Orangeyes Daily Articles for Friday for Basketball

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SU News

Our Syracuse basketball predictions: How will Orange fare in 2019-20 season? (PS; Staff)

The 2019-20 Syracuse basketball season opens Wednesday, Nov. 6, with the Orange’s game against defending champion Virginia.

That means it’s time for our staff predictions. Feel free to hop in the comments and offer your own predictions. Just remember, we’re going to come back and take a look at these at the end of the season.

The panel

Brent Axe, video and audio engagement

Chris Carlson, sports reporter

Donna Ditota, SU basketball reporter

Mike Waters, SU basketball reporter

Regular-season record

Brent Axe: 22-10. Even with the benefit of the Italy trip and added preseason work, this team is going to take some time to gel with four new faces in the starting lineup. When it does, watch out. I think you will see one of the fastest, high-scoring teams Syracuse has had in years. Jim Boeheim knows what kind of talent he is sitting on, he just has to point them in the right direction and watch it come together slowly but surely.

Chris Carlson: 19-12. Syracuse will spend yet another year residing on the NCAA Tournament bubble. As has been the case frequently in recent years, the tough ACC schedule should provide the Orange plenty of chances for big wins, and SU will get just enough to squeak into the NCAA Tournament field.

Donna Ditota: 21-10. It’s hard to predict what Syracuse will do this season. There are so many new and malleable parts. Syracuse could finish better than 7th in a fairly watered-down ACC. Or it could finish lower than that. The league isn’t as good as past years and the Orange will benefit from that.

Mike Waters: 20-11. I think the non-conference slate is more critical than the ACC portion of the schedule because of SU’s youth and inexperience. The Orange must grab a few tough wins early on. If SU can get to New Year’s Eve in good shape, I think the Orange can go .500 or even 11-9 in the conference.

Most important player

Brent Axe: Elijah Hughes. Every team needs a leader, and Hughes is clearly the guy who fits that role. He’ll play the most minutes, be counted to lead the team in scoring and have the ball in his hands when the game matters.

Chris Carlson: Quincy Guerrier. Much like departed forward Oshae Brissett, Guerrier is Syracuse’s best bet to compensate for weaknesses that can’t be filled anywhere else on the roster. Brissett was up and down. Not coincidentally, so was Syracuse.
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Can a new-look Syracuse basketball offense challenge an always-tough Virginia defense? (PS; Ditota)

The practice phase of Syracuse’s basketball schedule ended Tuesday when Carleton visited the Carrier Dome for the final exhibition game of the 2019-20 season.

With Virginia set to bring its 2019 national championship program to the Dome next week, the sobering reality of the new season is upon us.

Next week, Syracuse will need to solve what has become an age-old ACC question:

How to score on Virginia.

The Cavaliers finished eighth nationally last season in effective field goal percentage defense (kenpom.com) and third in 3-point field goal percentage defense. Virginia’s brand of man-to-man defense has been a heralded, unwavering trait under Tony Bennett.

Syracuse players who have faced that defense describe why the Cavaliers make it so difficult to score:

Marek Dolezaj: “Best defense in the NCAA. They’re always locked in. It’s really hard to get inside. They’re physical. They help a lot.”

Elijah Hughes: “Their length, they know the personnel, who they’re guarding. Very disciplined. The help side is always there. They make it hard for dribble gaps.”

Buddy Boeheim: “They’re everywhere. They have length, they are really strong defenders, really good defensive team – the best defensive team I thought we played last year.”
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Syracuse Basketball: 2019-20 season preview for the Orange (bustingbrackets.com; DiSturco)

With key players gone from last season’s team, will Syracuse Basketball be good enough for another NCAA Tournament appearance?

High expectations were set for an experienced Syracuse team fresh off a surprise Sweet 16 appearance. Tyus Battle and Oshae Brissett returned for another year. Marek Dolezaj broke out as a technically sound forward. Even Frank Howard entered his senior season as the leader of the offense. It looked as if Jim Boeheim had arguably his deepest roster, especially when adding transfer sharpshooter Elijah Hughes and highly-touted guard Jalen Carey to the mix.

Quickly, however, the Orange struggled in nonconference play. They lost to Connecticut and Oregon in back-to-back games at Madison Square Garden. Old Dominion came into the Carrier Dome and shocked SU just one game removed from a Battle buzzer-beater.

A blowout loss to Buffalo meant back-to-back losses in nonconference play for the first time since 1975. The Syracuse offense sputtered more than expected. Brissett’s shooting took a dip, and the once-projected lottery pick was anything but.

Atlantic Coast Conference play offered SU an opportunity to fight its way into the NCAA Tournament. Two straight wins against lesser opponents in Notre Dame and Clemson was followed by another shocking home loss — this time to Georgia Tech.

With the season in despair, the Orange went into Cameron Indoor Stadium and upset No. 1 Duke on the road. The rest of ACC play consisted of ups and downs, with SU barely doing enough to sneak into the NCAA Tournament.

Just days before Syracuse’s matchup with Baylor, it was announced that Howard would be suspended. The point guard failed a drug test and left SU without a starter and, more importantly, a four-year veteran. The Orange’s season would end on March 21 at the hands of the Bears.

Battle and Brissett both declared for the NBA Draft shortly thereafter. Howard and Paschal Chukwu graduated. With just one starter returning — Hughes — SU will boast a young but talented roster in the 2019-20 season. Included in the mix is Top 100 recruit Brycen Goodine and highly-touted Canadian prospect Quincy Guerrier.
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Syracuse’s Freshmen Are the Key to the 2019-20 Season – Orange Fizz – Free Syracuse Recruiting News (orangefizz.net; Raucci)

Quincy Guerrier, Brycen Goodine, Joe Girard III, Jesse Edwards and John Bol Ajak make up the largest incoming freshman class for Syracuse since 2013 when Tyler Ennis, B.J. Johnson, Chinonso Obokoh, Ron Patterson and Tyler Roberson started their careers in Central New York.

Despite the extensive research into their games, their skills, their weaknesses, the five newbies are still relative unknowns. How are they going to adjust to the physicality and pace to the college game? How are they going to mesh with the existing team and players?

Parts of those questions were answered in the exhibition wins against Daemen and Carleton, but others still remain for this group. Whatever the answers may be, it’s quickly becoming clear that by sheer volume alone and because of some situational circumstances, this set of first-years’ success or failures are going to be the key to this season for SU.

Who Is the Second Scoring Option?

There’s not even a seedling of doubt about who the go-to guy is for Syracuse this season. The question now is who is going to be the Robin to Elijah Hughes’ Batman. Compared to last year when Tyus Battle was the clear number one option and Oshae Brissett was the clear number two (at least in terms of who SU wanted to get the ball to), there isn’t that clear delineation from Hughes to someone else for the 2019-20 season.

Some are waiting for that guy to emerge as the season begins to unfold, but I’m not sure there is that clear number two scorer on the roster. Maybe it’s Buddy Boeheim, but if he has an off shooting night, then much of his scoring ability goes out the window. Others want to see a big step from Jalen Carey or perhaps a breakout season for Marek Dolezaj, but I’m of the belief that the number two spot is going to be a scoring-by-committee situation. That means that on any given night, one of the freshmen may have to step up and fill that scoring role. Girard may have to get hot from distance. Guerrier may have to channel his inner Oshae. Goodine may have to use his athleticism to get to the bucket. But if none of the vets are getting it done and the freshmen are still trying to work out the kinks and aren’t playing up to their potential in conference play, then Syracuse could be in serious trouble. Elijah Hughes is really, really good, but one man does not make a team.
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Syracuse basketball has a huge chip on its shoulder in 2019 (itlh; Esden Jr)

Syracuse basketball has a huge chip on its shoulder heading into 2019-20. Here’s what some of the players and coaches are using as motivation.

Four new starters are assimilating themselves into the Syracuse basketball lineup. Experts are predicting the Orange to be nothing more than a middling team in 2019-20.

Players have noticed the headlines, articles, and predictions that are floating out there.

Freshman center Jesse Edwards who is originally from the Netherlands says that’s all the bulletin board material the Orange need to stay motivated this season:

“For me, people not believing in us is bulletin board material man. Also for a lot of the guys in the locker room. As freshmen I think we’re talented, but none of us have ever been there so we have to prove it.”

“Prove it”, a very interesting choice of words from the talented big man. Notice in the post-game presser after the Daemen game, Jim Boeheim said something similar at the podium:

“Everyone on our team has a lot of work to do. There’s a reason people on the outside don’t think we’re very good. We have to get better to prove hopefully that all those people were wrong.”
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THE BIG COUNTDOWN: Predicting the starting lineup (streakingthelawwn.com; Guttman)

As you certainly know, the Virginia Basketball team will look very different this year. Gone are a combined 142 starts from last season (out of a total of 190). Almost 60% of the team’s minutes must be replaced, along with almost 70% of the scoring.

The most common starting five for the Hoos last year was Kihei Clark, Ty Jerome, Kyle Guy, De’Andre Hunter and Jack Salt. Four of those guys are gone. By the end of the season, Mamadi Diakite had replaced Salt in the starting lineup, but that still leaves three spots to replace.

That lineup includes a PG, three wings and a big. Yes, Ty Jerome is a PG, but only one of he and Kihei were running the offense at a time, and defensively, Jerome was usually guarding a wing. That does not mean the lineup will be the same this year. At times in his tenure, Tony has started two bigs (Jack Salt and Isaiah Wilkins, for example). And that appears to be the case this year.

There are three givens: Clark, Diakite and Braxton Key. That’s PG, a big, and a wing. Key is actually listed on the official roster as a guard. Remember, Key led the team in last year. Let’s take a quick look at those three.

Kihei Clark

After starting 20 games as a true freshman, it’d be shocking if Kihei Clark isn’t in the starting lineup this year. He’s going to have to do more, to include running the offense, scoring, and being a team leader. He’s the only natural PG on the roster.

Mamadi Diakite

Diakite might be the best player on the team. He’s got a chance to move into 2nd all-time in blocks for the Hoos (he’s currently 30 behind Chris Alexander). He could be the first player to have more career blocks than Ralph Sampson had as a freshman (41 behind). He also showed off a new and improved three point shot, draining three in the Blue-White scrimmage.
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The ACC’s Non-Conference Scheduling for 2019-20 (bloggingthebracket.com; Dobbertean)

For all of the posts in this series, visit the 2019-20 Non-Conference Scheduling Hub.

Warning: Tables may not appear optimally when viewing on a mobile device.

Ranking The Teams

ACC Four-Year Ranking
Team4-Year Ranking2018-19 RankingRanking Change

Virginia	1	2	1
Duke	3	4	1
North Carolina	4	5	1
Louisville	12	14	2
Florida State	16	26	10
Virginia Tech	19	49	30
Clemson	22	29	7
Syracuse	39	46	7
Miami	44	23	-21
Notre Dame	45	20	-25
NC State	47	59	12
Georgia Tech	97	85	-12
Wake Forest	101	69	-32
Boston College	110	121	11
Pittsburgh	111	109	-2
Average	44.73333333	44.06666667	-0.6666666667
Conference Rank	2nd of 32	(2nd in 2018-19)

Not surprisingly, the defending national champions top both the ACC and national four-year ranking tables. It also isn’t a surprise that two of their rivals join them in the top national four, as Virginia, Duke, and UNC all ranked in the top five last season. However, the bottom of the conference still has work to do if the ACC is to catch up to the top-ranked Big 12. Last season, only two league members—Boston College and Pittsburgh—sat outside of the top 100 nationally. Heading into 2019-20, Wake Forest joined them, with Georgia Tech sitting 97th. Otherwise, more ACC teams rank in the top 50 (11) than the Big 12 has members total (10).

Ranking The Schedules

ACC Non-Conference Schedule Ranking
Average Schedule Strength Ranking 2019-20Average Schedule Strength Ranking 2018-19Team (* = number of TBD bracketed games)Average Schedule Strength 2019-20

7	12	North Carolina**	306.5340909
42	32	Duke*	256.4545455
94	270	Georgia Tech**	235.25
95	269	Wake Forest**	234.875
111	148	Florida State*	228.25
113	307	Miami (Fla.)**	228.075
118	121	Syracuse*	226.2159091

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While the Orange only leave the state of New York once during non-conference play (and again, you could level similar criticisms against many of Syracuse’s ACC rivals and other Power 7 teams), there is plenty of intrigue on a slate that has potential to be far better than the four-year rankings indicate. But again, this another mid-tier ACC schedule that will require some things to break right for it positively affect Syracuse’s season. While the NIT Season Tip-Off field doesn’t include any surefire NCAA squads, all three of the Orange’s potential opponents could make the field, as could Big Ten Challenge foe Iowa and ancient rival Georgetown. But Jim Boeheim’s squad could end up playing multiple NCAA qualifiers anyway thanks to the quality of the mid-majors lined up, including defending Patriot champ Colgate; Bucknell, likely the Raiders’ main rival for that title in 2020; Oakland, a threat to claim the Horizon crown; and the North Florida, who will contend in the ASUN.
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Other

Onondaga County approves $71 million tax break for giant warehouse in Clay (PS; Knauss)

Onondaga County officials today approved $71 million in tax breaks to support development of a big $350 million warehouse in the town of Clay that is expected to employ at least 1,000 workers.

The county Industrial Development Agency unanimously approved the deal, which will benefit a still-unnamed tenant that some logistics experts say will be Amazon.

The package of incentives includes a 15-year property tax discount worth $49.1 million, a sales tax exemption estimated at $20 million and a $1.7 million exemption from the state mortgage recording tax.

The speedy approval by OCIDA conforms to the timetable requested by project developer Trammell Crow Co., which aims to begin construction in March 2020, County Executive Ryan McMahon said today.

The town of Clay is expected to vote in November on a proposed zone change requested by the developers, McMahon said.
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