The official sports blog for The Daily Orange

Art Monk, who led Syracuse in receiving from 1977 to 1979 before playing in the NFL for 16 years, was inducted into the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame on Tuesday. Monk is one of 14 players and three coaches to earn the honor this year.

Monk was an All-American in 1979, helping to lead the Orange to a 7-5 record en route to a 31-7 win over McNeese State in the Independence Bowl. Monk is tied for eighth on Syracuse’s career reception list with 102 catches, and is eighth on the career receiving yards list with 1,644. In 1977, he set the Syracuse record for most catches in one game with 14 receptions against Navy.

Monk, who is currently a member of the Syracuse Board of Trustees, actually began his SU career as a running back before moving to wide receiver.

The Washington Redskins drafted Monk with the 18th overall pick of the 1980 NFL Draft, and he went on to have a standout professional career with the Redskins, Jets and Eagles. He finished his pro career with 940 receptions for 12,721 yards and 68 touchdowns, and also ran for 332 yards. He was the first NFL player ever to reach 900 receptions in a career. Monk also played in three Super Bowls while he was with Washington.

Monk was the first receiver in the NFL to reach 900 catches in one season, and also set the record for most consecutive games with a reception at 183.

He was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 2008.

cjiseman@syr.edu

Last season, Jason Hart took Los Angeles-area Taft High School to a 29-4 record and the second round of the Division I state championships in California. The former Syracuse guard had a successful first season as head coach.

He was rewarded with a step up to the college coaching ranks on Saturday.

Hart was hired as an assistant coach at Pepperdine, the school announced Saturday. He will work under Marty Wilson, who enters his second year as head coach of the Waves.

Pepperdine, part of the West Coast Conference, went 10-19 last season.

Hart played for SU from 1996-2000, earning All-Big East first team honors in his senior season. He is Syracuse’s all-time leader in steals and stands second in assists.

Hart went on to play nine seasons in the NBA for nine teams before retiring in December 2010.

“First and foremost I’d like to thank Coach Wilson for the opportunity,” Hart said in the Pepperdine release. “Being hired as an assistant coach in college basketball is a huge honor, and I want to thank him for believing in me and helping me get my foot in the door. This opportunity is very unique. Growing up in Los Angeles, I used to hear about Pepperdine being really good. I know they’ve had some tough times but Coach Wilson and his staff are excited about the direction of the program, and I want to be part of something special they’re building. I’m looking forward to learning from the other coaches as they help me transition into college basketball.”

Kayla Alexander has been invited to try out for Team Canada later this month. She is one of 25 players who will compete to make the roster at the 2012 Canadian Senior Women’s National Team Tryout for a chance to represent her country as it aims to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics.

Alexander averaged 14.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game this past season as a junior. She earned All-Big East second team honors for her standout play in the paint, helping the Orange reach the Women’s National Invitation Tournament final four. She was among SU’s most consistent scoring options and also anchored the team’s 2-3 zone in the half court, finishing with a program-record and Big East-leading 96 blocks.

She has competed for Canada throughout her career as a member of the 2008 Junior National Team while also playing for U-18 and U-19 teams prior to that. Alexander has represented Canada in 14 games in international competition.

The final roster will consist of 16 players and will compete in the FIBA World Olympic Qualifier in Turkey from June 25 to July 1. Canada will be fighting for one of five remaining spots in the Olympic field.

rjgery@syr.edu

Two of Quentin Hillsman’s prized recruits, Brianna Butler and Brittney Sykes, will attend the USA Basketball Women’s U18 National Team Trials on May 19-20 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Co, according to an SU athletics press release. They were two of 26 players invited to attend the trials.

Once the trials are completed, the U18 National Team will be announced on May 21 at 11 a.m. The team will compete in the 2012 FIBA Americas U18 Championship in San Juan, P.R. from Aug. 15-19. The tournament will feature eight teams from North, South and Central America and the Caribbean, and the top three teams will earn a spot in the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship for Women.

Both Butler and Sykes are McDonald’s All-Americans, and are part of an elite incoming freshman class put together by Hillsman. ESPN HoopGurlz ranked the class of five players No. 6 in the nation.

Butler is rated the 13th best player overall in the nation by HoopGurlz, which also ranked Sykes at No. 30.

Butler led Nazareth High School in Brooklyn to an 18-4 record, helping the team earn a No. 1 ranking in New York City. Sykes finished her season with an average of 18.9 points, 12.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists for University High School in Newark, N.J.

cjiseman@syr.edu

Iasia Hemingway signed a training camp contract with the New York Liberty of the WNBA. Hemingway, who paced Syracuse in scoring this season, is the seventh player in program history to earn a contract in the league.

Hemingway averaged 14.9 points a game in her senior year with the Orange, and received second-team All-Big East honors. She is the first SU player to sign with a WNBA team since 2010 when Juanita Ward was invited to training camp with the Tulsa Shock. Hemingway was a vital part of SU’s high-low offense the past two seasons and helped the team reach the WNIT final four this season.

She arrived at Syracuse in 2009 after playing her freshman and sophomore seasons at Georgia Tech. As a junior, she earned All-Big East Honorable Mention honors after scoring 12.7 points per game and grabbing a team-high 7.4 rebounds per game.

This season, Hemingway was SU’s go-to score, tallying double figures in 28 of the team’s 37 games. She scored more than 30 points on three occasions. She also set a single-season program record for free throws attempted and made in a season, going 201-of-256 (78.5 percent) from the line.

She finished her four-year career at Syracuse and Georgia Tech with 1,622 points.

Hemingway begins the two-week training camp with the Liberty on April 29. Hemingway will go through the training camp in hopes of earning a spot on the team’s season roster.

rjgery@syr.edu

Syracuse’s game at Minnesota on Sept. 22 has been chosen to be televised on the Big Ten Network, SU athletics announced in a press release Tuesday. The Orange and Gophers will play at 8 p.m. at Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium.

Syracuse and the Gophers have played three previous games, with Minnesota winning two of the three.

The game is the Orange’s fifth nationally televised game of the season. Syracuse will  be on  ABC, ESPN or ESPN 2 when it plays Southern California in “New York’s College Classic” at MetLife Stadium on Sept. 8, and on ESPN when it goes up against Pittsburgh in the Carrier Dome on Oct. 5, Connecticut at home on Oct. 19, and its final game of the season at Temple will be on ESPN or ESPN 2.

The Orange opens up its season on Sept. 1 against Northwestern in the Carrier Dome. It’ll mark the start of Syracuse’s effort to bounce back from a five-game losing streak that ended last year’s season and stripped it of any postseason chances.

cjiseman@syr.edu

The Syracuse women’s lacrosse team was ranked No. 1 in the latest RPI rankings released on Tuesday. The Orange jumped over perennial powerhouse Northwestern to take the top spot for the first time in program history.

Though SU (11-2, 4-0 Big East) is No. 2 behind the Wildcats in both the coaches and media polls, it is playing better than arguably any team in the country right now. Riding a 10-game winning streak, which includes seven victories over nationally ranked opponents, the Orange sits in the top-10 in scoring offense (fourth, 15.3 goals per game) and scoring defense (10th, 9.0 goals allowed per game).

Sophomore attack Alyssa Murray and junior attack Michelle Tumolo average five points per game each, good for seventh most in the nation. Murray has a team-high 40 goals, tying her for 11th in the country in goals per game while Tumolo has a team-high 26 assists, good for 11th as well.

The Orange closes out its regular season with games against Louisville, Cornell, No. 15 Loyola and Villanova before hosting the Big East tournament May 3-5. Then, if it takes care of business, Syracuse will have its chance to earn the highest level of national recognition in the NCAA tournament.

Former Syracuse center Rick Jackson, in his second year with French team Chorale Roanne,  ruptured his right Achilles tendon and will miss the remainder of the year, according to the team’s website.

Jackson suffered the injury in an April 7 game against Pau and had season-ending surgery on April 12. Before the injury, Jackson averaged 10 points and six rebounds through 26 games.

After finishing his career at SU two years ago, Jackson went undrafted in the 2011 NBA Draft and opted to start his professional career in France with the ongoing NBA lockout.

By Michael Cohen

Staff Writer

BOSTON — Fittingly, an ultra-competitive game saw the first 20 minutes end with the two teams right back where they started: tied.

Syracuse and Ohio State finished the first half deadlocked at 29-29 in a game marred by fouls.

Jared Sullinger, OSU’s All-American forward, played just six minutes of the opening half after picking up two quick fouls. His replacement, Evan Ravenel, also picked up two fouls.

For Syracuse, four players finished the half with two fouls. Brandon Triche, James Southerland, Rakeem Christmas and Dion Waiters were all saddled with a pair.

SU head coach Jim Boeheim, who harped on the referees for most of the half, received a technical foul as well.

In between the whistles, the game was as fierce as you might expect with a trip to the Final Four on the line. The Buckeyes jumped out to an early lead, but a pair of 3-pointers from Scoop Jardine pulled the Orange back in it early.

The pressure of Big 10 Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Craft frustrated Syracuse’s guards throughout the half. He forced Jardine to dribble the ball off his leg early in the half, and later he nearly came up with a steal in transition before stumbling out of bounds.

It was a balanced game for both teams scoring the ball, with no one tallying more than seven points in the half. Jardine led Syracuse with seven, while Deshaun Thomas and William Buford each had six for the Buckeyes.

After Christmas went out of the game with for SU and Ravenel exited for OSU, it became a game of backup centers inside. Syracuse’s Baye Keita came up big, hauling in six rebounds in the first half. And Ohio State’s Amir Williams, a freshman, contributed four points and three rebounds.

Officiating was questionable in this one, with poor calls plaguing both sides. Both Boeheim and Matta were on the referees often, and players began seeking calls as the half wore on.

mjcohe02@syr.edu

With Syracuse’s game against Ohio State in the regional final three hours away, here’s a breakdown of the two teams by position and some stats and facts to know. The Daily Orange’s beat writers also give their predictions for the game.

Point guard

Scoop Jardine (6-2 190, SR.; 8.8 ppg, 4.9 apg) vs. Aaron Craft (6-2 190, SO.; 8.9 ppg, 4.7 apg)

Jardine played well in Syracuse’s win against Wisconsin, getting to the basket and hitting from outside to score 14 points. He also dished out four assists and only committed one turnover in an efficient 35 minutes. The SU point guard will be challenged by Craft, the Big 10’s Defensive Player of the Year, who came up with six steals while constantly pressuring the Cincinnati backcourt.

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