"He grew up in Texas and spent his first two collegiate seasons at Iowa State, but Wes Johnson didn't need to know exactly where he was when he arrived with the Timberwolves in Syracuse late Wednesday night.

The lady at the hotel told him.

"First thing she said was, 'Welcome home,''' he said. "And it feels just like that."

Johnson and Jonny Flynn came home to Syracuse and the spacious Carrier Dome for Friday's 99-88 preseason victory over Detroit, even if Flynn watched all night because of his healing hip.

He did, however, wear his game uniform and sit on the bench, which, considering the circumstances, could have become a dangerous proposition.

"They might need to put a seatbelt on the bench," Flynn said before the game. "You never know, I might just jump out there."

He never did despite all the temptations on a night when Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim sat courtside with his arms folded or his hands clasped and watched the two players who starred for his team in consecutive seasons.

"That was good," said Johnson, who started the game and had four points, three assists and two steals in 21 minutes.

"Usually he's saying something, yelling my name, 'Weeesss-leeey.' It was a good feeling not having him yelling at me."

Flynn delivered that unforgettable ironman performance in a six-overtime Big East tournament victory over Connecticut in March 2009, a night that just might have caused him to leave school after his sophomore season and convinced the Wolves to draft him sixth overall three months later.

Flynn departed and Johnson stepped forth in his first and only season at Syracuse and led the school to a Big East regular-season title. He also carried it back to the NCAA Sweet 16 as Flynn had done the season before and won a school-record 28 games.

"Everywhere I look out on that court, there are memories," Flynn said. "That corner, this spot here. Great memories.""