in the conversation. As Chris mentioned, there has only been one long-stick midfielder to ever wear #11, but Fusco really stepped up at the position with Firman making the switch from LSM to close defense after Mellen’s season ending surgery. To me though, Bomberry is the second man up after Mellen.
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So let us know what you think. Retired? Freshman? Team leader?