When John Desko addressed his players before the first practice of the season, he had a simple message: They have what it takes.

Even after all of the disappointment of 2012 – a 9-8 finish, barely sneaking into the NCAA tournament – there is no lack of talent.

“I think everything we have and we need to have going into the season is right here in this room,” Desko said he told the team. What it would ultimately come down to, he went on to say, is decision-making.

It was a simple message, but an inspiring one. Syracuse didn’t doubt its talent, but it could have been easy to get wrapped up in the struggles of the previous year. Sloppy wins against teams it should’ve blown out were coupled with close losses to tough teams. Winnable games were lost to untimely mistakes. It all led to a year to forget for the Orange.

But it’s a memory that can’t immediately fade. The disappointment and frustration is too fresh in the minds of the SU players. Desko’s words struck a chord.

“That was great for him to come out and say that to this team because it was something the team needed,” junior attack Derek Maltz said. “Everyone just looked around, looked at the person next to you and realized that this is a team of 52 guys, it’s like a family, and we’re going to do whatever it takes to accomplish that goal at the end of the season.”

The Orange still remains the beacon of college lacrosse success. Its 10 NCAA championships are the most by any team. Its 830 wins are the second most, behind only Johns Hopkins, who began playing more than 30 years before SU. Former players dot the top of every major record board. No number is more synonymous with the sport than No. 22 for Syracuse.

Last year’s team failed to win an NCAA Tournament contest. It won fewer than 10 games. Defender Brian Megill was the Orange’s only All-American. Midfielder JoJo Marasco, SU’s current No. 22, scored just 12 goals. It wasn’t a typical Syracuse lacrosse season.

But 2013 will be different. At least, that’s the sentiment everyone involved with the team shares coming into the year. The Orange is a year older and more experienced. It had an extra year to come together. Last year was, in retrospect, a rebuilding year.

“It’s a building process and that’s what it was last year. We had so many young guys playing in spots they were unfamiliar with last year, and it came back to bite us in the butt a little bit,” SU midfielder Steve Ianzito said. “But now with this year under us, people are more confident with their abilities. It’s going to be a good year.”

In 2007, Syracuse brought in what is now regarded by many as the greatest recruiting class in the sport’s history. At the time, Inside Lacrosse only ranked it No. 5. But a group of seven members of the class, all part of Inside Lacrosse’s top 100 and all from Central New York, helped guide the Orange to a pair of national championships.

It was a blessing for Syracuse. For four years, the Orange was set. But it has become a curse.

SU struggled to replace the legendary class last season, and disappointed as a result. The three classes that committed during the 2007 class’ tenure ranked No. 4, No. 4 and No. 2. SU’s Classes of 2008 and 2009 combined to have four players drafted into Major League Lacrosse. The most recent barely saw any playing time until last season. The 2007 class created a logjam of talent that prevented its successors from getting on the field.

“They did so much for Syracuse, and after they graduated, we were left with a lot of holes to fill,” Ianzito said. “So that was a tough rebuilding year for us last year.”

For several years, the talent underachieved. But now Syracuse has an even bigger issue on its hands: a relative lack of talent. The past two recruiting classes have ranked No. 6 and No. 9.

No longer is the Orange’s skill in a class of its own. The sport is growing. The talent is spreading and becoming diluted. Parity is growing.

Duke won its first national title in 2010. Now the Blue Devils are a national power. Loyola (Md.) won the 2012 championship. It’s barely been a Division-I program for 20 years. Peter Baum, an attack from a Colgate program with an all-time losing record, won the Tewaaraton Trophy. He’s from Portland, Ore. — not exactly a lacrosse hotbed.

Gone are the days where SU can just expect to walk out on the field and have an inherent advantage.

“There’s so much talent now at these big schools that they’re going to be able to keep getting better and better,” Marasco said. “ … It’s great for lacrosse, but at the same time you see that there’s a lot of other teams that are just as good.”

Before last season, Syracuse had never lost a Big East game since the conference added lacrosse in 2010. On March 25, 2012, that streak ended. The then-No. 9 Orange held three two-goal leads in the second quarter against then-No. 14 Villanova. But SU couldn’t put the Wildcats away. Syracuse lost at the faceoff X, faltered on the extra-man and couldn’t finish its chances. The Orange lost its first Big East game 11-10.

A week later, SU had a chance to rebound against the No. 8 team in the country. With less than four minutes remaining, Syracuse trailed Duke by a goal, and Tommy Palasek stood on the doorstep, a point-blank goal in plain sight. The attack fired and the Blue Devils’ goalkeeper, Dan Wigrizer, made the save. The Orange fell 12-10. SU dropped back-to-back games for the first time since 2007. Another winnable game lost because of an avoidable mental mistake.

“We had a very talented team,” Marasco said. “We just didn’t put some games together. We lost some games by a goal or two, and if that swing went the other way in the third quarter, fourth quarter we would have been a top team right now.”

This year, it’s about good decisions.

Last year’s team didn’t make them. Ten- and 12-yard shooters shot from 14 yards. Turnovers piled up. Clears fell to opposing midfielders. Ground balls weren’t scooped up on faceoffs.

“Coach has been on us since day one. If you make a mistake, you do a pushup,” Marasco said. “You’ve got to be smart about it.”

The effects were evident in the preseason scrimmages. Syracuse made mistakes and started off slowly, but by the end of each day, the issues were sorted out and the Orange blew out its later opponent.

“They have another year of experience under them and hopefully those skittish, scared mistakes that happened a lot last year that put as at a 9-8 record,” Ianzito said, “hopefully now that we’re more older and more mature it’s going to go our way this year.”

After a first-round NCAA Tournament exit a year ago, SU enters the 2013 campaign ranked No. 12 in the country. It wasn’t an ideal finish for Syracuse, but the Orange only lost three starters from a year ago.

The players who do return largely make up that No. 2 Class of 2010. Some, like Maltz and Matt Harris, became stars last year, relishing their first opportunities to see major minutes. The vast majority, though, still has room to grow.

These are the Billy Wards, the Hakeem Leckys, the Pat Powderlys, the Scott Loys. Contributors, and in some cases, starters – certainly, but not quite yet stars.

Now the members of that class are upperclassmen, and will be counted on to bring SU back to glory.

“Last year’s team was very young,” Desko said. “This year’s team comes back still a little bit young, but more experienced, and know a little bit about the younger guys and who we are this year coming in a little bit more than we did a year ago.”

When the preseason rankings came out, Syracuse was angry, upset, disappointed. But it also understood the reason.

Last season was one the Orange wants to make a distant memory, but it will take some work. There’s plenty to overcome, and SU may not come into the season with the same swagger it has had in the past. Humbleness has replaced it.

Syracuse wasn’t pleased with the way last season ended, but a turnaround has precedence. The 2007 Orange finished 5-8. A year later, SU was the national champion.

Ianzito still stays in contact with members of that team, and this year’s group is looking to that year as an example. The expectation for Syracuse is to contend for a national championship. Last year, the Orange was never close to doing that. But 2013 is a different year, and a chance for redemption.

“Everybody’s a year older, a little bit more experienced, a little bit more disciplined,” Ianzito said. “We’ve got a bad taste in our mouths that we need to get rid of and it’s going to happen this season.”

Published on February 14, 2013 at 3:47 am

Contact David: dbwilson@syr.edu | @DBWilson2