Braedon Bayer is Syracuse’s season in human form
When Frank Howard fouled out of Syracuse’s showdown with Michigan State, down four and with over seven minutes left to play, things looked pretty bleak. Syracuse’s big men Paschal Chukwu and Bourama Sidibe were racking up fouls early, and they seemed like they were the ones who needed to be focused on to avoid fouling out. Frank Howard erased these thoughts by racking up his fourth and fifth fouls just seconds apart, leaving Syracuse without one of their biggest stars, and one of their biggest point producers on a team that has struggled all season to score points.
In order to win, it was obvious what Syracuse had to do. Someone on the team had to step up, take over, and be the hero of the game. Would it be Tyus Battle, the Orange’s leading scorer and best NBA prospect? Would it be the freshman, Oshae Brissett, who is in the middle of one of the best freshman campaigns for a Syracuse player in recent memory? Would it be Marek Dolezaj, who was finally finding himself on the offensive side of the game and in the midst of one of his best games in his collegiate career?
The answers are no, no, and no.
Enter Braedon Bayer, Syracuse walk on extraordinaire, and the hero of our story. A Division III transfer from Grinnell College, Bayer was awarded a scholarship after Geno Thorpe left down in the middle of the season. Bayer had a very impressive resume so far this year, appearing in eight games and totaling just over eleven minutes of game time.
Bayer didn’t just go out there to be a warm body. Bayer recorded one steal and one block, which was on Michigan State’s biggest star, Miles Bridges. Nothing like denying a future NBA lottery pick on the grandest stage of them all. Bayer wasn’t a defensive weakness, he ran the point pretty well, and most importantly of all, he didn’t do anything stupid or costly. Hell, he didn’t even seem nervous about being suddenly thrust into the biggest game of his life. He appeared cool, calm and collected in the face of danger, just like any hero would.
Bayer showed some high basketball IQ by fouling Michigan State’s Cassius Winston with three seconds left at exactly the right moment. Had he been off and fouled Winston in the act of shooting, it would have been one of those stupid or costly things mentioned earlier.
There was a nice moment after the game where Bayer was the man to advance Syracuse into the Sweet 16, taking the sticker and advancing it forward. Bayer’s coming out party was poetic. It was like something out of a storybook. Bayer is a human embodiment of this Syracuse team, this team of GRITTY UNDERDOGS.
It’s safe to say that Syracuse fans don’t want to see Bayer again tomorrow against Duke, but at least they know their fate is in competent hands if it comes to that.
