Game week is here!! We went to our friend from the days we ran the SDSU site for FanSided.com and were lucky enough, to be granted an interview with Kevin Weinheimer. Weinheimer is the Senior Editor of fansided.com’s Syracuse site. He knows a lot about Syracuse this is a quote from his bio:

“Born and raised in the ‘Cuse. My Syracuse roots go all the way back to the early 19th century, where my great grandfather Edmund Dollard coached the Syracuse Men’s Basketball team to the 1918 Helms Foundation National Championship. Until about 10 years ago, he had the highest winning percentage of any basketball coach in Syracuse history. I’ve had 4 generations of my family before me either attend the University or work at it, and every single one of them bleed Orange. I have degrees in both Broadcasting and Electronic Media Communications. I co-founded The Saltine Warriors with my longtime friend as a hobby for us while we were away at college, and now am the editor at InsideTheLoudHouse.com, a member of the fansided sports network.”(Bio)

Q &A With Inside The Loud House

San Diego Sports Domination: After watching Syracuse this preseason which athlete has impressed you the most?

Inside The Loud House: This is a tricky question. The levels of competition in these exhibition games were so low that it is very difficult to gauge talent. Senior James Southerland looked much improved from last season, and senior Brandon Triche continued his good play from last season along with junior CJ Fair. But having lost three players to the NBA and one player to graduation last season, one positive impression I did take away from the exhibitions were the freshman. DaJuan Coleman has incredibly good hands offensively, and should put up good numbers this season for the Orange. Jerami  Grant seemed to be in the flow of things just fine, and although they aren’t freshman, sophomores Michael Carter-Williams and Rakeem Christmas looked impressive taking charge on the court despite getting buried on the bench a little last season. Redshirt freshman Trevor Cooney saw some action last night for the first time this season after having a tonsil operation, and many fans are excited about him because of his shooting ability and his quick release that reminds many Orange faithful of Syracuse legend Gerry McNamara. So in a roundabout way to answer your question, they all have looked how I thought they would to this point, and I am definitely excited to get the season going this weekend to see them play against some real competition.

San Diego Sports Domination: What is the feeling with Syracuse fans about the possibly of bad weather on game day?

Inside The Loud House: This is something that I think is a bigger issue out there for you guys than people in Syracuse. Fans are excited to see the Nike camouflage uniforms and to see the game on the Midway, but if it doesn’t happen Syracuse fans won’t be heartbroken (aside from the fans going to the game of course). The unique atmosphere is definitely something fans out here think is cool, but the hype is more around the start of the season for this team that has such high expectations once again. The SDSU game is definitely more of a gauge for fans on where the team is at instead of the circumstances surrounding the game, and people in the ‘Cuse want our third Big East Championship in four years.

San Diego Sports Domination: With all the East Coast more or less dismissing west coast basketball programs, How serious do they take Fisher’s squad?

Inside The Loud House: When it comes to west coast college basketball, I think it is as simple as east coast fans not having the opportunity to watch west coast teams as often, which results in them getting dismissed. While you guys out there watch Big East basketball while getting ready to go to your game, fans in the east wouldn’t get the chance to watch a west coast team on a weekday unless they want to stay up until midnight or later. Obviously if your name is UCLA and you are good, or if you are a San Diego State team from a few years ago that went undefeated for a long stretch you get noticed. But I think simple viewing restrictions lead to some bias. And lets face it, the vast majority of teams who have been in the thick of things in recent years have not been on the west coast. Eleven of the last twelve national champions have been from the eastern part of the country, with the lone exception being Kansas which is more Midwest than anything.

Having said all of that however, one quality about Syracuse fans that I love is that they are some of the most well informed college basketball fans in the country. They know SDSU is no joke, and also know that if the Orange don’t come ready to play they absolutely could be starting this season 0-1. SDSU has an unbelievably deep team this year and Syracuse will have to come out strong if they want to win.

San Diego Sports Domination: Do you think the travel from the east coast to the west coast will take a toll on Syracuse? 

Inside The Loud House: Brandon Triche is a senior for Syracuse this season and has never played a basketball game in the state of California, so there is definitely an aspect of this team playing out of their element. Aside from preseason tournaments, the Syracuse season usually opens up in the Carrier Dome for much of November and December, so it will be interesting to see how this team will respond to playing out west with all its newcomers. I have to lean towards no though to this question just because of everything surrounding this game. Two top 25 teams playing each other on an aircraft carrier to open the season should keep these players focused on the task at hand, and I don’t think the travel will be much of an issue.

We hope that you enjoyed our interview with Inside The Loud House. If you would like to read our full preview of the game you may do so by clicking here. Make sure you are following @SanDiego_Sports for update information about San Diego State and other San Diego sports. We also want to thank @SaltineWarriors (Inside The Loud House) for conducting this interview with us!

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