Syracuse Orange Basketball Details
For the first time in a decade, Jim Boeheim’s Syracuse Orange basketball team won’t have a senior on its roster. The last time this happened was back in 2007-08, when the team was led by Paul Harris and Jonny Flynn. In fact, the 2017-18 season will see just a single upperclassman – junior guard Frank Howard – and a bevy of freshman and sophomores. After a disappointing 2016-17 campaign, one that saw the Orange finish 7th in the ACC, recording a 19-15 record, and missing the NCAA tourney, youth will be welcomed. A year removed from a 15-16 season that included a tournament run into the National Semifinals, Syracuse needed a spark from its roster that it didn’t ever get. The Orange faithful will hope that the 17-18 season turns out much better.
Returning starter Taurean Thompson will be an important leader for Syracuse despite being just a sophomore. Thompson averaged 9.2 points and 3.8 rebounds in his first collegiate season. In the backcourt will be second-year starter Tyus Battle, who averaged 11.3 points in his freshman season last year. Look for incoming freshmen Bourama Sidibe, Oshae Brissett, Slovakian forward Marek Dolezaj, and Harold Washington to make immediate impacts on this young roster.
The youngest roster of coach Boeheim’s tenure will certainly go through some growing pains, especially in a tough ACC conference that includes the North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils, but the team that plays its home games in the Carrier Dome has the potential to be something special in the future.