Through the first three games of the season, a predictable rotation has been formed at the center position for SU.

Junior Paschal Chukwu would start. Then, at some point early in the first half — seemingly dependent on how quickly Chukwu made a mistake — backup freshman Bourama Sidibe would check in and play for a good chunk of whatever time was left before halftime.

Eight minutes into Monday night’s contest, it happened again. Chukwu had scored and then blocked a shot on the next play. He failed to corral the rebound, though, prompting head coach Jim Boeheim to sub him out and replace him with Sidibe.

That didn’t happen in the second half, though. Sidibe was limited because of a knee injury, giving Chukwu a longer leash in the second half. He took advantage and dominated the game.

“This is what we missed last year. Paschal can control the middle of the court like that. It just makes such a difference,” Boeheim said. “Because his defense was so good inside, he just changed the whole game. And he got some offensive things tonight, we looked for him a little bit better.”

Syracuse (4-0) has the highest average height in the country, per Kenpom.com, meaning it has a size advantage every time it plays. There was a clear one Monday for the 7-foot-2 Chukwu, as Oakland’s (2-2) tallest healthy player stood at just 6-foot-9. It led to Chukwu having the breakout game that many expected when he transferred from Providence two years ago. He flirted with a triple-double in SU’s 74-50 win and ended with 12 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocks, all career highs.

“I’m starting to figure out where my strong suit is,” Chukwu said.

Chukwu was ranked as the 61st best recruit in the Class of 2014. He appeared in 34 games for Providence his freshman season, but averaged just 9.9 minutes per game. He transferred and sat out the 2015-2016 season due to transfer rules. Last year he played in just seven games, having his season cut short due to a torn retina.

The rust from missing so much time in each of the last two years showed early in this season and in his limited playing time last year. His timing was off and he’d sometimes struggle to make the most of his size near the rim, on either end.

“He hasn’t played in three years, I think a lot of people really don’t understand that,” said point guard Frank Howard, who’s also Chukwu’s roommate. “He’s getting his steps and his feet right. I think he did that tonight, just getting back in a groove. You could see the potential we have.”

That was the issue for the limited part of Chukwu’s career at Syracuse — all it had been was potential. On Monday night, it materialized into results, on both ends of the floor.

On the defensive end, Chukwu said that he “just went for every block I could.” Oakland is a 3-point-heavy team, but when the ball was worked inside, Chukwu was there to consistently send it away. The Golden Grizzlies tried different tactics, such as sliding its leading scorer and 6-foot-3 marksman Kendrick Nunn from the perimeter into the high post, where Chukwu would have to step up on him rather than a slower forward or center. Still, Chukwu anchored the defense and stopped most of those opportunities.

“They had really good shooters today. So we were able to get up a lot higher, knowing that Paschal was down there being active,” freshman forward Oshae Brissett said. “When they were able to dump it into the mid-post, we knew that he was down there and it gave us time to get back.”

Often times last year and early this year, Chukwu struggled with the basics on the offensive side. Passes often went through his hands. Post-up opportunities typically consisted of a simple one-dribble hook with nothing else.

He was more refined on Monday. Early in the first quarter he got an offensive rebound. He remained patient as players flew by him, pivoted in and scored on a layup.

When SU struggled to get its offense moving in the second half, Chukwu was there as well. The Orange’s first bucket of the latter frame was a putback slam by Chukwu on a missed layup from Howard in transition. Chukwu scored six of the next eight SU points after those two, roaming around the paint for easy passes and lobs and putting back offensive rebounds.

When healthy, Sidibe will still be a factor in the center rotation, as Boeheim said in the preseason that he wants each player to play roughly 20 minutes a game. But Chukwu knows what his role is and showed on Monday night that he could live up to it.

“Basically, use my height and dominate the game,” Chukwu said. “And I think I did that today.”

Published on November 20, 2017 at 11:07 pm

Contact Tomer: tdlanger@syr.edu | @tomer_langer