What does next year hold for Syracuse?
WORCESTER, Mass. – This wasn’t how things were supposed to go for Syracuse.
The Orange had a veteran team that included key holdovers from their 2003 national championship team. To go with that, they have a very promising sophomore class, and despite some periods where the Orange were either non-descript or just plain struggling, they came into the NCAA Tournament poised to make another run. They had won the Big East Tournament and were improving in the rebounding department, a source of concern at times this season because the Orange had not lost a game when they outrebounded an opponent (until Friday night).
So now the Orange are out in the first round. The careers of starters Hakim Warrick, Josh Pace and Craig Forth are over. The talent will be there, as will experience, but what can we expect next season?
As long as head coach Jim Boeheim has some talent, the Orange will be contenders in the Big East and a force to be reckoned with nationally. The 2-3 zone will continue to stifle teams, and Boeheim knows how to recruit players who can fit in that scheme. But next season, they will enter with a few more questions than in some seasons, even with all that they will still have going for them.
What can we make of the sophomore class? Demetris Nichols, Terrence Roberts, Darryl Watkins and Louie McCroskey are plenty talented. All came to the school as highly-touted recruits, and they haven’t lost any of their talent. Each has certainly shown flashes of their potential in two years; Nichols showed some of it Friday night in the first half, when he came in and hit two three-pointers to bring life to a struggling offense in the early going. Together, they can comprise a solid core capable of winning a lot of games, but they need to develop consistency once more is needed from them next season.
What to make of Billy Edelin? His story is one of the real mysteries of college basketball. His career has been marked by controversy and personal issues, which Boeheim won’t discuss; Edelin did not travel to Worcester with the team. When he has been on the court, Edelin has been a good player; he was a key ingredient of the 2003 championship run.
The freshman class has some talent, but on this veteran team, they didn’t get many minutes and will still be somewhat unproven next year. Even more mysteriously, Dayshawn Wright did not travel with the team to Worcester and Josh Wright did not play in Friday’s game.
The first round exit was unexpected, but it doesn’t diminish another fine season for the Orange and Boeheim. They won a Big East championship along the way and were a force to be reckoned with. Next year should be more of the same, at the very least, as the talent is certainly there and a few key players have another year of experience. Whether or not it will develop to reach its full potential will be the open question.
