PITTSBURGH — After Syracuse players found out they had no postseason to play for on Wednesday, they had a team meeting, then a players-only one.

Junior guard Trevor Cooney led the second discussion and the team left with the same goal that it started the season with: winning basketball games. There was just only going to be nine left, regardless of how many they won.

Following the Orange’s (15-8, 6-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) 83-77 loss to Pittsburgh (16-8, 5-5) on Saturday, Syracuse players spoke publicly for the first time since SU announced a self-imposed postseason ban for the basketball team — following a years-long NCAA investigation that has yet to produce NCAA sanctions — and shared their reactions to the ban. They said they’d be no less motivated, that the experience brought them closer together and the sanctions aren’t about them.

“There’s nothing to really say about it, I wish I could have something to say,” Cooney said. “But there’s nothing that you can say … I’m not saying (I want to say something) … It just has nothing to do with us.”

The postseason doesn’t change anything, players said, in that every game is personal regardless of what’s going on off the court.

“It’s a basketball game no matter what,” freshman point guard Kaleb Joseph said.

He also said having no NCAA Tournament to lose out on doesn’t take any pressure off the team or help him or anyone else relax.

Sophomore forward B.J. Johnson said the team is, if anything, more fired up to perform.

And Rakeem Christmas said the ban has made a close team closer.

“Everyone’s been tighter,” he said. “We’ve always been a tight family, but everyone’s tighter now. Everyone’s been just trying to give it their all.

“It’s a deadline to our season, so everyone’s just trying to play through it.”

The team’s reaction on the court was a positive one. After narrowly defeating ACC bottom-dweller Virginia Tech on Tuesday, SU ran Pittsburgh, an NCAA Tournament bubble team, to the wire in the Panthers’ home arena.

Syracuse got one of its most complete performances of the season against Pitt with Ron Patterson and Johnson delivering a combined 23 minutes off the bench.

Ultimately, though, the ban has left the team with only so much to look forward to.

“I said a few things to the team and they responded well today,” Cooney said “… Overall, we didn’t come out here and get blown out by 25. So I mean I’m proud of how we played and how we fought.”

Published on February 8, 2015 at 11:52 pm

Contact Jacob: jmklinge@syr.edu | @Jacob_Klinger_