SWC75
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Jim Boeheim recently said that he expects that all of his 2022 recruiting class will play and that “2-3 of them will start”. I decided to look at the history of our freshman starters using the incredible “Orangehoops” site: Syracuse Orange Basketball Season Records
I’ll list the starters, (‘GS”) by name, class and the number of games started and see what kind of a picture that gives us.
1976-77
Seniors- Jimmy Williams 28, Larry Kelly 25 2 players with 53 starts: ‘2/53’
Juniors- Marty Byrnes 29, Ross Kindel 7 2/36
Sophomores- Dale Shackelford 29 1/29
Freshmen- Roosevelt Bouie 30, Louie Orr 2 2/32
1977-78
Seniors- Marty Byrnes 28, Ross Kindel 28 2/56
Juniors- Dale Shackelford 28 1/28
Sophomores- Roosevelt Bouie 28, Louie Orr 28 2/56
Freshman- none
1978-79
Seniors- Dale Shackelford 30 1/30
Juniors- Roosevelt Bouie 30, Louie Orr 27, Hal Cohen 21 3/78
Sophomores- Marty Headd 30, Eddie Moss 9 2/39
Freshman- Rich Harmon 1 1/1
1979-80
Seniors- Roosevelt Bouie 30, Louie Orr 30 2/60
Juniors- Marty Headd 30, Eddie Moss 30, Danny Schayes 3 3/63
Sophomores- Ron Payton 11 1/11
Freshman- Eric Santifer 16 1/16
1980-81
Seniors- Eddie Moss 34, Danny Schayes 34, Marty Headd 24 3/92
Juniors- Ron Payton 8 1/8
Sophomores- Leo Rautins 26, Erich Santifer 25, Tony Bruin 18 3/69
Freshman- Gene Waldron 1 1/1
1981-82
Seniors- Ron Payton 16 1/16
Juniors- Erich Santifer 29, Tony Bruin 24, Leo Rautins 18 3/73
Sophomores- Gene Waldron 28 1/28
Freshman- Andre Hawkins 29, Sonny Spera 1 2/30
1982-83
Seniors- Leo Rautins 31, Eric Santifer 31, Tony Bruin 29 3/91
Juniors- Gene Waldron 30, Sean Kerins 1 2/31
Sophomores- Andre Hawkins 31, Sonny Spera 1 2/32
Freshman- Rafael Addison 1 1/1
1983-84
Seniors- Sean Kerins 32 Gene Waldron 32 2/64
Juniors- Andre Hawkins 32 1/32
Sophomores- Rafael Addison 32 1/32
Freshman- Pearl Washington 32 1/32
1984-85
Seniors- Andre Hawkins 31 1/31
Juniors- Rafael Addison 31 1/31
Sophomores- Pearl Washington 31, Howie Triche 1 2/32
Freshman- Michael Brown 30, Rony Seikaly 31 2/31
1985-86
Seniors- Rafael Addison 32, Wendell Alexis 32 2/64
Juniors- Howie Triche 32, Pearl Washington 32 2/64
Sophomores- Rony Seikaly 32 1/32
Freshman- none
1986-87
Seniors- Greg Monroe 38, Howie Triche 38 2/76
Juniors-, Rony Seikaly 35, Derek Brower 3 2/38
Sophomores- Sherman Douglas 38 1/38
Freshman- Derrick Coleman 38 1/38
1987-88
Seniors- Rony Seikaly 35 1/35
Juniors- Sherman Douglas 34, Herman Harried 1 2/35
Sophomores- Stevie Thompson 35, Derrick Coleman 34, Matt Roe 31, Earl Duncan 4 4/104
Freshman- none
1988-89
Seniors- Sherman Douglas 38 1/38
Juniors- Matt Roe 38, Stephen Thompson 38, Derrick Coleman 37 3/113
Sophomores- none
Freshman- Billy Owens 37, Richard Manning 1 2/39
1989-90
Seniors-Stevie Thompson 33, Derrick Coleman 32 2/65
Juniors- LeRon Ellis 29 1/29
Sophomores- Billy Owens 33, Dave Johnson 15, Tony Scott 3, Richard Manning 2 4/53
Freshman- Michael Edwards 18 1/18
1990-91
Seniors- LeRon Ellis 32 1/32
Juniors- Dave Johnson 32, Billy Owens 32 2/64
Sophomores- Michael Edwards 30, Mike Hopkins 4 2/34
Freshman- Adrian Autry 30 1/30
1991-92 Seniors- Dave Johnson 32 1/32
Juniors- Mike Hopkins 31, Dave Siock 21, Conrad McRae 11, Michael Edwards 5 4/68
Sophomores- Adrian Autry 28, Scott McCorkle 1 2/29
Freshman- Lawrence Moten 30, Anthony Harris 1 2/31
1992-93
Seniors- Mike Hopkins 27, Conrad McRae 19, Siock 10, Edwards 1 4/57
Juniors- Adrian Autry 28 1/28
Sophomores- Lawrence Moten 28, Luke Jackson 3 2/31
Freshman- John Wallace 29 1/29
1993-94
Seniors- Adrian Autry 30, Scott McCorkle 1 2/31
Juniors- Luke Jackson 30, Lawrence Moten 30 2/60
Sophomores- John Wallace 30 1/30
Freshman- Otis Hill 29 1/29
1994-95
Seniors- Luke Jackson 30, Lawrence Moten 30 2/60
Juniors- Michael Lloyd 30, John Wallace 30, J.B. Reafsnyder 23 3/83
Sophomores- Otis Hill 7 1/7
Freshman- none
1995-96
Seniors- Lazarus Sims 38, John Wallace 38, J.B. Reafsnyder 1 3/77
Juniors- Otis Hill 37, Jason Cipolla 24 2/61
Sophomores- Todd Burgan 38, Marius Janulis 14 2/52
Freshman- none
1996-97
Seniors- Jason Cipolla 32, Otis Hill 32 2/64
Juniors- Todd Burgan 25, Marius Janulis 21 2/46
Sophomores- Elvir Ovcina 6 1/6
Freshman- Jason Hart 32, Etan Thomas 12 2/44
1997-98
Seniors- Todd Burgan 35, Marius Janulis 35 2/70
Juniors- none
Sophomores- Ryan Blackwell, 35, Jason Hart 35, Etan Thomas 35 3/105
Freshman- none
1998-99
Seniors- none
Juniors- Ryan Blackwell 33, Etan Thomas 33, Jason Hart 32 3/98
Sophomores- Allen Griffin 33, Damone Brown 26, Eric Williams 7 3/66
Freshman- Tony Bland 1 1/1
1999-2000
Seniors- Ryan Blackwell 32, Jason Hart 32, Etan Thomas 29 3/93
Juniors- Damone Brown 31 1/31
Sophomores- Tony Bland 32, Preston Shumpert 4 2/36
Freshman- none
2000-01
Seniors- Damone Brown 34, Allen Griffin 34 2/68
Juniors- Preston Shumpert 34, Billy Celuck 13 2/47
Sophomores- DeShaun Williams 34 1/34
Freshman- Jeremy McNeil 21 1/21
2001-02
Seniors- Preston Shumpert 36, Ethan Cole 2 2/38
Juniors- Kueth Duany 36, DeShaun Williams 33 2/69
Sophomores- James Thues 18 1/18
Freshman- Craig Forth 36, Hakim Warrick 19 2/55
2002-03
Seniors- Kueth Duany 35 1/35
Juniors- none
Sophomores- Craig Forth 35, Hakim Warrick 35 2/70
Freshman- Carmelo Anthony 35, Gerry McNamara 35 2/70
2003-04
Seniors- none
Juniors- Craig Forth 31, Josh Pace 31, Hakim Warrick 31 3/93
Sophomores- Gerry McNamara 31, Billy Edelin 16 2/47
Freshman- Demetris Nichols 15 1/15
2004-05
Seniors- Craig Forth 34, Josh Pace 34, Hakim Warrick 34 3/102
Juniors- Gerry McNamara 34, Billy Edelin 3 2/37
Sophomores- Louie McCroskey 16, Demetris Nichols 8, Terrence Roberts 7 3/31
Freshman- none
2005-06
Seniors- Gerry McNamara 35 1/35
Juniors- Demetris Nichols 35, Terrence Roberts 35, Darryl Watkins 35, Louie McCrosky 5 4/110
Sophomores- none
Freshman- Eric Devendorf 30 1/30
2006-07
Seniors- Demetris Nichols 36, Terrence Roberts 33, Darryl Watkins 32, Matt Gorman 5 4/106
Juniors- Josh Wright 27 1/27
Sophomores- Eric Devendorf 22, Andy Rautins 20 2/42
Freshman- Paul Harris 1 1/1
2007-08
Seniors- none
Juniors- Kristof Ongenaet 15, Eric Devendorf 10 2/25
Sophomores- Paul Harris 35, Arinze Onuaku 35 2/70
Freshman- Jonny Flynn 35, Donte Greene 35, Scoop Jardine 10 3/80
2008-09
Seniors- Eric Devendorf 28, Kristoff Ongenaet 12 2/40
Juniors- Paul Harris 36, Arinze Onuaku 37, Andy Rautins 10 3/83
Sophomores- Jonny Flynn 38, Rick Jackson 27 2/65
Freshman- Kris Joseph 2 1/2
2009-10
Seniors- Andy Rautins 35, Arinze Onuaku 31 2/66
Juniors- Rick Jackson 35, Wes Johnson 35 2/70
Sophomores- Kris Joseph 4 1/4
Freshman- Brandon Triche 35 1/35
2010-11
Seniors- Rick Jackson 35 1/35
Juniors- Scoop Jardine 35. Kris Joseph 34 2/69
Sophomores- Brandon Triche 35, James Southerland 2 2/37
Freshman- Fab Melo 24, Baye Moussa Keita 10 2/34
2011-12
Seniors- Scoop Jardine 37, Kris Joseph 37 2/74
Juniors- Brandon Triche 37 1/37
Sophomores- Fab Melo 30, C.J. Fair 9 2/39
Freshman- Rakeem Christmas 35 1/35
2012-13
Seniors- Brandon Triche 40, James Southerland 11 2/51
Juniors- C. J. Fair 40 1/40
Sophomores- Rakeem Christmas 40, Michael Carter-Williams 40 2/80
Freshman- DaJuan Coleman 20, Jerami Grant 9 2/29
2013-14
Seniors- C.J. Fair 34, Baye Moussa Keita 1 1/35
Juniors- Rakeem Christmas 34 1/34
Sophomores- Trevor Cooney 34, Jerami Grant 20, DaJuan Coleman 12 3/66
Freshman- Tyler Ennis 34, Tyler Roberson 1 2/35
2014-15
Seniors- Rakeem Christmas 31 1/31
Juniors- Trevor Cooney 31, Michael Gbinije 24 2/55
Sophomores- Tyler Roberson 19, B. J. Johnson 4 2/23
Freshman- Kaleb Joseph 30, Chris McCullough 16 2/46
2015-16
Seniors- DaJuan Coleman 37, Trevor Cooney 37, Michael Gbinije 37 3/111
Juniors- Tyler Roberson 37 1/37
Sophomores- none
Freshman- Malachi Richardson 37 1/37
2016-17
Seniors- Andrew White 34, John Gillon 23, DaJuan Coleman 13, Tyler Roberson 6 4/74
Juniors- none
Sophomores- Tyler Lydon 34, Frank Howard 14 2/48
Freshman- Tyus Battle 25, Taurean Thompson 21 2/46
(White and Gillon were ‘grad transfers’ and Coleman was in graduate school due to a medical redshirt. I’m treating them as seniors as they were in their last year of eligibility)
2017-18
Seniors- none
Juniors- Paschal Chukwu 37, Frank Howard 37 2/74
Sophomores- Tyus Battle 37 1/37
Freshman- Oshae Brissett 37, Matthew Moyer 20, Marek Dolezaj 17 3/74
2018-19
Seniors- Frank Howard 29, Paschal Chukwu 28 2/57
Juniors- Tyus Battle 32 1/32
Sophomores- Oshae Brissett 34, Elijah Hughes 34, Marek Dolezaj 6 3/74
Freshman- Buddy Boeheim 5, Jalen Carey 2 2/7
2019-20
Seniors- none
Juniors- Marek Dolezaj 32, Elijah Hughes 32, Bourama Sidibe 32 3/96
Sophomores- Buddy Boeheim 32, Jalen Carey 2 2/34
Freshman- Joe Girard 30 1/30
2020-21
Seniors- Marek Dolezaj 28, Bourama Sidibe 1 2/29
Juniors- Alan Griffin 27, Buddy Boeheim 25 2/52
Sophomores- Joe Girard 28, Quincy Guerrier 28 2/56
Freshman- Kadary Richmond 3 1/3
2021-22
Seniors- Buddy Boeheim 21, Jimmy Boeheim 21, Cole Swider 21 3/63
Juniors- Jesse Edwards 21, Joe Girard 21 2/42
Sophomores- none
Freshman- none
A statistical summary:
Seniors 85 2415 72
Juniors 87 2364 74
Sophomores 83 1865 53
Freshmen 57 1119 35
Translation: 85 seniors, 87 juniors, 83 sophomores and 57 freshmen have started games for Syracuse since Jim Boeheim became head coach. The seniors have started 2,415 games, the juniors 2,364 games, the sophomores 1,864 games and the freshmen 1,119 games. (Remember that 5 players start each game.) Many of the players in the first column started a small number of games: they were not the regular starters. They started games when the real starter was hurt or under suspension for some reason. The true starters are the players who were within the top five players in “games started” in a particular year. The third column is for those players: 72 seniors were primary staters, 74 juniors, 53 sophomore and 35 freshmen. 18% of the players who have started games have been freshmen. 15% of the primary staters have been freshmen. Freshmen have started 14% of the games.
The list of freshmen primary starters Is a distinguished group:
1976-77 Roosevelt Bouie, 1979-80 Erich Santifer, 1981-82 Andre Hawkins, 1983-84 Pearl Washington, 1984-85 Michael Brown & Rony Seikaly, 1986-87 Derrick Coleman, 1988-89 Billy Owens, 1989-90 Michael Edwards, 1990-91 Adrian Autry, 1991-92 Lawrence Moten, 1992-93 John Wallace, 1993-94 Otis Hill, 1996-97 Jason Hart, 2000-21 Jeremy McNeil, 2001-02 Craig Forth & Hakim Warrick 2002-03 Carmelo Anthony & Gerry McNamara, 2005-06 Eric Devendorf, 2007-08 Jonny Flynn & Donte Greene, 2009-10 Brandon Triche, 2010-11 Fab Melo, 2011-12 Rakeem Christmas, 2012-13 DaJuan Coleman, 2013-14 Tyler Ennis, 2014-15 Kaleb Joseph (and Kris McCullough), 2015-16 Malachi Richardson, 2016-17 Tyus Battle & Taurean Thompson, 2017-18 Oshae Brissett & Matthew Moyer, 2019-20 Joe Girard
We’ve had freshmen as primary starters in 28 of 46 seasons. We’ve had two freshmen starters in 6 seasons. They are in bold. I put Joseph and McCullough in italics because Kris was the primary starter when the season began, then injured his knee in the 16th game, which caused Jim Boeheim to go to Tyler Roberson for the balance of the season and wound up with 19 starts. That should probably be counted as a 7th time but four other players had more starts so that Kris didn’t make the top 5. There was a similar situation between DaJuan Coleman and Taurean Thompson in 2016-17: Thompson didn’t start until game 14. But he did finish in the top five in games started so I put Tyus and him in bold.
There has never been a Syracuse team with three freshmen primary starters. If next year’s class will produce three such players, it will be one of the great classes in our history. Either that, or the rest of the roster will be our most pathetic.
One of the things that worries me is our recent success rate with highly ranked recruits: Matthew Moyer was rated by 247, (which combines ratings from multiple services) as the #66 player in the country. Here’s a list of freshmen recruits since the ‘Bubble Era’ began in 2014-15 with their 247 ranking and brief description of their careers here:
Kaleb Joseph #48- 30GS 847M as a freshman, 0GS, 114M as a sophomore and transferred to Creighton.
Kris McCullough #21- 16GS and 450 minutes as a freshman, injured, out for season, jumped to NBA
Franklin Howard #79- Played 4 years, starting 80 games but was suspended for PEDs as a senior.
Tyler Lydon #72- Played 71 games in two years with 34 starts as sophomore, then to NBA.
Malachi Richardson #34- Started 37 games as freshmen, then to NBA
Tyus Battle #34- Started 94 games in three seasons. Jumped to pros and actually played in Siberia.
Taurean Thompson #74 – 34G, 21 starts as a freshman. Transferred to Seton Hall and Detroit Mercy.
Oshae Brissett #137- Started all 71 games for two seasons and on to the NBA.
Marek Dolezaj #111 – Played four years, starting 83 games. Now playing back in Europe.
Matthew Moyer #66 – Injured as freshman, he started 20 of 35 games as a sophomore, then transferred to Vanderbilt and George Washington
Bourama Sidibe #190 – In the 5th year of an injury-plagued career. Has played in 97 of 152 games, starting 33 and playing 1,456 minutes, an average of 15 minutes a game.
Howard Washington #289 – Suffered leg injury and stroke: played 41 games and 268 minutes in 3 years, never starting. Transferred to South Alabama but has never played.
Buddy Boeheim #349- Has played four years and started 83 games. Star of team.
Robert Braswell Not rated by 247 but “Evan Daniels placed Braswell at No. 170 overall in the class” per Syracuse.com – Played 3 years, never started but played 290 minutes last year. Key player in Sweet 16 run. Transferred to Charlotte.
Jalen Carey #61 – Played in 27 games in two years but only started 4. Transferred to Rhode Island.
John Bol Ajak #480 – Redshirted, then played 16 games and 81 minutes in two years.
Jesse Edwards #198 – Played in 39 games and 306 minutes his first two years. Has started all 21 games and played 603 minutes as a junior.
Joe Girard #202 – Has started 79 games in three years.
Brycen Goodine #97 – Played in 23 games and 201 minutes as a freshman. Transferred to Providence.
Quincy Guerrier #121 – Played two years, 60 games and 1,582 minutes with 28 starts as sophomore. Transferred to Oregon.
Frank Anselem #201 – Has played in 24 games and 223 minutes in two years, never starting.
Woody Newton #147 – Played 11 games and 887 minutes as a freshman, then transferred to Oklahoma State.
Chaz Owens Unranked – has played 8 minutes in 2 years.
Kadary Richmond #90 – Played 28 games and 589 minutes, starting 3 games as freshman. Transferred to Seton Hall.
Benny Williams #32 – Has played 20 games and 236 minutes as a freshman with no starts.
We’ve gotten 4 four-year players out of this group: Frank Howard, Marek Dolezaj, Buddy Boeheim and Bourama Sidibe with Joe Girard and Jesse Edwards likely to join that group next year. You could make a pretty good rotation out of that group. Eight of them became primary starters as freshmen, (see above list). That’s out of a list of 25 players. That means that 32% of them started as freshmen and 24% played for four years. An all-star team of +100 players would include Oshae Brissett, Marek Dolezaj, Buddy Boeheim, Jesse Edwards and Quincy Guerrier. That would make a pretty good team, if Marek could play the point.
The 247 rankings of the incoming class:
Chris Bunch #96 – Brycen Goodine was #97
Justin Taylor #108 – Marek Dolezaj was #111
Quadir Copeland #142 – Oshae Brissett was #137
Maliq Brown #234 – The closest is Joe Girard #202
Peter Carey #263 – The closest is Howard Washington, #289.
That’s not promising. The weights are also concerning. Jim Boeheim is always asking his players to get stronger. 247 lists Bunch as 6-7 185, Taylor 6-6 200, Copeland 6-6 175, Brown 6-9 210 and Carey 6-11 190. That doesn’t suggest players ready to start immediately, at least among the big men.
But I’ve always said that coaches know more about their recruits than anybody, (maybe even the recruits themselves). If Jim says this could be his best class ever, that all of them will play and 2-3 will start, I can’t wait to see them in action.
I’ll list the starters, (‘GS”) by name, class and the number of games started and see what kind of a picture that gives us.
1976-77
Seniors- Jimmy Williams 28, Larry Kelly 25 2 players with 53 starts: ‘2/53’
Juniors- Marty Byrnes 29, Ross Kindel 7 2/36
Sophomores- Dale Shackelford 29 1/29
Freshmen- Roosevelt Bouie 30, Louie Orr 2 2/32
1977-78
Seniors- Marty Byrnes 28, Ross Kindel 28 2/56
Juniors- Dale Shackelford 28 1/28
Sophomores- Roosevelt Bouie 28, Louie Orr 28 2/56
Freshman- none
1978-79
Seniors- Dale Shackelford 30 1/30
Juniors- Roosevelt Bouie 30, Louie Orr 27, Hal Cohen 21 3/78
Sophomores- Marty Headd 30, Eddie Moss 9 2/39
Freshman- Rich Harmon 1 1/1
1979-80
Seniors- Roosevelt Bouie 30, Louie Orr 30 2/60
Juniors- Marty Headd 30, Eddie Moss 30, Danny Schayes 3 3/63
Sophomores- Ron Payton 11 1/11
Freshman- Eric Santifer 16 1/16
1980-81
Seniors- Eddie Moss 34, Danny Schayes 34, Marty Headd 24 3/92
Juniors- Ron Payton 8 1/8
Sophomores- Leo Rautins 26, Erich Santifer 25, Tony Bruin 18 3/69
Freshman- Gene Waldron 1 1/1
1981-82
Seniors- Ron Payton 16 1/16
Juniors- Erich Santifer 29, Tony Bruin 24, Leo Rautins 18 3/73
Sophomores- Gene Waldron 28 1/28
Freshman- Andre Hawkins 29, Sonny Spera 1 2/30
1982-83
Seniors- Leo Rautins 31, Eric Santifer 31, Tony Bruin 29 3/91
Juniors- Gene Waldron 30, Sean Kerins 1 2/31
Sophomores- Andre Hawkins 31, Sonny Spera 1 2/32
Freshman- Rafael Addison 1 1/1
1983-84
Seniors- Sean Kerins 32 Gene Waldron 32 2/64
Juniors- Andre Hawkins 32 1/32
Sophomores- Rafael Addison 32 1/32
Freshman- Pearl Washington 32 1/32
1984-85
Seniors- Andre Hawkins 31 1/31
Juniors- Rafael Addison 31 1/31
Sophomores- Pearl Washington 31, Howie Triche 1 2/32
Freshman- Michael Brown 30, Rony Seikaly 31 2/31
1985-86
Seniors- Rafael Addison 32, Wendell Alexis 32 2/64
Juniors- Howie Triche 32, Pearl Washington 32 2/64
Sophomores- Rony Seikaly 32 1/32
Freshman- none
1986-87
Seniors- Greg Monroe 38, Howie Triche 38 2/76
Juniors-, Rony Seikaly 35, Derek Brower 3 2/38
Sophomores- Sherman Douglas 38 1/38
Freshman- Derrick Coleman 38 1/38
1987-88
Seniors- Rony Seikaly 35 1/35
Juniors- Sherman Douglas 34, Herman Harried 1 2/35
Sophomores- Stevie Thompson 35, Derrick Coleman 34, Matt Roe 31, Earl Duncan 4 4/104
Freshman- none
1988-89
Seniors- Sherman Douglas 38 1/38
Juniors- Matt Roe 38, Stephen Thompson 38, Derrick Coleman 37 3/113
Sophomores- none
Freshman- Billy Owens 37, Richard Manning 1 2/39
1989-90
Seniors-Stevie Thompson 33, Derrick Coleman 32 2/65
Juniors- LeRon Ellis 29 1/29
Sophomores- Billy Owens 33, Dave Johnson 15, Tony Scott 3, Richard Manning 2 4/53
Freshman- Michael Edwards 18 1/18
1990-91
Seniors- LeRon Ellis 32 1/32
Juniors- Dave Johnson 32, Billy Owens 32 2/64
Sophomores- Michael Edwards 30, Mike Hopkins 4 2/34
Freshman- Adrian Autry 30 1/30
1991-92 Seniors- Dave Johnson 32 1/32
Juniors- Mike Hopkins 31, Dave Siock 21, Conrad McRae 11, Michael Edwards 5 4/68
Sophomores- Adrian Autry 28, Scott McCorkle 1 2/29
Freshman- Lawrence Moten 30, Anthony Harris 1 2/31
1992-93
Seniors- Mike Hopkins 27, Conrad McRae 19, Siock 10, Edwards 1 4/57
Juniors- Adrian Autry 28 1/28
Sophomores- Lawrence Moten 28, Luke Jackson 3 2/31
Freshman- John Wallace 29 1/29
1993-94
Seniors- Adrian Autry 30, Scott McCorkle 1 2/31
Juniors- Luke Jackson 30, Lawrence Moten 30 2/60
Sophomores- John Wallace 30 1/30
Freshman- Otis Hill 29 1/29
1994-95
Seniors- Luke Jackson 30, Lawrence Moten 30 2/60
Juniors- Michael Lloyd 30, John Wallace 30, J.B. Reafsnyder 23 3/83
Sophomores- Otis Hill 7 1/7
Freshman- none
1995-96
Seniors- Lazarus Sims 38, John Wallace 38, J.B. Reafsnyder 1 3/77
Juniors- Otis Hill 37, Jason Cipolla 24 2/61
Sophomores- Todd Burgan 38, Marius Janulis 14 2/52
Freshman- none
1996-97
Seniors- Jason Cipolla 32, Otis Hill 32 2/64
Juniors- Todd Burgan 25, Marius Janulis 21 2/46
Sophomores- Elvir Ovcina 6 1/6
Freshman- Jason Hart 32, Etan Thomas 12 2/44
1997-98
Seniors- Todd Burgan 35, Marius Janulis 35 2/70
Juniors- none
Sophomores- Ryan Blackwell, 35, Jason Hart 35, Etan Thomas 35 3/105
Freshman- none
1998-99
Seniors- none
Juniors- Ryan Blackwell 33, Etan Thomas 33, Jason Hart 32 3/98
Sophomores- Allen Griffin 33, Damone Brown 26, Eric Williams 7 3/66
Freshman- Tony Bland 1 1/1
1999-2000
Seniors- Ryan Blackwell 32, Jason Hart 32, Etan Thomas 29 3/93
Juniors- Damone Brown 31 1/31
Sophomores- Tony Bland 32, Preston Shumpert 4 2/36
Freshman- none
2000-01
Seniors- Damone Brown 34, Allen Griffin 34 2/68
Juniors- Preston Shumpert 34, Billy Celuck 13 2/47
Sophomores- DeShaun Williams 34 1/34
Freshman- Jeremy McNeil 21 1/21
2001-02
Seniors- Preston Shumpert 36, Ethan Cole 2 2/38
Juniors- Kueth Duany 36, DeShaun Williams 33 2/69
Sophomores- James Thues 18 1/18
Freshman- Craig Forth 36, Hakim Warrick 19 2/55
2002-03
Seniors- Kueth Duany 35 1/35
Juniors- none
Sophomores- Craig Forth 35, Hakim Warrick 35 2/70
Freshman- Carmelo Anthony 35, Gerry McNamara 35 2/70
2003-04
Seniors- none
Juniors- Craig Forth 31, Josh Pace 31, Hakim Warrick 31 3/93
Sophomores- Gerry McNamara 31, Billy Edelin 16 2/47
Freshman- Demetris Nichols 15 1/15
2004-05
Seniors- Craig Forth 34, Josh Pace 34, Hakim Warrick 34 3/102
Juniors- Gerry McNamara 34, Billy Edelin 3 2/37
Sophomores- Louie McCroskey 16, Demetris Nichols 8, Terrence Roberts 7 3/31
Freshman- none
2005-06
Seniors- Gerry McNamara 35 1/35
Juniors- Demetris Nichols 35, Terrence Roberts 35, Darryl Watkins 35, Louie McCrosky 5 4/110
Sophomores- none
Freshman- Eric Devendorf 30 1/30
2006-07
Seniors- Demetris Nichols 36, Terrence Roberts 33, Darryl Watkins 32, Matt Gorman 5 4/106
Juniors- Josh Wright 27 1/27
Sophomores- Eric Devendorf 22, Andy Rautins 20 2/42
Freshman- Paul Harris 1 1/1
2007-08
Seniors- none
Juniors- Kristof Ongenaet 15, Eric Devendorf 10 2/25
Sophomores- Paul Harris 35, Arinze Onuaku 35 2/70
Freshman- Jonny Flynn 35, Donte Greene 35, Scoop Jardine 10 3/80
2008-09
Seniors- Eric Devendorf 28, Kristoff Ongenaet 12 2/40
Juniors- Paul Harris 36, Arinze Onuaku 37, Andy Rautins 10 3/83
Sophomores- Jonny Flynn 38, Rick Jackson 27 2/65
Freshman- Kris Joseph 2 1/2
2009-10
Seniors- Andy Rautins 35, Arinze Onuaku 31 2/66
Juniors- Rick Jackson 35, Wes Johnson 35 2/70
Sophomores- Kris Joseph 4 1/4
Freshman- Brandon Triche 35 1/35
2010-11
Seniors- Rick Jackson 35 1/35
Juniors- Scoop Jardine 35. Kris Joseph 34 2/69
Sophomores- Brandon Triche 35, James Southerland 2 2/37
Freshman- Fab Melo 24, Baye Moussa Keita 10 2/34
2011-12
Seniors- Scoop Jardine 37, Kris Joseph 37 2/74
Juniors- Brandon Triche 37 1/37
Sophomores- Fab Melo 30, C.J. Fair 9 2/39
Freshman- Rakeem Christmas 35 1/35
2012-13
Seniors- Brandon Triche 40, James Southerland 11 2/51
Juniors- C. J. Fair 40 1/40
Sophomores- Rakeem Christmas 40, Michael Carter-Williams 40 2/80
Freshman- DaJuan Coleman 20, Jerami Grant 9 2/29
2013-14
Seniors- C.J. Fair 34, Baye Moussa Keita 1 1/35
Juniors- Rakeem Christmas 34 1/34
Sophomores- Trevor Cooney 34, Jerami Grant 20, DaJuan Coleman 12 3/66
Freshman- Tyler Ennis 34, Tyler Roberson 1 2/35
2014-15
Seniors- Rakeem Christmas 31 1/31
Juniors- Trevor Cooney 31, Michael Gbinije 24 2/55
Sophomores- Tyler Roberson 19, B. J. Johnson 4 2/23
Freshman- Kaleb Joseph 30, Chris McCullough 16 2/46
2015-16
Seniors- DaJuan Coleman 37, Trevor Cooney 37, Michael Gbinije 37 3/111
Juniors- Tyler Roberson 37 1/37
Sophomores- none
Freshman- Malachi Richardson 37 1/37
2016-17
Seniors- Andrew White 34, John Gillon 23, DaJuan Coleman 13, Tyler Roberson 6 4/74
Juniors- none
Sophomores- Tyler Lydon 34, Frank Howard 14 2/48
Freshman- Tyus Battle 25, Taurean Thompson 21 2/46
(White and Gillon were ‘grad transfers’ and Coleman was in graduate school due to a medical redshirt. I’m treating them as seniors as they were in their last year of eligibility)
2017-18
Seniors- none
Juniors- Paschal Chukwu 37, Frank Howard 37 2/74
Sophomores- Tyus Battle 37 1/37
Freshman- Oshae Brissett 37, Matthew Moyer 20, Marek Dolezaj 17 3/74
2018-19
Seniors- Frank Howard 29, Paschal Chukwu 28 2/57
Juniors- Tyus Battle 32 1/32
Sophomores- Oshae Brissett 34, Elijah Hughes 34, Marek Dolezaj 6 3/74
Freshman- Buddy Boeheim 5, Jalen Carey 2 2/7
2019-20
Seniors- none
Juniors- Marek Dolezaj 32, Elijah Hughes 32, Bourama Sidibe 32 3/96
Sophomores- Buddy Boeheim 32, Jalen Carey 2 2/34
Freshman- Joe Girard 30 1/30
2020-21
Seniors- Marek Dolezaj 28, Bourama Sidibe 1 2/29
Juniors- Alan Griffin 27, Buddy Boeheim 25 2/52
Sophomores- Joe Girard 28, Quincy Guerrier 28 2/56
Freshman- Kadary Richmond 3 1/3
2021-22
Seniors- Buddy Boeheim 21, Jimmy Boeheim 21, Cole Swider 21 3/63
Juniors- Jesse Edwards 21, Joe Girard 21 2/42
Sophomores- none
Freshman- none
A statistical summary:
Seniors 85 2415 72
Juniors 87 2364 74
Sophomores 83 1865 53
Freshmen 57 1119 35
Translation: 85 seniors, 87 juniors, 83 sophomores and 57 freshmen have started games for Syracuse since Jim Boeheim became head coach. The seniors have started 2,415 games, the juniors 2,364 games, the sophomores 1,864 games and the freshmen 1,119 games. (Remember that 5 players start each game.) Many of the players in the first column started a small number of games: they were not the regular starters. They started games when the real starter was hurt or under suspension for some reason. The true starters are the players who were within the top five players in “games started” in a particular year. The third column is for those players: 72 seniors were primary staters, 74 juniors, 53 sophomore and 35 freshmen. 18% of the players who have started games have been freshmen. 15% of the primary staters have been freshmen. Freshmen have started 14% of the games.
The list of freshmen primary starters Is a distinguished group:
1976-77 Roosevelt Bouie, 1979-80 Erich Santifer, 1981-82 Andre Hawkins, 1983-84 Pearl Washington, 1984-85 Michael Brown & Rony Seikaly, 1986-87 Derrick Coleman, 1988-89 Billy Owens, 1989-90 Michael Edwards, 1990-91 Adrian Autry, 1991-92 Lawrence Moten, 1992-93 John Wallace, 1993-94 Otis Hill, 1996-97 Jason Hart, 2000-21 Jeremy McNeil, 2001-02 Craig Forth & Hakim Warrick 2002-03 Carmelo Anthony & Gerry McNamara, 2005-06 Eric Devendorf, 2007-08 Jonny Flynn & Donte Greene, 2009-10 Brandon Triche, 2010-11 Fab Melo, 2011-12 Rakeem Christmas, 2012-13 DaJuan Coleman, 2013-14 Tyler Ennis, 2014-15 Kaleb Joseph (and Kris McCullough), 2015-16 Malachi Richardson, 2016-17 Tyus Battle & Taurean Thompson, 2017-18 Oshae Brissett & Matthew Moyer, 2019-20 Joe Girard
We’ve had freshmen as primary starters in 28 of 46 seasons. We’ve had two freshmen starters in 6 seasons. They are in bold. I put Joseph and McCullough in italics because Kris was the primary starter when the season began, then injured his knee in the 16th game, which caused Jim Boeheim to go to Tyler Roberson for the balance of the season and wound up with 19 starts. That should probably be counted as a 7th time but four other players had more starts so that Kris didn’t make the top 5. There was a similar situation between DaJuan Coleman and Taurean Thompson in 2016-17: Thompson didn’t start until game 14. But he did finish in the top five in games started so I put Tyus and him in bold.
There has never been a Syracuse team with three freshmen primary starters. If next year’s class will produce three such players, it will be one of the great classes in our history. Either that, or the rest of the roster will be our most pathetic.
One of the things that worries me is our recent success rate with highly ranked recruits: Matthew Moyer was rated by 247, (which combines ratings from multiple services) as the #66 player in the country. Here’s a list of freshmen recruits since the ‘Bubble Era’ began in 2014-15 with their 247 ranking and brief description of their careers here:
Kaleb Joseph #48- 30GS 847M as a freshman, 0GS, 114M as a sophomore and transferred to Creighton.
Kris McCullough #21- 16GS and 450 minutes as a freshman, injured, out for season, jumped to NBA
Franklin Howard #79- Played 4 years, starting 80 games but was suspended for PEDs as a senior.
Tyler Lydon #72- Played 71 games in two years with 34 starts as sophomore, then to NBA.
Malachi Richardson #34- Started 37 games as freshmen, then to NBA
Tyus Battle #34- Started 94 games in three seasons. Jumped to pros and actually played in Siberia.
Taurean Thompson #74 – 34G, 21 starts as a freshman. Transferred to Seton Hall and Detroit Mercy.
Oshae Brissett #137- Started all 71 games for two seasons and on to the NBA.
Marek Dolezaj #111 – Played four years, starting 83 games. Now playing back in Europe.
Matthew Moyer #66 – Injured as freshman, he started 20 of 35 games as a sophomore, then transferred to Vanderbilt and George Washington
Bourama Sidibe #190 – In the 5th year of an injury-plagued career. Has played in 97 of 152 games, starting 33 and playing 1,456 minutes, an average of 15 minutes a game.
Howard Washington #289 – Suffered leg injury and stroke: played 41 games and 268 minutes in 3 years, never starting. Transferred to South Alabama but has never played.
Buddy Boeheim #349- Has played four years and started 83 games. Star of team.
Robert Braswell Not rated by 247 but “Evan Daniels placed Braswell at No. 170 overall in the class” per Syracuse.com – Played 3 years, never started but played 290 minutes last year. Key player in Sweet 16 run. Transferred to Charlotte.
Jalen Carey #61 – Played in 27 games in two years but only started 4. Transferred to Rhode Island.
John Bol Ajak #480 – Redshirted, then played 16 games and 81 minutes in two years.
Jesse Edwards #198 – Played in 39 games and 306 minutes his first two years. Has started all 21 games and played 603 minutes as a junior.
Joe Girard #202 – Has started 79 games in three years.
Brycen Goodine #97 – Played in 23 games and 201 minutes as a freshman. Transferred to Providence.
Quincy Guerrier #121 – Played two years, 60 games and 1,582 minutes with 28 starts as sophomore. Transferred to Oregon.
Frank Anselem #201 – Has played in 24 games and 223 minutes in two years, never starting.
Woody Newton #147 – Played 11 games and 887 minutes as a freshman, then transferred to Oklahoma State.
Chaz Owens Unranked – has played 8 minutes in 2 years.
Kadary Richmond #90 – Played 28 games and 589 minutes, starting 3 games as freshman. Transferred to Seton Hall.
Benny Williams #32 – Has played 20 games and 236 minutes as a freshman with no starts.
We’ve gotten 4 four-year players out of this group: Frank Howard, Marek Dolezaj, Buddy Boeheim and Bourama Sidibe with Joe Girard and Jesse Edwards likely to join that group next year. You could make a pretty good rotation out of that group. Eight of them became primary starters as freshmen, (see above list). That’s out of a list of 25 players. That means that 32% of them started as freshmen and 24% played for four years. An all-star team of +100 players would include Oshae Brissett, Marek Dolezaj, Buddy Boeheim, Jesse Edwards and Quincy Guerrier. That would make a pretty good team, if Marek could play the point.
The 247 rankings of the incoming class:
Chris Bunch #96 – Brycen Goodine was #97
Justin Taylor #108 – Marek Dolezaj was #111
Quadir Copeland #142 – Oshae Brissett was #137
Maliq Brown #234 – The closest is Joe Girard #202
Peter Carey #263 – The closest is Howard Washington, #289.
That’s not promising. The weights are also concerning. Jim Boeheim is always asking his players to get stronger. 247 lists Bunch as 6-7 185, Taylor 6-6 200, Copeland 6-6 175, Brown 6-9 210 and Carey 6-11 190. That doesn’t suggest players ready to start immediately, at least among the big men.
But I’ve always said that coaches know more about their recruits than anybody, (maybe even the recruits themselves). If Jim says this could be his best class ever, that all of them will play and 2-3 will start, I can’t wait to see them in action.
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