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Message: [QUOTE="Sbucketball, post: 4672413, member: 8555"] Interesting article stating the roster is worse than last year. [URL="https://orangefizz.net/2023/05/syracuses-roster-has-gotten-worse/"]Syracuse's Roster Has Gotten Worse[/URL] I don't think this takes into account that most of our returning guys should improve in the off-season. I also prefer an athletic roster. The center position is the biggest downgrade, and it's unfortunate, but we'll have to see how it plays out. The article also assumes Judah will leave, but now it appears it's trending towards him returning. That's a game-changer. [LIST] [*]Lost Joe -- gained JJ Starling. I personally like this move, although I understand how some could think differently. Starling is an NBA talent who is likely to break through and play like it at some point. JJ is also a good shooter and will likely show it this year, although he obviously won't shoot as well as Joe. The difference in m2m defense should be stark. [*]Lost Jesse -- gained McLeod. To me, this is the only obvious downgrade, but we'll see how it plays out. Jesse may not be as good in m2m anyway. [*]Lost Symir -- gained Kyle Cuffe. I like this move based on athletic potential, but I don't think this moves the needle either way. If Symir stayed, he wouldn't play much. I have no idea if Cuffe will have a big role, but I like the flyer. It's the portal era so we should shed the guys who don't make us much better and take a shot on someone else. Also I'm in the camp of Quadir not losing minutes to Symir, so this might result in him playing more pg. This move either has very little effect, or it's an upgrade if Cuffe comes in and shines. [*]Gained Chance Westry. Westry will be a stud in my opinion. If matched up with losing Symir, this is a huge gain. [*]Lost Bol -- gained William Patterson. This does not affect the roster this year, but I'm glad to use the roster spot to try to develop a freshman with potential instead of holding onto someone who will never play meaningful minutes here going forward. [*]The last roster question is Judah. If he returns, we're in good shape. If he leaves, and you consider Westry his replacement, then it's a downgrade because Judah's our best player; however, we really have no idea how good Westry will be so it's tough to gauge the extent of the downgrade. [*]Quadir, Benny, Maliq, Bell, Taylor -- At least a couple of these guys will make a decent leap, thus improving the roster from within. I'm high on Quadir being really good. Also, Bell and Taylor could be better utilized if coming off the bench to add shooting as compared to playing out of necessity even when not doing certain important things. [*]Hima - I expect he'll learn to foul less and will be a more effective backup, but I'm not sure how much more effective. Hima and McLeod seem a bit similar to me, but we'll see what happens. [*]Carey - still developing, no difference. [*]Lost Boeheim -- gained Autry. It remains to be seen how Red coaches. So far, I like him. I expect the style of play will better match the roster as compared to the last two years. [/LIST] I don't know how we'll be next year. We won't be a great team, but I think recruiting and the roster are trending in the right direction. If Judah returns, it would feel like we're the 5-spot away from having a very high ceiling. The pieces have to gel, the in-game coaching has to work, and it will be a young team, so it will be very difficult to forecast. Also the schedule will be a lot more difficult. This is a team that could surprise a lot of people, but it's also a team that could disappoint. We're heading in the right direction, and have reinforcements coming in 2024. [/QUOTE]

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