I just glanced at their roster. They lose Gbinije and Cooney. Starters, scorers and main ball handlers.
Coleman is listed as a senior but he missed last year. Did he qualify for a redshirt? If he returns, they may not be totally awful. Not that he is great, but he looks like he could break out - sort of like the Plumlees seem to do in their final year. Without him they're not only short-handed but short.
One of the mock drafts shows Malachi Richardson leaving this year. Their other top scorer. I doubt it, but who knows? Is it smarter to go now after a nice year where people could see your upside? Would returning to play on a mediocre team that probably won't make the tournament help or hurt your draft status?
They have 2 decent 4-star replacements coming in but they are, after all, freshmen. Are there any transfers or redshirts?
Who will handle the point? Neither of the frosh is a PG. Joseph hardly played at all this season and struggled when he did. Maybe Howard?
With the sanctions, I assume Boeheim doesn't have much recruiting flexibility to bring in grad students or JC players.
Of course if both Coleman and Richardson stay, if the frosh are ready to play, and if Howard or Joseph or someone else steps up at point, they could be good. One of the benefits of playing zone is that it's easier for the freshmen to learn. And they have a good coach. But that's a lot of IFs.
I'm glad they made it to the Final Four. It may be all the joy they'll have for a while. Showing they can get that far with what was, let's admit it, a decent but not-overly-impressive, short-handed roster will probably help Boeheim with recruiting, but he will still have a short bench.
Even though Gbinije was not a big star, it was nice to see him have a solid career at Syracuse after K threw him under the bus. They could have used him this year, but K threw him away. He went to the Final Four and Duke didn't. A little frosting on Gbinije's cake.
Coleman is listed as a senior but he missed last year. Did he qualify for a redshirt? If he returns, they may not be totally awful. Not that he is great, but he looks like he could break out - sort of like the Plumlees seem to do in their final year. Without him they're not only short-handed but short.
One of the mock drafts shows Malachi Richardson leaving this year. Their other top scorer. I doubt it, but who knows? Is it smarter to go now after a nice year where people could see your upside? Would returning to play on a mediocre team that probably won't make the tournament help or hurt your draft status?
They have 2 decent 4-star replacements coming in but they are, after all, freshmen. Are there any transfers or redshirts?
Who will handle the point? Neither of the frosh is a PG. Joseph hardly played at all this season and struggled when he did. Maybe Howard?
With the sanctions, I assume Boeheim doesn't have much recruiting flexibility to bring in grad students or JC players.
Of course if both Coleman and Richardson stay, if the frosh are ready to play, and if Howard or Joseph or someone else steps up at point, they could be good. One of the benefits of playing zone is that it's easier for the freshmen to learn. And they have a good coach. But that's a lot of IFs.
I'm glad they made it to the Final Four. It may be all the joy they'll have for a while. Showing they can get that far with what was, let's admit it, a decent but not-overly-impressive, short-handed roster will probably help Boeheim with recruiting, but he will still have a short bench.
Even though Gbinije was not a big star, it was nice to see him have a solid career at Syracuse after K threw him under the bus. They could have used him this year, but K threw him away. He went to the Final Four and Duke didn't. A little frosting on Gbinije's cake.
