CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In the first half against Duke, Zion Williamson appeared to trip over Frank Howard’s right foot. Williamson had just made a bucket and had turned to run back down the court. 

Howard and SU head coach Jim Boeheim were insistent that Howard’s action, which occurred in the Orange’s 84-72 loss to Duke, had no intentionality to it. The senior point guard also dropped a career-high 28 points in Thursday’s game.

“If you said ‘I’m trying to trip him,’ I don’t get it,” Howard said. “I saw the play, I realized I tripped him, and I tried to give him a little hand at the same time.”

The replays show Howard extending a hand, as if to say “my bad” or catch a stumbling Williamson. The freshman forward didn’t completely fall, recovering his footing after two steps.

Boeheim spoke on the supposed incident in his opening statement at the postgame press conference, calling it a “bump.”

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“Trying to manufacture nothing out of something,” Boeheim said of people who believe Howard tried to intentionally trip Williamson.

Howard hasn’t been involved in any such controversy in his four years as part of the Syracuse program. While the ESPN commentators at halftime suggested Howard should’ve been assessed a flagrant two foul for the play, Syracuse’s side didn’t see it as such. Howard said he’d been popping back to try and get the ball while being guarded by a “tough defender” in Tre Jones, and that his focus was just getting open on the play.

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More coverage 

• Syracuse encouraged by positive signs as Zion Williamson leads Duke past SU in ACC tournament
• The Final Word: Beat writer’s discuss Syracuse’s ACC Tournament loss to Duke
• Syracuse’s ACC tournament run ends, Zion Williamson’s return and more takeaways from SU’s 84-72 loss to Duke

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Boeheim and Howard both looked at the replay before entering the postgame presser. Howard had been involved, and Boeheim was about 10 feet away from the action. At the end of their press conference, both reiterated their points.

“I’m not going to wait four years to get to this stage to start tripping people,” Howard said.

And as Boeheim rose to leave the dais, he added: “It’s a joke.”

Published on March 15, 2019 at 12:46 am

Contact Billy: wmheyen@syr.edu | @Wheyen3