Frank Howard was recruited to Syracuse because he is a good passer. He doesn’t turn the ball over. He’s a smart point guard who makes good offensive decisions.

Within six minutes of entering the game for SU against Georgia Tech on Saturday, he had proven his reputation correct. By then, he registered four assists, and propelled the Orange to a 29-22 lead, the largest it would be all game.

“Frank Howard made some of the best passes we’ve seen in years here,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said.

Howard stayed in the game for 14 meaningful minutes of Syracuse’s (15-8, 5-5 Atlantic Coast) 60-57 home win over Georgia Tech on Saturday. He scored just one point, but dished out six assists, collected three rebounds and didn’t turn the ball over a single time.

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He had played just 17 minutes combined over the past three games and had six assists throughout the first nine conference games.

“I’ve been trying to come here more focused, watch a lot of film to know where I can pick my spots,” Howard said. “And I think I did a good job of identifying those and making plays.”

His prettiest assist came on a Syracuse fast break. Howard ran down to the right wing and took a pass from Malachi Richardson as soon as he got his feet set. Not even a tick later, the ball was in the hands of a cutting Tyler Roberson, who finished a dunk.

He bookended his run by drawing in three defenders and tossing a somewhat sidearmed dish to Roberson again. The Orange was up by seven and the Yellow Jackets called timeout.

“I thought he was great,” Trevor Cooney said. “From a guard perspective, I’ve been with Frank and I’ve told him to be that spark. All good Syracuse teams have had a spark come off the bench, and he can be that for us, easily. And he was today.”

Boeheim joked that he would stay in the game more if he didn’t take so many bad 10-foot floaters. Howard’s 1-of-14 shooting clip in conference games is an indication of why he thinks that. But he did praise the freshman that has wrestled away the backup point guard spot from Kaleb Joseph. And Boeheim praise is tough to come by.

“It’s aways good when you can get a compliment from him,” Howard said. “I’m happy I made him proud.”

Published on January 30, 2016 at 4:28 pm

Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3