Scoop Jardine: Ooh Yea That's Taking Criticism In Stride

Some players inspire Love him/Hate him relationships with fans. Very few can do what Scoop Jardine has done with Orange fans this season, which is to inspire a Love him/Hate him/Love him again/Hate him again/Kinda love him/Mildly annoyed by him/Really Love Him/Really Despise Him/Love Him relationship.

Scoop is well aware of this as he continues to lead the Orange in his junior season.

"Coach Boeheim always says in this sport you have to have thick skin," Jardine said. "As fast as they can talk great about you, the faster they can talk bad about you. I just try not to look at the negative stuff and try to stay with the positive mindframe. I always know that my teammates believe in me, and that’s who I need to impress."

Scoop's been this way long before he got to Syracuse. His high school coach says Scoop's not just a basketball player, he's an entertainer, too:

"He’s an entertainer," Arrigale said. "If you don’t think for a minute he doesn’t love when they call his name out in the Carrier Dome, you’re out of your mind. That makes him happier than anything could possibly make him happy."

Say what you want about Scoop, and we've said plenty, but he's still leading the Big East in assists with 5.9 per game (and scoring 12 points/game too). As long as he keeps the mistakes to a minimum, which is a lot to ask, Orange fans will back his play.

Named by Yahoo! Sports as the Big East's Most-Improved Player, Orange fans have seen improvement in certain areas but would love to see that continue in a few more.