The Daily Orange

Lorenzo Romar knew the deal three years ago, when he coaxed a 7-foot center named Spencer Hawes to join his Washington basketball program.  Romar knew he was probably recruiting a one-year rental. That Hawes' plan was to use Washington as a tune-up before skipping town for an NBA city to-be-named.

Jake Crouthamel thinks no one knows the Big East conference better than John Marinatto. Crouthamel, the former Syracuse athletic director, worked with Marinatto when Marinatto was the athletic director at Providence. The duo built up a basketball relationship between their schools.

Doug Hogue came to the line of scrimmage, looked at the defense, and started salivating. Rutgers brought its safeties up into the box for what looked like an all-out blitz, and Hogue immediately saw a perfect opportunity to break a big one. "I was just hoping Cam (Dantley) saw what I saw and would check to me," said Hogue, Syracuse's sophomore tailback.

Looking toward the 2008 Big East tournament, a single moment stands out in senior Brittany Kern's mind - the final weekend of last season. "Last year, I don't know if we just peeked early, but it came down to the last wire whether we got into the Big East tournament or not," Kern said.

Waking up every morning as the clock strikes 5:30 a.m. may be tough for swimmer Sean Ellis, but the experience will help him in the real world after college. Ellis said the early wake-ups put him ahead of other students that get ready for 11 o'clock classes.

Sports heroes have been difficult to come across in the Native American communities of Oklahoma. Rarely have children had the chance to watch someone of their ethnicity, let alone tribe, receive praise for excelling in a nationally recognized sport. But now, two players from the Oklahoma football team have given these disadvantaged tribal communities a reason to cheer each Saturday.

Andy Rautins can't escape the expectations. Not around campus, where the fans never let him forget Syracuse's recent scuffles. Not in the Carrier Dome, where he is routinely greeted by trophies and mementos of the Orange's achievements. Not even in his own home, where his father, Leo, has stories to tell about the two NCAA Tournament games he won playing for the Orangemen.

1. FACE The Face of Syracuse basketball stood in front of the Coach of Syracuse basketball at the team's annual Media Day, mimicking each other as they posed for the cover of this guide. Lighting umbrellas surrounded them. A camera shuttered. The Coach is Jim Boeheim, the 33-year veteran and the eternal hallmark of this program.

Inside Manley Field House, they have no more proving to do. Their teammates know. Here, any transitional period has passed. Here, their full-scale changes are clear. The first ACL victim, Andy Rautins. Speaking into a bevy of microphones and tape recorders at Syracuse's media day in mid-October, Paul Harris put it on record.

In the locker room after a game in February last year, there was Syracuse men's basketball assistant coach Mike Hopkins talking about Donte Greene. "How the game started tonight, he didn't shoot that well. And then he gets back and nails four in a row, and you're like 'This kid has got ice water in his veins,'" Hopkins gushed.

Rick Pitino has accumulated eight conference tournament championships and four regular season crowns in the Southeastern Conference, Conference USA and the America East. None have come in the Big East. And even with the No. 3 team in the nation, the odds may be against the Louisville's seventh-year head coach to get his first.

Tom Crean can't help but smile at his current predicament. At this point, there's not much else he can do. During the past off-season, the first-year Indiana head coach and former Marquette front-man was hired to salvage a basketball team in peril. In the process, he inherited a program plagued by recruiting violations and NCAA sanctions stemming from former coach Kelvin Sampson's time as head coach.

The whistle kept blowing and the legs kept moving. Quentin Hillsman, head coach of the Syracuse women's basketball team, stood on the court inside Manley Field House watching his team sprint up and down the court. In case they weren't pushing themselves hard enough, Hillsman kept prodding his players, kept blowing his whistle.

Quentin Hillsman stepped up to the podium, smiled and started introducing his Syracuse women's basketball team at the team's annual media day in early October. First, Juanita Ward, the junior college transfer and former McDonald's All-American. "The best player that I've ever coached," Hillsman said.

Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman is coming off a banner second season as head coach, leading the Orange to the NCAA Tournament while being named co-Big East Coach of the Year. The Daily Orange sat down with Hillsman to discuss last season and his expectations for 2008-09.