What's the worst collection of returning talent in the Boeheim Era?

[JOC44]

If we exclude this year and (possibly) next year, the best (worst) I can come up with is 1996-97, which is basically Burgan, Cipolla, and Hill. Other candidates I thought about were 2000-01, but I think Damone Brown, Shumpert, DeShaun Williams, and Allen Griffin (and, of course, Billy Celuck) were better. I don't count Duany because he hadn't really shown anything as a freshman. I also thought about 1980-81, but we had Schayes, Moss, and Santifer returning.

 

[OttoMets]

2002-2003 looked pretty bad on paper. Warrick, Forth, and Pace had experience but hadn't done a ton; Duany and McNeil were the only others of note.

2007-2008, too: Onuaku had shown flashes but had scored like 3 points a game and hadn't played in a year, Rautins wasn't going to play, Harris, Wright, and Devendorf had been shaky at best.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

If we exclude this year and (possibly) next year, the best (worst) I can come up with is 1996-97, which is basically Burgan, Cipolla, and Hill. Other candidates I thought about were 2000-01, but I think Damone Brown, Shumpert, DeShaun Williams, and Allen Griffin (and, of course, Billy Celuck) were better. I don't count Duany because he hadn't really shown anything as a freshman. I also thought about 1980-81, but we had Schayes, Moss, and Santifer returning.

This year's hoops board with the football board running a close second.

 

[Orange2389]

this years team by a mile

 

[We Are Syracuse]

I'm a Youngin but Roberts, Watkins, and all them were not that good.. I liked them as people but wow, they just couldn't string It together. Nichols had an unreal senior year tho.. One of the more underrated years

 

[bozophobe]

The OP is a good one, but I'm splitting the examples into 2 ideas:

1. how the class turned out
2. expectations going in to that year

By that, I mean the 96-97 team looked pretty good to me going in, despite losing Wallace and Sims. There were some recruiting issues that went bad around that time, I think.

 

[Ghost]

If we're talking offensively...well, you exclude this year so I refuse to vote.

 

[HoustonCuse]

this years team by a mile

I disagree strongly on that. It has to be '02-'03. Warrrick could barely even catch the ball as a frosh and even a national championship and two years later, people were still saying "tomb the mummy" about Forth!

 

[CusefanATL]

this years team by a mile

2003 was worse returning talent than this year. The difference is that Hak was able to step up where Roberson, BJ, and Patterson are lost.

May have something to do with the playing time Hak got as a freshman, but hey I'm not going to say anything about that.

 

[CusefanATL]

I'm a Youngin but Roberts, Watkins, and all them were not that good.. I liked them as people but wow, they just couldn't string It together. Nichols had an unreal senior year tho.. One of the more underrated years

Roberts Watkins and Nichols are the prototype bodies that we want on the back line of the zone. Imagine Warrick with muscle from day 1.

Its a dang shame that those 3 couldn't combine to put it all together. Roberts had the body to score 20 and 10 a night. Watkins could have been the perfect center in the zone.

ugh... that class.

 

[CusefanATL]

also... 2010 was a big worry. rick jackson wasn't exactly trustworthy. Rautins was a streaky shooter who was pretty good, but no star. Kris Jo showed little signs of being legit.

Arinze was our only proven player.

(im tossing out wes in this - but even with him expectations weren't that high)

 

[TexanMark]

The 81-82 team (16-13 2nd rd loss to Bradley in the NIT) was not very good when the season ended but their roster had several very good players (Santifer, Rautins and Bruin). The team lacked depth though.

 

[Dave85]

My favorite team to lose 3 starters having low expectations all season was the 1995-96 team. That was a good year to be Orange!