With about two minutes left in the first half against Duke last Saturday, Syracuse forward Rakeem Christmas stomped on the left block and demanded the basketball.
Of course, 6-10 Duke center Jahlil Okafor was waiting in the paint. Christmas backed in with a shoulder. Nothing. So Christmas launched himself into Okafor and drew a foul. That best descibes Christmas' mentality.
There’s no quit, even in a season that turned ugly on Feb. 4 when the Orange self-imposed a postseason ban. Christmas will play his last game Saturday against N.C. State.
“We’re just going at it,” Christmas told Sporting News. “I told my teammates I wasn't going to quit on them, and they weren’t going to quit on me. I’ve been playing for my teammates. We’re playing hard and that’s all you can ask for.”
Perhaps this is what head coach Jim Boeheim meant when he appeared on "The Dan Dakich Show" last week and declared, “I’d rather take the punishment and let the players go to the tournament.”
No player deserves that courtesy more than Christmas, who enjoyed a breakout season doomed to get back-logged in the Madness.
Consider that Christmas ranks third in the ACC in points per game (17.4) and fifth in rebounding (9.0). The only player who is better in both categories is Okafor. Since the ban was announced, Christmas has had three double-doubles and a 29-point, eight-rebound effort in a 69-59 win against Louisville on Feb. 18.
Christmas continued the fight against Duke on Feb. 28. He scored six straight points in the second half to make it a seven-point game before succumbing to foul trouble. He exited with less than eight minutes remaining, but he also left Cameron Indoor Stadium with an endorsement from Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who called Christmas one of the best players in the ACC without hesitation.
“I thought Rakeem did a good job on (Okafor),” Krzyzewski said before a pause. “You don’t stop a guy like him. Christmas. He’s had a sensational year. He gets a lot of attention, and he got a lot of attention from us.”
Christmas’ legacy at Syracuse won't get the detention it deserves. He’s played in an Elite Eight, a Final Four and helped the Orange transition from the the Big East to the ACC. He waited until his senior year to blossom into a star player.
He also blocked out the noise. That was on display last Saturday, too. After barreling into Okafor, Christmas waited at the free-throw line while the Cameron Crazies belted out a less-than-original chorus of “Jingle Bells."
Christmas then buried two free throws nobody will remember. But maybe they should. Okafor won the battle that night, but Christmas is already eyeing another shot down the line.
“(Okafor) is a great player,” Christmas said. “Getting to play against him and other great players, you just go out and see what happens. I hope he has a great career. I’m going to see him again later.”
Only that won’t be next week at the Greensboro Coliseum, or in the NCAA Tournament. That will have wait until the NBA. But don’t expect to hear Christmas play the role of a victim, even if Syracuse’s postseason ban will end his story a few pages early against N.C. State on Saturday.
Christmas doesn’t see it that way. There’s still no quit. That’s worth our admiration out the door.
“The Big East was a great experience; I got to play against some great teams,” Christmas said. “The ACC was a great experience; I got to play against some great players there, too. Looking back, it was a great accomplishment to come to a school like this and to be able to play for Coach Boeheim. It’s a great thing for me.”
