Syracuse, NY – It is rare for a basketball player to chuck a tooth during a game, but when it does, it usually means a trip to the locker room.
That’s exactly where Marek Dolezaj thought he was going after losing a piece of his front tooth during the final minute of Syracuse’s 74-69 victory over Georgetown on Saturday.
However, the 1.8-meter-high striker returned to attack the court in a movement that exuded strength and durability. If there were spectators in the stands of the Carrier Dome, he would almost certainly have received an explosion of applause and applause.
But the decision to return to the game did not rest with Dolezaj. That verdict was determined by his coach, Jim Boeheim.
Boeheim said during his post-game virtual press conference that he sent his six-foot forward back into the game because he was too valuable to finish at that point. Orange had a 72-65 lead at that point and Boeheim didn’t want to risk losing another game, as he did with Pittsburgh on Wednesday.
“He was going to the locker room, but I stopped him,” said Boeheim. “I said, ‘You just hurt your tooth. You didn’t hurt anything else. Come on.’ He is very important to us. We need him there against the pressure and with the ball, so yes, he resisted. “
Dolezaj received an elbow from Georgetown striker Jamorko Pickett at 1:00 in the second half. When Pickett managed to grab a rebound, he hit the only Orange player who had not been replaced until that time.
Within seconds, Dolezaj returned to finish the game after being checked by Syracuse coach Brad Pike. He ended up with an almost double-double in 40 minutes of action against Georgetown, scoring 11 points and nine rebounds to go along with an assist and a steal.
Joe Girard, who scored 18 points and had the record for the season with eight assists, admitted never having seen anyone break a tooth on the basketball court. He saw it happen on the football field – he played as a defender at Glens Falls High School for three years.
“Yes, it was crazy,” said Girard. “I saw two things divided on the floor and said, ‘Hey, is that a tooth?’ and I looked up and saw Marek running into the locker room and I knew it right there.
“I know that Marek is difficult. He’s a lot tougher than you think just looking at him. He will fight anything. We were confident that he would come back and I think it was great that the coach didn’t let him back in the locker room because we need him and he makes really good plays at the end of the game. “
Girard also mocked his teammate on Twitter after the game.
“I KNOW SOMEONE HAS TO MAKE A MAREK SHIRT WITH HALF A TOOTH missing !! SOMEONE PLEASE !! ”Girard said.
Dolezaj joked back: ‘People don’t even try to do that! Tooth RIP ‘
Syracuse’s 96th battle with Georgetown on Saturday had all the ingredients for a classic rivalry: a straight game, two prominent coaches and a little blood.
“It was just an accidental move,” said Boeheim. “In the old days, it could have been on purpose. This was accidental. “
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