They called themselves ‘The Fab Four’ and expected to reach the bar Carmelo Anthony set the previous year in bringing Syracuse a national championship. Demetris Nichols, Terrence Roberts, Darryl Watkins and Louie McCroskey made up a recruiting class in 2003-2004 that was ranked 24th in the Blue Star Report.

Talk about high expectations.

But it wasn’t just the media types that threw these expectations on them. Those players all felt they could follow Anthony’s legacy.

SU head coach Jim Boeheim said his team’s success for the last four years will depend on the Class of 2007. McCroskey transferred to Marist last year due to reasons that included a lack of playing time. Since that championship run in 2003, Syracuse could not advance past the first round in two of the next three years. Meanwhile the Class of 2007 showed glimpses of potential masked with inconsistency.

This year’s senior class will play its final home game tonight at 7 against No. 12 Georgetown. It’ll be a sendoff for the seniors and a fitting time to determine what they brought to Syracuse. When their progress is measured against the backdrop of intense hype, this year’s senior class failed to live up to its expectations.

But SU assistant coach Mike Hopkins wants to consider the following backdrop instead: SU has won the past two Big East tournaments, each player eventually made marked improvement and each plans to graduate in May. It may not be as glorious, but it’s the benchmark Hopkins thinks is more appropriate to measure.

‘I’m sure they all wished they could say they won more games. But in terms of what you’re supposed to get out of being a student-athlete, they accomplished a lot,’ Hopkins said. ‘All of them came up and were rated pretty high. But it all comes down to what the team needs in terms of opportunity.’

Opportunity. That word explains why the senior class could not establish themselves right away. But that word also explains how they have become more of a stabilizing force this year. The progression has been inconsistent, though, marked by giant leaps and major setbacks.

The same can be said this season.

Watkins has posted double digits in four of SU’s last five games, and averages 3.5 blocks a game, but has struggled against smaller players. Roberts has been SU’s energetic leader and leading rebounder, although he’s been hampered with a left knee injury. As underclassmen, both played behind Craig Forth, who brought more stability and consistency than the young Watkins and Roberts could provide.

Nichols, now a senior swingman who averages 18.9 points a game and is a candidate for Big East Player of the Year, didn’t have a go-to guy role until this season because he played behind the likes of Gerry McNamara and Hakim Warrick.

Mike Hart and John O’Shea, Nichols’ high school coaches at St. Andrew’s in Barrington, R.I., paint Nichols’ rite of passage at SU as an extension to his experience at St. Andrew’s. O’Shea remembers when Nichols’ first shot sailed completely over the basket.

‘It didn’t even hit any part of the backboard,’ he laughed.

But Nichols woke up at 6 a.m. three times a week to start days that consisted of morning workouts, class, study hall and practice until 9:30 p.m. Not once can Hall recall Nichols ever lagging behind in sprints or arriving late to practice. In fact, Hall laughs when remembering Nichols often came earlier than Hall did. By Nichols’ senior year, Nichols and Abdi Lidonde, Nichols’ best friend and a current guard for Old Dominion, took over team huddles during timeouts.

Nichols also tried to overcome an ongoing speech problem by forcing himself to talk. His high school coaches said he used postgame interviews with local newspapers as an opportunity to improve his slurred and stuttered speech. Once fearful of dogs since suffering a bite during his childhood, Nichols now has a dog with him at school.

At SU, Nichols said he takes the same approach. Murphy said Nichols is a mentor specifically to guards Eric Devendorf and Paul Harris. Nichols has been Devendorf’s workout partner since last year and Nichols often consults with Harris to make sure he doesn’t lose confidence.

There is no better player to follow. Hall provides a viable explanation for Nichols’ 20-plus-point performances in 15 games as well as a game-winning 3-pointer in Syracuse’s 71-67 victory over Providence Saturday. Hall thinks Nichols has thrived after going through the initial struggles because he didn’t listen to outside influences who may have told him to worry more about individual performances than accepting Boeheim’s intended role.

‘I take practice very seriously,’ Nichols said. ‘When guys get down, I talk to them and try to tell them it’ll be all right and stuff like that. I just try to talk with them.’

Tommie Patterson can’t recall many times when Watkins talked with him. The most Patterson, Watkins’ high school coach at Paterson Catholic in Paterson, N.J., could uncover from him were simply yes-no responses. As of late, though, Patterson hears a more talkative Watkins who shares updates about basketball and his post-graduate plans which range from trying to attract offers from the NBA to attending graduate school at Syracuse.

Patterson equates the changed demeanor as a sign that Watkins likes his more dominant role. During his freshman and sophomore years, father Darryl Watkins, Sr. said Watkins hated basketball. That’s because Watkins didn’t come to grips with Boeheim’s intentions to use the center’s defensive presence and to involve him offensively only when there were close shots.

With players like McNamara, Warrick and Josh Pace carrying the load, the role made sense. In fact, Patterson doesn’t think Watkins liked basketball growing up. In AAU in eighth grade, a league official kicked Watkins off his team because his physical makeup suggested he was much older. When the official asked Watkins to turn in his uniform, he took it literally and was apathetic toward basketball.

‘He handed in his uniform and walked out in the hallway with socks, boxers and a T-shirt,’ Patterson said. ‘He really didn’t care because he didn’t have a love for the game at that time. But now he has a love for the game.’

Before, Watkins only played because of his height. But once he had increased confidence, his passion spilled out. But Patterson suggests Watkins’ development came late in college because Watkins only played for him for two years after transferring from Passaic Tech his sophomore year. Though he’s been a consistent defensive force, both Watkins and Roberts have been plagued with foul trouble and losing out on defensive rebounds.

Murphy suggests that problem falls on the backcourt’s poor defense. Murphy said guards too often beat SU’s backcourt and force Watkins to contest the shot. That leaves the inside vulnerable and it also increases the chance of Watkins committing fouls.

‘I try to play smarter,’ Watkins said. ‘I try to make sure I’m in a position early where I don’t have to commit a foul. I try to keep it consistent. We need to try to make sure everybody’s moving and everybody’s in the right spots. We have to move and not stand still so we don’t get screened.’

Roberts has struggled with the rebounding and fouling component as well. But Roberts’ torn meniscus in his left knee suffered against Drexel on Dec. 19 has weakened his already poor free-throw shooting (56.3 percent) and his endurance. Roberts posted 16 points in the first half against Cincinnati on Jan. 17 and scored 11 points in the first half against St. John’s four days later. But he only posted one point in the second half against Cincinnati and zero points against St. John’s.

Roberts’ struggling post game has disappointed Bob Hurley, his legendary head coach at Saint Anthony High School in Jersey City, N.J., considering Roberts devoted himself to building strength in high school and has rarely kept in touch with the head coach for possible feedback on how to improve.

Murphy describes Roberts as ‘worried,’ thinking he’s letting his team down with his injury. Though he’s limited in practice, Roberts constantly seeks treatment and often works on an elliptical.

Even when Murphy suggests Roberts sits out a game or two to recover, Murphy said Roberts doesn’t want to because he wants to help SU make the NCAA tournament. But by the end of each game, Hopkins said Roberts’ knee looks like a cantaloupe.

‘Being a senior leader I realize it’s not really my place out there (to score),’ Roberts said at the beginning of the season. ‘Not being a guard, but being a big man, my place is to be out there and be energetic, be a leader and get my team going.’

Even with those lofty expectations not fulfilled, Hopkins takes comfort in knowing his senior class will likely yield a bright future with a college degree. O’Shea, who said NBA scouts have asked him questions about Nichols, doesn’t see him earning a lottery pick but predicts he will play at the NBA at some point. Murphy said all three will report to Orlando for pre-draft camp. But there aren’t any high expectations set this time around.

‘A lot of these guys, it’s more mental,’ Hopkins said. ‘The biggest thing is not to be so high and low psychologically. You have to know that you’re good and go out every day and do what you do. Too many times, guys focus on things they shouldn’t focus on. They force things rather than let the game come to them.’

Published on February 25, 2007 at 12:00 pm