Syracuse stars got start playing Philly hoops

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Syracuse University basketball players Antonio "Scoop" Jardine, Rick Jackson and Dion Waiters all grew up in the same South Philadelphia neighborhood and spent most of their free time at Jardine's grandmother's house.

They're so tight, in fact, that Jardine said he and Jackson are like "twin brothers'' and Waiters is their "younger brother."

And as they prepared this week for today's showdown against Villanova, the big brothers made sure their little brother knew what this game was all about.

"We don't want to win," Waiters said, smiling. "We gotta win."

In regular-season college basketball, it doesn't get bigger than the No. 7 Wildcats (16-2, 4-1 Big East) vs. the No. 3 Orange (18-1, 5-1) at noon today before what could be an NCAA on-campus record crowd of nearly 35,000 at the Carrier Dome.

But for Jardine, Jackson and Waiters, there are many twists, layers and subplots that make the game even more important to them:

* This is the first time Jardine, Jackson and Waiters will play together for Syracuse against the Big East rival from their hometown. Waiters, Jardine's second cousin, lived with Jardine's grandmother, Deborah Jardine, during his eighth-, ninth- and 10th-grade years.

"It's very rare, with Scoop, Rick and Dion, to have three South Philly kids from the same neighborhood not just on the same team, but with the same college program,'' said Antonio Jardine Sr., Scoop's father. "And they're not only from the same neighborhood, but the same house.''

* Jardine, Jackson and Waiters have close relationships with several Villanova players, especially sophomore guard Maalik Wayns, who's also from South Philly. Jardine said he looks at Wayns as another little brother, while Waiters said he and Wayns stay in touch through Skype and have talked about this game for weeks.

"We know each other on a first-name basis, so there's going to be a lot of talking going on and things like that,'' Jackson said. "[This game is] just about bragging rights, always. Bragging rights and pride.''

* Jardine and Jackson attended Ss. Neumann-Goretti High and announced when they were freshmen that they were going to play at the same college. Jardine, who was a diehard Villanova fan and regularly attended Villanova's camps, was heavily recruited by Villanova coach Jay Wright.

But Villanova wasn't interested in Jackson, and Saint Joseph's, which wanted Jackson, didn't need Jardine. So they went to Syracuse.

Last summer, Jardine played for the USA Men's Select team that was coached by Wright.

"Coach Wright has been great to me throughout my whole career,'' Jardine said. "Even though I'm not at Villanova, he has treated me like one of his own, and that shows how great a program it is.''

Jardine and Jackson, along with junior forward Kris Joseph, are the leaders of a Syracuse team that won its first 18 games this season before losing at Pittsburgh on Monday. Joseph is expected to play today after missing the Pitt game with a head injury.

Waiters, who attended Burlington (N.J.) Life Center Academy, is averaging 16 minutes per game as Syracuse's first guard off the bench. He said he owes everything to Jardine's grandmother and older guys such as Jardine, Jackson, Jamal Wilson (now at Rhode Island) and Scooter Gillette (Niagara), who helped keep him focused on basketball.

"Anybody from South Philly who really, really played the game was at Grandma's," Waiters said. "She'd cook for us, and it was a great atmosphere being around guys who love the game. She loved the basketball boys, and it kept us out of trouble."

Waiters, a 6-4 shooting guard, ranks fifth on SU with 6.9 points per game. He had perhaps his best all-around game of the season against Pitt with nine points, six rebounds and three assists as the Orange rallied from a 19-0 deficit before falling short.

"All freshmen have their ups and downs and goods and bads, and I think Dion has been willing to learn and has done a really good job developing his work ethic," said Syracuse assistant coach Mike Hopkins, who recruited Waiters, Jardine and Jackson.

Jardine, a 6-2 point guard, is a senior academically but a junior in terms of athletic eligibility because he redshirted two seasons ago while recovering from a stress fracture in his left shin. Jardine, The Sporting News' National Sixth Man of the Year last season, moved into the starting lineup this season and ranks second on the Orange in scoring (13.6 points per game) and second in the Big East in assists (5.95 per game).

Jackson, a 6-9 power forward, has been Syracuse's most valuable player this season. His 12 double-doubles are twice more than any other player in the Big East, and he ranks first in the conference and fourth in the nation in rebounding (11.7 per game).

Jackson said the Orange will play "with a chip on its shoulder" after losing to Pitt. Jackson has extra motivation, since SU defeated the Wildcats in their only meeting last year after the Orange had lost four of five games to Villanova in the previous two seasons.

"It's not really about those guys [on Villanova], it's more about the city of Philly," Jackson said.

Jardine said the Villanova games have been among the most memorable of his career, and he can't wait for Waiters to experience it for the first time today.

"Growing up in Philly, we all took everything we learned from the city and brought it up here," Jardine said. *