J

udah Mintz studied Syracuse even deeper once it started to recruit him after he decommitted from Pittsburgh. Former Oak Hill head coach Steve Smith said Mintz is a “basketball historian,” and he spent time looking at the history behind Jim Boeheim’s program and more specifically, the players who have been in similar positions to him.

“He’s had an opportunity to learn what Syracuse basketball history is,” said Camara Mintz, Mintz’s father.

Mintz watched clips of Tyler Ennis, Johnny Flynn and Frank Howard. He discovered he had similar traits to them athletically and learned the key to performing at Syracuse — you don’t need the ball to have a presence.  

“When you look at the great Syracuse guards, they’re complete players,” Eric Devendorf said. “Whenever they stepped up on the floor, they wanted to rip apart whoever was in front of them, whether that was offensively or defensively. They had that dog mentality.”

Head coach Jim Boeheim said Mintz is one of the best freshman point guards he’s ever had. He’s been compared to Flynn and Ennis because of his explosiveness and his change of pace, and he’s set to start this season. Symir Torrence said Mintz “is just ready,” as years in the AAU circuit with Team Durant and Oak Hill Academy gave him the skills to add his name to the list of top Syracuse guards.  

Under Smith, Oak Hill has consistently bred the best high school players in the country. Devendorf played at Oak Hill with Kevin Durant and Ty Lawson in the 2004-05 season. Prior to helping Syracuse win a national championship in 2003, Carmelo Anthony starred under Smith.

In Smith’s final season at Oak Hill, he welcomed Mintz after the point guard had spent his last three years at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. Smith said Mintz faced tough competition at Gonzaga, but he wanted to test his skills nationally. Devendorf said players at Oak Hill are already “prepared for the next level” after a season in the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference. 

“He definitely has a leg up coming from Oak Hill and being coached by Smith, who’s one of the greatest basketball coaches of all time,” Devendorf said. 

Smith would talk through scouting reports the day before each game. Usually, Mintz had already watched tape of the opponent’s best player, knowing their go-to move, what they do in transition and what they do in the half-court. If the team had played on ESPN the night before, Mintz recorded the game and studied it.   

 “Other kids wouldn’t do that,” Smith said. “He’s prepared.”

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As a starter, Mintz will need to be “comfortable with holding guys accountable,” Devendorf said. Though he spent just one season at Oak Hill, Mintz immediately got on his teammates if they messed up working around a screen or in a defensive drill. Smith would blow the whistle to end a drill and Mintz corrected the player before Smith could. He’ll probably do the same at Syracuse, Smith said. 

Mintz always had length and became more athletic thanks to trainers in middle school, Camara said. Those two skills are crucial for the prototypical Syracuse guard, Boeheim said, but sometimes players with those attributes don’t understand the position. Mintz does.

With Oak Hill, Mintz was “smart” about changing his playing style depending on the opponent or how his teammates were playing. Against Gonzaga last year, Smith said he thought Mintz would want to score as much as possible after Gonzaga’s players tried to get into his head. But he stayed focused on getting his teammates more opportunities, finishing with four assists. 

Smith said Mintz’s “coming out party” came in the City of Palms Classic Basketball Tournament against IMG and Monteverde. Mintz scored at all three levels to command the Warriors past IMG with 19 points in the semifinals. 

“If Judah didn’t have a good game, we couldn’t beat the good teams in the country,” Smith said. 

In the finals, against Monteverde, who beat Oak Hill by 25 points earlier in the season, Mintz finished with 22 in the Warriors’ five-point loss. 

“When it’s all said and done, Judah Mintz is a tough guy to go up against one-on-one,” assistant coach Gerry McNamara said. 

Smith also said Mintz could guard four positions. He uses his long arms and keen anticipation to his advantage against smaller players, Smith said. Boeheim said Mintz’s assets will be helpful for man-to-man defense, but McNamara added he can be crucial at the top of the zone. 

At Team Durant under head coach Osman Bangura, Mintz used zig-zag drills, where cones are spread diagonally to help learn how to shift side-to-side in a defensive stance, to improve his lateral movement and move his hips without fouling. 

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“If you watch him, he tends to impose his will on a lot of offensive players,” Bangura said. “As a coach, that’s what you want from your guards, to make the other guards very uncomfortable. Not a lot of guys want Judah Mintz guarding him.”

Team Durant gave Mintz the freedom to stay aggressive and make mistakes, Bangura added. Mintz would be aggressive straight from the tip, once stealing the ball off the tip, scoring a layup and then playing press defense. Mintz dictates what happens, a skill which players like Pearl Washington, Sherman Douglas, Flynn and Michael Carter-Williams all had. 

“Whenever they stepped up on the floor, they wanted to rip apart whoever was in front of them, whether that was offensively or defensively,” Devendorf said. 

The biggest help Oak Hill and Team Durant has given Mintz is the ability to play under pressure, Camara said. McNamara and Syracuse’s coaching staff saw Mintz on the summer circuit this past offseason against “incredible talent.” 

“We knew that he was of that caliber,” McNamara said. 

When Mintz first visited Syracuse, Devendorf met him at the facility. He reminded Mintz that Boeheim will give him the freedom to make mistakes, but he’s more interested in how Mintz would bounce back. 

In the Orange’s exhibition matchup against the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Mintz missed his first two shots, slapping his hands together in frustration after each one. Then, he was called for an offensive foul after kicking a defender on a pull-up. He also turned the ball over trying to drive inside the lane. 

Mintz stayed relentless — a word permanently etched onto his right forearm — maneuvering his way into space again in the final minute of the half. He contorted his body from midrange, letting his right leg flail forward as the ball dropped into the basket. Mintz finished the game with 14 points and two steals. 

McNamara said Mintz’s experience early in the season will bring him to the next level. Mintz said McNamara is one of the most active coaches he’s played for — the two often spend practices reviewing pick-and-roll packages and film together. 

Now it’s about putting in the work, McNamara said, which Mintz has done, continuing to get the after-practice work, which he’s done, and perfecting his shot, which he’s working on. 

“Now, let’s just go and put it into action,” McNamara said.

Published on November 6, 2022 at 10:56 pm

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