The Daily Orange

Arthur Jones, Syracuse's standout defensive tackle, said he will return to school for his senior season, and delay a chance to go to the NFL. Jones, reached by phone on Tuesday, told The Daily Orange he made his decision on Monday after meeting with new SU head coach Doug Marrone four or five times.

Looming above the pack, Paul Harris hopped on a locker room bench and captured the scene with a small, hand-held camcorder. "Andy Rautins engulfed," Harris shouted, his voice deep despite his 33 minutes of action, "as the result of a career-high." Members of the media flocked to Rautins Monday night, eager to dish about his career-high 29 points and the school record he tied.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - When the buzzer sounded Saturday night, Jonny Flynn made a beeline to the area behind Syracuse's bench, scanning the crowd for two middle-aged men in suits. He was looking for a pair of loud hecklers who had been sitting in the front row, shouting at him the entire night.

The same play stood out in the minds of Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson in the locker room Wednesday night, and both were quick to bring it up. For Syracuse's two big men, one blocked shot in the Orange's 82-60 win over Canisius proved why playing them together is the way to go.

One by one, they walked down the steps of the auditorium at the Iocolano-Petty Football Complex to greet the new Syracuse University football coach. Doug Marrone only recognized a few faces, but as the former Syracuse football players and alumni shook his hand, they didn't care.

Daryl Gross had none of the bodily shakiness of an expectant father Friday afternoon, standing at the podium of the introductory press conference for Doug Marrone. His over-read sales pitch for the Syracuse football program had been tossed in the garbage hours ago.

As Doug Marrone stood and spoke to a packed auditorium Friday, the three Syracuse players sat to his left, leaning forward and staring up at their new head coach. The trio - from left to right, junior defensive tackle Art Jones, sophomore center Jim McKenzie and sophomore guard Ryan Bartholomew - had spent the last two weeks in limbo, desperate for any shred of evidence as to who their new head coach would be.

Alec Lemon had been following all the rumors, wondering who would be his coach when he finally arrived at Syracuse. By Thursday, he was mentally prepared to spend his collegiate career playing for Skip Holtz. So when Lemon found out Friday that Doug Marrone jettisoned to the top of the list and had taken the job, his confusion outweighed the excitement.

New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Doug Marrone will be introduced as the next Syracuse football head coach at a 2 p.m. press conference today, the school announced this morning, ending a 26-day national search. Marrone, a 1991 graduate of Syracuse, played on the offensive line at SU from 1983-85.

Quentin Hillsman stood at the podium and read aloud some of the final statistics from Syracuse's 56-37 victory over Delaware State Saturday. He mentioned the Orange's 26-8 advantage in points in the paint. The 11 fast-break points. Syracuse's 13-2 advantage in second-chance points.

The demanding eight-game stretch had taken its toll on Quentin Hillsman and the Syracuse women's basketball team. So earlier this week, the Syracuse coach decided to give his team the rest of the week off to recharge its batteries. One problem. The jolt didn't translate to offensive production during the Orange's game against Delaware State.

Andy Rautins sat near his locker with two large ice packs around his knees, minutes after Syracuse had overcome a 16-point deficit against Cornell. The No. 16 Orange had just completed a stretch of eight games in 19 days. Three of its last four contests involved double-digit comebacks by Syracuse.