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James Southerland’s Syracuse career got off to a fairy tale start. The next two years were a humbling reminder of big-time college basketball.
He went from scoring 19 points in the Orange’s exhibition opener to riding the bench for the better part of his first two seasons.
“I felt like I was buried,” the 6-foot-8 Floral Park native recalled at Big East media day last week at the New York Athletic Club in Manhattan. “It was hard to get out.”
Southerland’s first two years were frustrating, dealing with scant playing time for a player used to being the star.
He considered transferring. He piled up hours of cell phone minutes in conversations with family, friends and his high school coach, Ron Naclerio of Cardozo.
The message was the same from everyone: stick it out.
“In life, when you meet barriers, you have to find a way to get over the barrier,” his father, Jim Southerland, said, a phrase he often used in their conversations. “You don’t go backwards and go around it. We always talked about that; you keep working.”
Disappointed as he was, Southerland listened to the sage advice. He gained focus amid the trying times, kept working hard to gain consistency and stuck it out, exhibiting mental toughness few knew he possessed. The player some dubbed as soft during his high school days, who was nicknamed “Big Baby” at Cardozo, displayed mental toughness.
“You keep working hard,” he told himself, “you’ll find your way out.”
The rangy forward with the deft perimeter touch was rewarded last year, with a big role off the bench. Southerland was arguably Syracuse’s best player in the NCAA Tournament, its most lethal weapon in its run to the Elite 8, coming through with 15 points apiece in the first two rounds.
“He played behind some really good players over the years and he still got playing time, and he’ll get a lot more playing time this year,” Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said. “He’s ready. He’s gotten better every year.”
He’s even more important this year, one of two senior starters for the Orange along with point guard Brandon Triche, his good friend and former roommate.
Triche said he noticed an attitude change in Southerland between his sophomore and junior year. He began putting in more time on his deficiencies, such as rebounding and ball handling, and virtually forcing Boeheim to give him chances.
“Now he’s getting his time to shine,” Triche said.
Jim Southerland said the addition of assistant Adrian Autry, a city product like his son, was of particular importance. His lead recruiter, Mike Hopkins, was often on the road recruiting or had other pressing demands as an associate head coach. Autry took a special interest in Southerland.
“He got more individual attention,” Jim Southerland said.
The future is bright for the Cardozo alum. Naclerio, who works out numerous NBA players and has an endless Rolodex of connections in the league, said he has heard from several teams about the rangy and sharpshooting Southerland.
“He can be a Steve Novak-type or the forward version of Danny Green,” Naclerio said, referring to the San Antonio Spurs guard and Long Island product. “His shooting ability is uncanny.”
Naclerio thinks Southerland’s time at Syracuse will be beneficial at the next level, the grind to break into the rotation and stick there will be something he will face again at the next level, an experience other pro prospects lack.
“Some kids get to the finish line quicker, but not with the results James is going to have,” his former coach predicted. “In a way, what happened to him at Syracuse will help him be an NBA player.”
That’s a long way off, Southerland pointed out, though he beamed when those three letters – NBA – were mentioned. He’s focused on going out with a bang, finishing his college career much the way it began in that exhibition contest.
That’s not to say he’s forgotten the memories of the adversity he faced – and persevered through – at the start of his career, though he’s far from finished.
“There’s still a lot to prove,” Southerland said.