Teammates have started to worry about Billy Edelin.

The SU guard chuckles to himself in the locker room, walks around campus with a goofy grin glued to his face and talks a mile per minute.

‘He’s too happy,’ said freshman forward Terrence Roberts.

‘Dude’s different now,’ said center Jeremy McNeil, Edelin’s roommate. ‘He’s always smiling.’

Can you blame him? For the first time in his Syracuse career, Edelin enters the season with a reason to be optimistic. Instead of thinking about looming suspensions – as he had to in 2001 and 2002 – Edelin is focused on basketball.

To hear him tell it, he’s in good shape in the classroom and fantastic shape on the court. He knows he’ll start and thinks he could win a Big East postseason award. Life is good.

‘It feels nice to know that I can go out there and play a whole season,’ Edelin said. ‘The coaches are saying I could be a big time player in this conference, that I can put up big numbers. So that’s how I’m thinking.’

Edelin spent the last two preseasons mulling over other numbers – like for how many games he’d be suspended.

Prior to the start of practice in 2001, two Syracuse students accused Edelin, then a freshman, of sexual assault. Though charges were never filed, a university judicial board suspended Edelin for a year. He left school just a week after the start of practice.

Last year, Edelin spent early-season workouts worrying about the length of another suspension – this time for playing in an unsanctioned recreational league. Edelin hoped to miss less than five games. The NCAA suspended him for 12.

‘I’ve always had a cloud hanging over me before,’ Edelin said. ‘So it feels pretty good not to have to think about that kind of stuff.’

Or, at the very least, not concentrate on it as much. Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim has continued to talk with Edelin about academics.

‘He’ll talk to me about my grades,’ Edelin said. ‘He always says that I’m one of the smartest guys on the team, and that I should be getting a high 3.0 or something.

‘(Boeheim) and the coaches just want me to commit myself more. They ask a lot from me. They want me to step up and be a big leader on this team. I think that I can do it.’

They want big-time production from Edelin, too. A month ago, assistant coach Troy Weaver said he expected Edelin to become one of SU’s leading scorers – a lofty goal considering, thanks to suspensions, Edelin has only played about 30 college games.

Last season, Edelin averaged 9 points, 3 assists and 3 rebounds. The new, more-optimistic Edelin practically wants to double that.

‘In terms of averages, I’m thinking 15 (points) and 8 (assists),’ Edelin said. ‘And that’s at the very least. Everything’s feeling good. It could be a big year.’

Chemistry project

What? You want more good news? OK, OK. How’s this:

Players claim that, so far, this year’s team is getting along even better than last year’s national championship group.

‘Last year, we were all real tight, and that’s how we won,’ McNeil said. ‘I didn’t think it would be possible, but this year, the team is coming together even faster.’

Even as they compete for playing time and starting spots, Syracuse players continue to get along. The four freshmen are inseparable. Juniors Josh Pace and Hakim Warrick are attached at the hip. Edelin and McNeil, new roommates, claim to get along fabulously.

‘We kind of had this magic group of guys that worked together really well (last season),’ Warrick said. ‘So far, the freshmen have only made that better. They fit in great.’

This and that

The Orangemen’s first exhibition game is against Team Nike at the Carrier Dome on Tuesday at 7 p.m. … Former Syracuse guard Lazarus Sims signed with the Globetrotters and might play for them against Syracuse on Nov. 11. … Former SU star Jason Hart was released by the Seattle Supersonics earlier this week. Forward Damone Brown, one of Hart’s old teammates, was signed by the New Jersey Nets … Along with Tim Duncan, Lance Armstrong and Barry Bonds, Boeheim is one of 12 finalists for Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year. Vote at http://soty.secondthought.com/ … In Maxim magazine, Carmelo Anthony was asked: ‘What’s the funniest thing a groupie has ever done to get your attention?’ His answer? ‘There was this one time a girl flashed me in class … and I was so focused on the lecture I didn’t even pay much attention to her.’ Ah, the luxuries of superstardom.

Published on October 28, 2003 at 12:00 pm