We all kinda saw this coming, didn't we? From the moment we heard that, for the first in memory, practice would be closed to the media until after the NCAA selection, we knew the news that Arinze Onuaku was going to be fine was bulls**t. No one wanted to admit it out of fear that the NCAA committee was reading their Twitterfeed (a likely scenario). So I can't imagine its a huge shock to anyone who saw AO go down screaming in the Georgetown game that the big man almost certainly play against Vermont on Friday and might not even play in the 2nd round game on Sunday.
"Arinze has not practiced. He has good mobility, but I don’t think that he’ll be practicing tomorrow or Tuesday," SU coach Jim Boeheim said Sunday night. "I would say he is ... unlikely to play this weekend. That could change at the end of the week, but that’s my thinking right now. He’s made some progress. He’s moving around a little bit, but at this point in time, I would be very skeptical of him playing this weekend, although I wouldn’t say it was impossible."
Boeheim went on record saying that DaShonte Riley can expect to see some serious playing time if Onuaku can't go. Rick Jackson would take over center duties while Kris Joseph would start as a forward. The Orange might also shift Andy Rautins down to small forward if needed.
Lots to discuss and fret over on this one. The first thing that comes to mind...what if RickJack gets into foul trouble early? I can't think of a worse time to have the DaShonte Riley coming-out party. Then again, maybe the big man will surprise us all and step it up. That's what we can hope for I suppose.