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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 totaled 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 naturally. When he’s on, he knows what the defense is doing before they even do it and his reads become easier.

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,” Carlos said.

Carlos’ confident outing pushed Syracuse (5-4, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) to its best offensive performance of the season, defeating UAlbany (6-5, 0-0 America East) 102-85. The point guard dished out a season-high 12 assists and scored a season-best 12 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 to 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 Association with 6.3 assists and ranked 14th in the country. He had 12 games with at least eight assists last season, but until Tuesday, Carlos hadn’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 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, and the coach has 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.

Carlos said when the two talked, Autry delivered a simple message: “You’re not here by mistake.” 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 Notre Dame and had four against Tennessee last Tuesday. Though Tuesday against UAlbany 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 at 14-14 with 11 minutes remaining.

Carlos sprinted upcourt, 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, as the dunk sparked an 18-10 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 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 five. 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. Ninety seconds later, Carlos made a simple feed to Freeman at the top of the key for his 12th 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.

Published on December 11, 2024 at 12:51 am

Contact Zak: zakwolf784254@gmail.com | @ZakWolf22