If John Desko coached the Syracuse men’s basketball team, he’d favor perimeter shooters.

Standing in an empty Carrier Dome with the basketball court stacked up on the far side of the field, SU’s men’s lacrosse head coach showed off his knowledge of the game and stressed the importance of outside threats.

“Three point shooters on the basketball team, they get out there and they stretch the zone a little farther,” Desko said. “If you have those 3-point shooters you can stretch the defense in those situations and open up space inside for the big guys.”

Desko used basketball as a metaphor to explain why he cycles players between attack and midfield. Particularly, he assessed the role of Jordan Evans — the nation’s No. 1 recruit and the most notable in SU’s star-studded freshman class — who has been practicing at both positions since joining the team in the fall.

Evans is listed as a midfielder on the SU roster, but is in the handful of players that gives the offense an advantage.

“I actually like it a lot,” Evans said of playing both positions, “it gives the team more looks and gives me an opportunity to be on the field more if I can play both.”

Having Evans ready to play both attack and midfield provides a lot of positives for the Orange. Desko said that a player comfortable at both spots makes the Orange difficult to prepare for and can become a stopgap in two different places in the event of an injury.

He also said that he’s seen that a lot of times guys start out as midfielders and join the attack as sophomore or juniors.

“It helps with that adjustment, too,” Desko said.

With official spring practices starting nearly a week ago, Evans is soaking up the nuances of each position. Desko said he’s a “quick study” and senior captain Billy Ward, who worked with Evans in the midfield in the fall, said the freshman asked a ton of questions right away.

Aside from learning the two positions, Evans is focusing on his off-ball movement, one-on-ones and higher weights in the gym.

“I’ve been doing stuff like that,” he said, “I want to get in shape as quick as possible.”

On top of wearing No. 22, Syracuse’s most coveted number, Evans has been tasked with studying two different roles.

It’s a challenge he’s embraced as Syracuse inches closer to its first scrimmage against Hofstra and Le Moyne on Jan. 25.

“He’s really stepping up,” junior Nicky Galasso said. “It’s a different game from high school to college and we like where he’s at. He’s handling all of it really well.”

Desko discusses transfers Staats, Iacono

Syracuse announced the matriculation of two highly touted transfers on Monday. On Tuesday, Desko discussed how they’ll fit into the team.

Mike Iacono, a faceoff specialist from Nassau Community College on Long Island, was dressed and ready to practice on Monday. Randy Staats, an attack/midfielder from Onondaga Community College, was not at practice but is expected to begin playing soon.

Desko first touched on Staats, who has a sparkling community college resume and the ability to excel in the attack and at midfield.

“For (Randy), we still need to figure out who he is in an Orange jersey,” Desko said. “We’ll make adjustments as we go on and will kind of try him at two spots and will have to make a decision where we need him so at least he can learn one of the positions early on.”

Iacono’s role, on the other hand, is defined, as he could be a solution to Syracuse’s problems at the X. At the team’s media day last Monday, Desko said the team is hastily trying to solidify faceoffs, but couldn’t mention Iacono because he wasn’t enrolled at SU or on the roster.

On Monday, Desko was able to throw Iacono’s name around and took the opportunity to do so.

“We have to get him in the competition with our guys right away,” Desko said. “We have to figure that out.”

Both players come to Syracuse with two years of college eligibility remaining.

Published on January 15, 2014 at 1:12 am

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