Syracuse, N.Y. -- Whether he's catching a pass or grabbing a rebound, when Syracuse center Paschal Chukwu gets the ball, he's usually surrounded by opposing players.
Those players often try to strip the ball away from the 7-foot-2 Chukwu.
Too often last season, Chukwu provided an easy target. He would get a rebound and then hold the ball out where it could be swiped, swatted or stolen by a defender.
During the Orange's workouts this fall, Syracuse assistant coach Allen Griffin came up with a motivational technique straight out of the baseball movie "Major League.''
In the movie, a character named Willie Mays Hayes, a light-hitting speedster who liked to swing for the fences, was made to do pushups every time he hit the ball in the air.