Kueth Duany’s ears can perk to it by now, that nasally scream from the sideline.

Every game, it seems, Duany hears Syracuse men’s basketball head coach Jim Boeheim yell his name: ‘Kuuueth!’ It’s an unmistakable shriek, usually accompanied by Boeheim cupping his hands around his mouth, often prompted by a Duany mistake.

Last night, though, in the No. 15 Orangemen’s 89-51 win over West Virginia, Boeheim yelled Duany’s name once, as the fifth-year senior scored 18 points, his most since Jan. 8, when he dropped 20 on Seton Hall.

But Duany swears he heard two Boeheim screeches.

‘I think it was twice for defensive purposes,’ Duany said. ‘I don’t think he’d feel complete if he didn’t yell at me.’

Said Boeheim: ‘Defensively, Kueth had his best game.’

Indeed, Duany shut down WVU’s Drew Schifino, holding the guard to 4-of-18 shooting for 10 points.

‘That was my pinpoint,’ Duany said, ‘to guard Schifino and slow him down, basically be in his face every time he got the ball.’

But Duany, whose SU career is marked more by scrappy defense than flashy offense, found his shot early, scoring the Orangemen’s first five points, en route to a team-high 13 by halftime. As SU’s main scoring options struggled — forward Carmelo Anthony scored his first point 8:07 into the first half — Duany kept the Orangemen close before they blew the game open.

‘He didn’t think about (shooting),’ SU guard Billy Edelin said. ‘Sometimes, when he misses his first couple early, he starts getting upset.’

Duany, who’s fourth on SU with 12.3 points per game, found a different explanation for his quick start.

‘They left me open,’ he said with a smile. ‘That’s what happened.’

On a Syracuse team rife with scoring threats (see: Anthony, guard Gerry McNamara and forward Hakim Warrick), opponents often forget Duany. Though he’s six points shy of 1,000 for his career, he admitted, ‘I’ve never been known as a scorer.’

Still, Duany takes his offensive game seriously. He’s the first Orangeman on the floor at every practice, honing his jump shot with assistant coach Troy Weaver. He’s bristled at the notion that he needs extra help with his shot and has said, ‘I’ve always been able to shoot.’

When asked last night whether he feels opponents don’t respect his offensive game enough, Duany shrugged and said, ‘Maybe. But I’ve killed a lot of teams, so they can continue to disrespect me.’

Duany’s teammates revere him, if for nothing else than the constant verbal abuse he takes from Boeheim. The coach reserved a V.I.P. suite in his doghouse for Duany since the day the 6-foot-6 guard arrived on campus, though Duany said he’s not sure why.

‘Of course, nobody likes to get screamed and hollered at,’ Duany said. ‘But I’ve accepted it. That’s the way it’s always been.’

Said Warrick: ‘I’ve learned a lot from Kueth. Coach gets on me a lot, but I know it’s not half as bad as him.’

Boeheim’s shrieks toughened Duany for late-game situations, said SU assistant coach Mike Hopkins, who works with the Orangemen’s guards.

‘(Duany’s) one of those guys,’ Hopkins said, ‘who, if things aren’t going well, he’ll work harder.’

Said McNamara: ‘He puts up with a lot from Coach, but he responds to it.’

So as Duany stripped the tape off his ankles last night, he paused for a moment, perhaps thinking how quiet the court seemed. No shrieks or screams. Barely a holler. Just a lot of open space.

‘I got some real easy looks tonight,’ Duany said, ‘and I knocked them down.’

Easy? Well, on his ears. At least for a night.

Published on February 26, 2003 at 12:00 pm