Grading the Syracuse Orange: Scoop Jardine

Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician is putting a bow on the 2011-12 Syracuse Orange basketball season by recapping how each scholarship player performed and looking forward to what lies ahead in 2012-13. In honor of their status as student-athletes (insert Fab Melo joke here) we will score each player’s performance on an A-F scale, and offer some suggestions on what they can work on in the offseason (a.k.a. "summer school").

Scoop Jardine

Height: 6’2"
Year: Senior (RS)
Position: Guard
Number: 11
MPG: 25.2
PPG: 8.9
RPG: 2.4
APG: 4.9

Passing Grades:

It's been discussed ad nauseum throughout the Syracuse universe, but Scoop Jardine is leaving behind one of the most unique legacies that we've ever seen in Syracuse basketball history. After a controversial freshman year, a second year lost to injury, a sophomore campaign where Scoop garnered 6th man of the year honors, and a junior year that can only be described as up-and-down, Scoop became the consummate senior leader this year. He took the fact that Boeheim was going to ride the two hot hands at the guard positions in stride, resulting in his minutes dropping from 32.1 as a junior to 25.2 as a senior, but became a much more efficient player as a result. His 2.13 Assist-to-Turnover ratio was among the best in the conference. While he often deferred to other players, Scoop never lost his flair for the dramatic or his penchant for hitting the big shot, and he was our best player throughout the NCAA Tournament. We've had some fun with the "Good Scoop/Bad Scoop" narrative over the years, but by the end of his career, it was clear that Jardine brought the life of Bad Scoop to an end.

Scoop Jardine six consecutive assists (via cusecountry)

Needs Work:

Based on his statements during the season, it would seem that Scoop knows that the NBA probably doesn't lie in his future. While he had a great college career, he doesn't have that one skill that puts him into the NBA picture. He's not very tall, he's not overly athletic, he's not a great defender, he's not that fast, he's not a great shooter. Also, his free throw shooting was a mess all year, although he largely kept his word that he would make them when he needed to.

Summer School:

Scoop was recently invited to this year's Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, which should give him some solid exposure heading into the professional stage of his career. While he can probably do fairly well in the D-League and maybe even get a cup of coffee in the NBA at some point, I think that Scoop's future lies across the Atlantic. I believe that Scoop will have a long, successful European career where he will make a boatload of money, and he'll return to America after a decade or so to coach or get into broadcasting. Scoop may never make an NBA roster, but based on the work he's done both on and off the court at SU, I have no doubt that he will be a success.

Final Grade: A-