Paul Carcaterra, a former All-American midfielder at Syracuse, is now an analyst for ESPN after working for CBS College Sports. This is the second of a two-part conversation in which Carcaterra shared his thoughts on the general lacrosse landscape as the 2010 campaign hits its midpoint.
Question: What's been the most surprising development thus far?
Paul Carcaterra: "It was probably Duke's lack of success. Early in the season, they came off beating Team USA in the preseason, they had virtually the whole team back in guys like [senior attackman Ned] Crotty and [senior midfielder Steve] Schoeffel and [senior midfielder Mike] Catalino and one of the nation's best scorers in [senior attackman] Max Quinzani, a great defense in [senior defenseman Parker] McKee and [sophomore long-stick midfielder C.J.] Costabile and [junior defenseman Mike] Manley. Those guys are complete studs. The other part of that is that might actually help them down the road because over the last four or five years, it seemed like Duke was the team to beat and the pressure was on them. Now, they may be able to sneak up into the tournament. That's not going to be a team that I would want to play because now they don't have pressure."
Q: What player or team has exceeded your preseason expectations?
PC: "[Junior midfielder] Jeremy Thompson from Syracuse. He's fantastic. The kid faces off, he's an exceptional shooter, he can play defense, he feeds the ball well. With the box [lacrosse] background, a lot of people thinks he's just one-handed, but he has a great left hand. Also, [sophomore attackman] Chris Bocklet down in Virginia and [attackman] Matt White, the freshman. Those two guys have really turned it on as of late. Bocklet filled in Garrett Billings' right-hand spot, and he also gave them another dimension because he shoots the ball incredibly well from the outside. That's exactly what that offense needs. Everyone focuses in on the Brattons [Shamel and Rhamel] and [senior midfielder Brian] Carroll, and he gets those opportunities – inside and out – on that right-hand side, and he's leading the team in goals. White is very poised for a young kid on attack."
Q: Would it be fair to say that Virginia, Syracuse and North Carolina have separated themselves from the rest of the field?
PC: "I think on paper, they have, but I don't think from a talent standpoint, there's much of a drop-off from those three and the next two or three schools. You've got to throw Duke in there. I'm telling you that this is a team where if they're clicking, look out. Crotty, Quinzani, [sophomore midfielder] Justin Turri, Schoeffel, that defense. If that goalie can save 55 percent of his shots and their offense is clicking, I don't want to play that team. Maryland, I think, has some questions. On paper, those three teams have separated themselves, but I think there's two or three other schools that could definitely be clumped in there."
Q: What four teams have the inside track to making the Final Four?
PC: "Syracuse, Virginia, North Carolina and Duke."
Q: Who are the top players at the attack, midfield, defense and goalie positions thus far?
PC: "In the goal, it's [Syracuse junior] John Galloway. The combination of saves, clears, leadership – I don't even have to look at his statistics. I just watch the way the kid plays and the impact he has on the game. I think he's the best. The top defender as of right now? [Junior Ryan] Flanagan down at North Carolina is certainly pretty good. He chewed up Crotty. He's a stud. [North Carolina senior Sean] DeLaney at midfield. I know he might be injured and we don't know the extent of it, but he's been the guy. He's leading the team in points. As a midfielder, he's got 20 goals and eight assists. At attack, I think [North Carolina junior Billy] Bitter has a lot of pieces to the puzzle in terms of guys stepping up to take the pressure off of him. [Sophomore attackman Rob] Pannell up at Cornell is tops. He's awesome. He's top-five in the country in points, he's a total quarterback, and I think when you game-plan for Cornell – because [Max] Seibald is gone and [John] Glynn is gone and Rocco Romero was great as a senior as well – he is the marked man, and he's still doing very well."