If there was one positive to draw from Syracuse’s 52-50 loss to a wounded Connecticut team, it was yet another impressive outing from Dajuan Coleman.

The fifth-year senior has been a revelation of sorts in the past three games, scoring in double digits in each. Monday night, he corralled a game-high 16 rebounds, his career high, and played like a man among boys in the paint. The Orange (5-3) couldn’t ride Coleman’s double-double to victory over Connecticut (4-4) at Madison Square Garden. If anything, SU seems to have found a sturdy low-post presence it lacked a short time ago.

“I thought he was good out there. He rebounded the ball, he was good inside,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. “He did a great job.”

In stark contrast from a season ago, Coleman isn’t taking unnecessary dribbles or stalling in the paint until he finds the ideal shot. At most, it’s one pump fake before he elevates, often an attempt that draws a foul.

Coleman remained scoreless until the final second of the first half, when Frank Howard threaded a slick pass to the big man in the lane for a buzzer-beating layup. However, Coleman grabbed eight rebounds, four of those on the offensive glass. With the Orange shooting a dismal 6-of-26 from the field and 1-of-13 from beyond the arc in the first half, Coleman was the team’s only hope at garnering second-chance opportunities.

“I just wanted it,” Coleman said. “I know how much this game meant to everybody, I’ve been watching this game ever since I was younger.”

As the Orange picked up steam in the second half, so did the offensive repertoire Coleman has flashed in game’s past. On Monday night, the most reliable shot SU could depend on might’ve been the fifth-year senior’s mid-range jumper that has emerged from nowhere. It fell both times he attempted it in the second half.

Add on an and-one and a pair of free throws, and Syracuse suddenly has a consistent threat in the paint who can score in a number of ways on top of being a reliable rebounder. Against the tallest frontcourt he’s faced all year, 6-foot-11 Steve Enoch and 7-foot Amida Brimah, Coleman easily won the battle down low.

It took Coleman four years to best his career high on the glass, through two season-ending knee injuries and falling short of the expectations that coincide with being a McDonald’s All-American. And though Syracuse is searching for answers almost everywhere else on the court, it has found one down low.

“With all he’s been through, we know what he’s capable of,” Howard said. “We just gotta keep giving it to him.”

Published on December 5, 2016 at 11:54 pm

Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman