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Jaquan Carlos likes to play with swagger. As a gritty pass-first point guard from Brooklyn, New York, it’s almost expected. Yet, through Carlos’ first games as Syracuse’s point guard, that swagger was nowhere to be found. He fell out of rhythm and his confidence was severely lacking.
Carlos started his SU career with 11 assists in his first two games. Over the next five, the Hofstra transfer totalled just 12. It’s easy for Carlos to tell when he’s in a rhythm, and during that stretch, he never felt that way. There’s nothing in particular that lets him know he’s in the zone, it just comes natural. Everything’s based on feel. When he’s on, he knows what the defense is doing before they even do it and his reads become easier as a result.
Tuesday night against UAlbany was the first time Carlos felt that way in a while. There was no hesitation or second-guessing from the point guard, and his performance showed.
“I just had that bop, and that step, that swagger to me today, and that’s what led on to my performance,” Carlos said.
Carlos’ confident outing pushed Syracuse (5-4, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) to its best offensive performance of the season, defeating UAlbany 102-85. The point guard dished out a season-high 12 assists and scored a season-high 14 points. Carlos was at the center of everything, setting up teammates in a variety of ways. He finally started to show glimpses of the distributor Syracuse needs him to be.
“I was happy for him,” Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry said of Carlos. “Obviously he’s had his ups and downs. The last two games, he’s really kind of, steadied the ship and (he’s) obviously trying, continue to hold this team together till we get J.J. (Starling) back.”
Carlos came to Syracuse with an elite pedigree as a pass-first point guard in three seasons at Hofstra. Last season, he led the Coastal Athletic Conference with 6.4 assists and ranked 12th in the country. He had 11 games with at least eight assists last season, but until Tuesday, Carlos didn’t put together a performance like that.
Carlos was brought in to steady the offense and spread the ball around. Judah Mintz — SU’s point guard from 2022-24 — only averaged 4.5 and had a score-first mentality at 17.5 points per game. Though at times Carlos has struggled to run Syracuse’s offense. In Syracuse’s win over Cornell on Nov. 27, Carlos finished with zero assists for the first time since he was a freshman.
Through Carlos’ struggles, he had Autry to lean on. The second-year head coach knows first-hand what it means to be a Syracuse point guard. He led SU’s backcourt from 1990-94, ranking fifth all-time in program history with 631 career assists. For Carlos it’s a dream scenario. He relied on Autry during his slump, who’s had his back on numerous occasions this season.
After losses to Texas and Texas Tech at The Empire Classic in Brooklyn, Autry was asked if he was thinking of taking Carlos out of the lineup. Autry’s answer was a resounding no.
When talking to Carlos, Autry’s tone didn’t waver. Carlos said the two talked and he delivered a simple message: “You’re not here by mistake.” He reiterated that this is what they both wanted. All Autry wanted Carlos to do was to be himself and that’s what would take Syracuse to the next level.
“(The coaching staff) got the utmost confidence in me, even though, when I was struggling in the first about six, seven games, they didn’t lose no faith in me,” Carlos said. “When you got a coaching staff that believes in you and you’re going out there, and then no matter what you do, they still believe that’s a great feeling.”
The trust has turned into results lately. He recorded a previous season-high seven assists against Tennessee and had four against Notre Dame on Saturday. Though Tuesday was his coming out party.
Carlos assisted two Jyáre Davis scores within the first couple of minutes, the second one being a perfect lob to Davis from about 30 feet away. Carlos found his groove during the middle portion of the first half. After a sluggish start, Syracuse found itself tied 14 with 11 minutes
Carlos sprinted up court, tightly guarded by Amir Lindsey. The point guard curled around a double screen from Donnie Freeman and Petar Majstorovic. As soon as Carlos got around it, his head was locked on Freeman, who rolled to the basket untouched. Carlos hit him on a lob to give Syracuse a lead it would never relinquish. The dunk sparked an 18-5 run over the next five minutes as SU took complete control of the game. The push was capped off when Carlos hit Kyle Cuffe Jr. in transition for a corner 3.
“That’s what he does,” Davis said. “He gets guys the ball. When we make shots, it makes his job a little bit easier.”
Davis knows first-hand better than anyone on SU’s roster what Carlos is capable of after competing against him in the CAA with Delaware. What Carlos did Tuesday wasn’t anything special to Davis. It’s what he’s come to expect of Carlos. He knows that if Carlos makes 12 good passes and if Syracuse doesn’t convert, it doesn’t show up in the stat sheet.
Considering Syracuse has struggled shooting the ball from deep, hitting at just a 26% clip, it’s reasonable to believe Carlos’ assist numbers may be watered down. Tuesday, the Orange connected on 40% of their shots from deep, which bolstered Carlos’ numbers.
Freeman was the main beneficiary of Carlos’ dimes. Five of Carlos’ seven second-half assists were to the freshman, including his final four. The two developed a strong connection in the pick-and-roll. On three different occasions Carlos attacked hard in the paint and UAlbany left Freeman — who entered Tuesday with just three 3-pointers on the season — wide open. Each time Freeman popped open, Carlos didn’t wait to get him the ball.
UAlbany cut Syracuse’s lead down to 82-71 with less than five minutes left, but Freeman gave Carlos his 11th assist by draining a triple. 90 seconds later Carlos made a simple feed to Freeman at the top of the key for his 12th assist and final assist.
Carlos was decisive, and that proved crucial. He wanted the ball in his hands. With UAlbany hanging around late, Carlos shut the door, knocking down four free throws to help seal SU’s win.
It’s hard to see the point guard putting together double-digit assists numbers consistently. Though Tuesday was a step in the right direction for Carlos’ morale. He got back to his roots and what brought him to Syracuse, and the results spoke for themselves.
“He’s got his feet under him and now you guys are going to see a different Jaquan,” Freeman said.
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