It should be no surprise that Syracuse’s best performances have come when the Orange gets good guard play. We’ve only been talking about that all season. Saturday in an upset over Florida State, John Gillon was fantastic. Sure, he made some mistakes, I think he could have moved the ball a bit more towards the end of the game, but he played under control and limited turnovers. Further more, Gillon dished the ball all game, raking up 11 assists and putting teammates in a position to score a number of other times.

Almost as important as anything Gillon did in the first 35 minutes, he looked comfortable with the ball in his hands at the end of the game. He was more than willing to be the guy to go to the free throw line, and was confident he’d knock down the shots to continue extending the SU lead. Gillon scored the last 13 points of the game for Syracuse, and 13 of the last 18 overall in the game.

Gillon stepped up and decided he was feeling confident, and he was going to be the guy on the line at the end of the game. And he came up big when he put himself on the line. Gillon was in a groove, and kept the ball in his own hands.

Throughout the entire game, though, Gillon played the role that had been hoped of him all season. He was a distributer. Knocked down a couple threes when the moment was right. And for the most part, made the best play available for the team.

Now, if Gillon can continue to play the way he did on Saturday, the Orange may really have something. He doesn’t need to scored 21 points every game, not by any means. But if he can give 10, along with 8-10 assists or more, the Orange will be in a much better position as a team. The best teams in college basketball are the ones that get consistent guard play. Look around the nation.

Gillon needs to pace the offense, which he did today. He needs to get the ball to Andrew White and Tyler Lydon the ball in positions to score and be effective on the offensive end.

Defensively, the Orange needs Gillon to be a disrupter. He had just 1 steal, but was active on the defensive side, especially in the first half.

If he continues to play floor general the way he did on Saturday, the Orange’s faint tournament hopes could get brighter and brighter.