Syracuse, NY -- Some Syracuse basketball players took the opportunity on Thursday to break in their new shoes, sent by Nike for Sunday's Battle on the Midway game in San Diego.

The No. 9 Orange plays No. 20 San Diego State at 4 p.m ET on the flight deck of the retired USS Midway. To commemorate the game, Nike has made special camouflage uniforms and shoes for Syracuse players. The sporting goods giant has also made camo uniforms for other teams participating in military-themed games this Veterans Day weekend.

Of the recruited scholarship players, only Dajuan Coleman and Baye Moussa Keita wore the shoes for practice. Coleman said he liked the look and the feel of them. Rakeem Christmas started the practice with the new shoes, but quickly switched into the pair he had already stashed at the Melo Center.

Basketball equipment manager Dan Schworles was in possession of the mystery camo uniforms, but said they were packed and will not be displayed until Sunday's game.

Players have been inquiring about them. None said they had seen them.

The Orange is scheduled to leave for San Diego on Friday.

How will an outdoor venue affect a jump shot? -- James Southerland, who shot an insane 8-for-9 from 3-point range in SU's two exhibitions, has not pondered the possibility that the faintest whiff of a breeze could alter the trajectory of his jump shot on the outdoor USS Midway court.

When asked about it, SU's senior forward said "I'm not really worried about it. I played in the park plenty of times growing up in New York City. We're just going to go from there."

He hasn't considered how the angle of the sun during a game that will now be played at 1 p.m. PT might factor into shooting the basketball, either. And Southerland admits, like most of his teammates, that his days of shooting outside have vanished since he arrived in college.

SU coach Jim Boeheim said earlier in the week the 1 p.m. game would allow for warmer temperatures during the contest. And it presumably would eliminate any condensation from accumulating on the playing surface.

Rakeem Christmas watched the Carrier Classic in San Diego last year and had some concerns about playing at night after watching a player slip during the game.

"I was just wondering about people falling because of the mist," Christmas said. "(Michigan State's) Branden Dawson fell. But I was figuring they'd fixed that by now."



-Donna

dditota@syracuse.com

315-470-2208