SWC75
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THE TEAM
Centers
Two things Jim Boeheim has said over the years stick in my mind. He often says that big men take longer to develop so we need patience. I recall his strength and conditioning guy on his show last year saying that an athlete doesn’t really fill out until he has topped off- stopped growing taller. They have to grow into their new bodies. The other thing Boeheim often says is that foreign players also take longer to develop because they didn’t grow up playing the sport. Both are very logical points. So why do we keep recruiting big men from abroad? In this decade we’ve had Arinze Onuaku, (actually, he was born in Maryland to Nigerian immigrants- his father was a soccer player), Rakeem Christmas, (actually he was born in New Jersey but lived from ages 2-13 in the Virgin Islands), Fab Melo from Brazil, Baye Moussa Keita from Senegal, Chinonso Obokoh from Nigeria and Paschal Chukwu from Nigeria. Then there was Moustapha Diagne from Senegal who was going to come here but the NCAA wouldn’t approve his academic record from Senegal before his visa expired. (He’s now playing for LaSalle). Now we have four centers and a power forward born abroad. All are 6-10 or 6-11. None of them weigh 220 pounds. All are still learning the game. Why can’t we recruit American big men who will have had more protein in their diet and grown up playing the sport?
Frank Anselem, a 6-10 210 freshman from Lagos, Nigeria / Westlake (Ga.)/Lincoln Academy (Ga.)/Prolific Prep (Calif.)
24-7 ranks Frank a 4-star recruit, (our of 5), the #150th best prospect in the country but the 24th best center prospect, saying “Athletic center with outstanding frame. Good size, wide shoulders and very long arms. Strong kid but not maxed out. Still raw on offense but physical tools give him very high upside. Has budding elbow jumper and hook shot but footwork and post moves can improve. Has chance to be high level rebounder and rim protector given size, length and athleticism. Still inconsistent but upside is very high. Projects as high major starter with professional upside dependent on development of skill.” Click on the ‘history’ button and 150/24 becomes 152/24 for some reason, but it does show that he was rated the #85 best player in the country back on April 15th. I don’t know what’s happened since then to change things. ESPN/Scout has his as a 3 star and the 35th best center while Rivals has him as a 4 star and the 27th best center. Anselem was originally part of the 2021 class but reclassified. He had been ranked the 76th best player in the 2021 class The reclassification suggests that he’s not as far in his development as he would have been had he waited. Reports from practice have been very positive. Frank is described as “jumping out of the gym” and is contending strongly for the #2 position behind Sidibe.
His high school coach, Joey Fuca said ““Frank’s an agile, athletic 6-9 rim-runner, shot-blocker. He plays extremely hard. He just started playing basketball so he’s got a huge upside ahead of him. He’s very coachable, is a great kid and a great student. He did a great job for us in ball-screen coverage. He can really get out for a guy his size, he can hard-hedge, he can double. He’s very, very mobile for a big guy.
And then offensively, he runs the floor at a high level. The coaches are not going to have an issue with him playing hard.”
NunesMagician: “Still, standing at 6-foot-10 with a 7-foot-5 wingspan, Anselem is a great fit at Syracuse. His length and athleticism should translate well in the 2-3 zone. He should excel on the defensive side of the ball but offensively he’s still raw. The tools are there for him to develop, however. He has good hands, he can run the floor and finish above the rim. He’ll be able to rebound it well on both ends of the floor.”
A comment on wingspan: I’ve always heard that with the average person, your wingspan, (the distance from finger-tip to fingertip when you stretch your arms and hands out), is usually about the same as your height, (I’m 5’ 9 1/2” tall and have a 5-10 wingspan). Whenever I have heard a basketball player’s wingspan quoted, it’s always significantly more than his height. I suspect that is the norm for basketball players. Maybe I’m influenced by the type of players Jim Boeheim likes to recruit but I have a hard time remembering an SU player who didn’t have long arms. (Herman Harried even had long fingers: they were like claws.) Really, it’s pointless to list player’s heights. Instead they should list his standing reach and his vertical jump. You play this game with your brain but not with your skull.
Assistant Coach Allen Griffin: “We haven’t seen this type of athleticism at this position in a long time in terms of the way he can move and the way he can jump. … He’s gotta work on the motor part, of just playing hard on every possession. He can block shots. Just his quick twitch. The thing that I’m focused on with him is do what you do best now that’s going to put you in situations to earn playing time – that’s being fast, his quickness and using his athleticism.”
Some Highlights:
Frank Anselem Is A GOAT!!!
It’s hard to tell much from that. He moves well, especially with that dribble around a defender.
John Bol Ajak, a 6-10 215 redshirt freshman from Natinga, South Sudan / Westtown School (Pa.)
John Bol, (apparently ‘Bol’ is part of his first name, not his last name, which is ‘Ajak’), is a mystery man. When he was recruited last year I found very few imagines of him actually playing. I did find an interview in which he wanted to be up to 240 pounds, (actually he was 198 at the time), and “not a traditional center”, meaning that he can do things from outside. JB likes traditional centers and so do I. Ajak not only came here from the Sudan by way of Kenya but missed a lot of time with an achilles injury and a hip injury. He redshirted last year, indicating that his development was behind Jesse Edwards. I haven’t seen him play and have no idea what he’ll bring to the party this year. I do know that it won’t be 240 pounds.
24-7 rated him 3 stars, the 480th best player in the country and the 76th best center, although it was acknowledged that the injury and lost time probably impacted that rating quite a bit. (Click on the “history” button and Ajak’s rating improves to 314/55.) “A project with length. Thin and not an explosive athlete so struggles to score. Still very raw and in need of development. Does have a promising shooting stroke. Solid positional rebounder. Hoping to develop more as a shot blocker although the length is there. Will take time to contribute but playing in the Syracuse zone will be beneficial for him.” Scout has him the 42nd best center prospect and Rivals has him #40, both with 3 stars. I did see a reference in an article saying that he was rated #35 before his injuries but I don’t know if that was overall, (unlikely) or the 35th best center.
Allen Griffin: “The surprising thing about John is he’s gained a lot of muscle and a lot of weight and he’s throwing his weight around a little bit. He’s being a lot more physical. And the great thing about our group – I call them ‘Griff’s children’ – he’s been vocal and he’s been trying to help Bourama and Jesse as much as he can.” What Griffin sees is a young player with a solid basketball IQ who understands what needs to be done on the basketball court, though sometimes “he’ll have a hard time executing it.” The SU staff is working with Ajak to refine the rougher edges on his game, to make the transition easier when he plays next season. He’s not the most explosive guy. So playing off two feet and being able to finish with contact -- that’s one of the things we emphasize every day. And trying to make quicker moves. In high school, he was able to overpower guys whereas now, he’ll be able to overpower some guys, but he needs to be a little quicker at getting by guys and finishing through guys.” (Syracuse.com)
He's said to be a quick leaner and very passionate about learning and excelling in his adopted sport. Here’s a short highlight I don’t remember seeing last year that proves he can hit the ‘J’ and drive to the basket:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guiffnR-Gy4
Here’s another, which has some defensive highlights. He hustles well and has a good motor:
John Bol Ajak...Syracuse bound with length, potential!
Actually, I think I liked those tapes better than Anselem’s.
But “The Athletic” recently reported that, “Redshirt freshman center John Bol Ajak faces an uphill climb. A team source says Ajak will be hard-pressed to find playing time. Three other centers are on the roster, arguably all ahead of him on the depth chart. He also hasn’t developed as quickly as some had anticipated. “Hate to say it, but I can’t see how he can play at the ACC level,” the person says. “He’s a guy who probably won’t play here at any point.”
Syracuse practice: What we’re hearing after the first two weeks
Jesse Edwards, a 6-11 215 sophomore from Amsterdam, Netherlands / IMG Academy (Fla.)
Jesse grew up in the Netherlands. They do have basketball there but he never played it until he heard of Lebron James and started watching him play on You-Tube. He decided he wanted to play that sport, too, although he’s a very different player from LeBron. He was only 188 pounds when we recruited him. Like Ajak, he had more of a reputation as an offensive player than a defensive player. 24-7 has him as a 3 star , the 198th best player in the country and the 38th best center – but if you click on the ‘history’ button, that becomes 138/27. ESPN/Scout had him as a 3 star and the 48th best center prospect. Rivals didn’t rate him at all. (All of these big men look better than their recruiting rankings. I suspect the fact that they came from other countries and had limited exposure to the people who make these evaluations is a factor.)
He played limited minutes last year but looked promising. He moved well and had an awareness of what was going on around him. He never got credited with an assist but had the best pass of the season, a wrap-around no looker that bounced off Quincy Guerrier’s hands because he couldn’t believe it. He wound up playing 146 minutes and averaged 13.7 pints, 9.6 rebounds and 2.7 blocks while shooting 79.2% from the field.
Jim Boeheim: “He’s got a very good skillset. He can shoot it, pass it very well for a big guy. He’s just not strong enough yet to play. He’s got to get stronger and that’s going to take time. “In Jesse’s case it’s just physical strength. Nothing else.”
He didn’t play enough last year for a highlight film. Here’s a tape I found from his days at IMG Academy in Florida, a high-end instructional place he went to maximize his potential:
Highlights: Syracuse basketball recruit Jesse Edwards of IMG Academy
Again, he moves smoothly, can shoot over people and can drive around them. I like the fact that he doesn’t, (in these highlights, anyway), bring the ball down to the level of the people guarding him.
I’m impressed that Ajak has gone from 198 to 215 pounds, Edwards from 188 to 215 and Marek Dolezaj from 185 to 201. Our strength and conditioning people seem to be doing a good job. These guys are starting to fill out. Someone described them as lottery tickets: you buy three, you have three times as many chances to win. We are hoping that at least one of these guys emerges as a good back-up center and possible successor to Bourama Sidibe.
Bourama Sidibe, a 6-10 216 senior from Bamako, Mali / St. Benedict's Prep (N.J.)
When Bourama came here four years ago, he was much shorter than Paschal Chukwu, our 7-3 string bean center but seemed like the more talented player, especially after he had 18 points and 12 rebounds in the Jordan Brand Classic.. Many predicted he would become the starting center before the conference season began. His high school tape showed about everything you’d want to see from a center: quick movements, aggressive athleticism, running the court, blocking shots making steals, rebounding and scoring both from the low post and on drives, even a medium range jump shot.
The game looked easy for him:
Bourama Sidibe(Syracuse Commit) St.Benedict's Prep Senior Season
But when he got here, it became hard. He developed tendonitis in his knees, which sometimes bothered him so much that he couldn’t play and other times limited his effectiveness. Only occasionally did he show flashes of the talent in that tape. He not only lost much of his mobility but also his jumping ability and 6-10 is not exceptional height for a modern college center. But he showed ‘flashes’ as Greg Robinson would say. The biggest flash was a 18 point, 16 rebound, 3 block effort in 24 minutes at Pittsburgh. But that was easily the best he’s played in his first three years here. He had a 13/10/1 game against Colgate as a sophomore and a 12/14/1 game against the same team early last year. But he had trouble not only with his knees but with foul trouble and thus had only rare opportunities to put those kinds of numbers up.
Last year after off-season surgery he was moving much more freely and as the season progressed the game seemed to slow down for him. He got better at avoiding fouls, which is often a matter of knowing where to be and what’s going on around him. In his last six games he played 25-35 minutes per game and had 6/10/1 against Georgia Tech, 13/10/4 against Pittsburgh, a really impressive 17/15/6 in the Dome loss to North Carolina, 9/12/1 against Boston College, 2/10/2 against Miami, and 12/13/2 in the season-ending route of the Tar Heels. It brought to mind how Rakeem Christmas, after struggling on the offensive end for 2 ½ seasons, started to make places on the offensive end last in his junior season and went on to have a big senior year, averaging 17.1/9.5/2.5. I’ll be surprised if Bourama puts up those numbers, (Christmas was a much more highly ranked recruit), but I’ll take a continuation of the numbers he was putting up in those last six games.
For his career, Bourama has put up the following 40-minute averages:
Freshman: 373 minutes played, 8.7 points, 12.9 rebounds, 2.1 blocks, 7.6 fouls
Sophomore: 281 minutes played, 7.8 points, 11.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 9.7 fouls
Junior: 767 minutes played, 10.1 points, 12.6 rebounds, 2.3 blocks, 6.8 fouls
In those last six games he played 175 minutes and averaged 13.5 points, 16.0 rebounds, 3.7 blocks and 5.7 fouls. As his fouls go down, (and I think they will continue to do so), his other numbers will go up.
Allen Griffin: “Bourama’s gotten a lot stronger, a lot more confident. Obviously, he still needs to work on finishing around the basket. That’s one thing we’ve been really concentrating on – keep getting better around the basket.”
24-7 listed Bourama as a 3-star power forward prospect, the 190th best player in the class and the 48th best power forward, but if you click on ‘history’ that mysteriously changes to #89 nationally and #25 as a PF, which makes more sense. They still have him as a 3 star recruit, as did Rivals and Scout but ESPN gave him four stars and ranked him as the #15 center prospect.
Bourama’s highlights from last season show the complete game we are looking for. He’s just got to do this consistently and stay out of foul trouble:
Bourama Sidibe 2019-20 Season Highlights | Syracuse Forward
Centers
Two things Jim Boeheim has said over the years stick in my mind. He often says that big men take longer to develop so we need patience. I recall his strength and conditioning guy on his show last year saying that an athlete doesn’t really fill out until he has topped off- stopped growing taller. They have to grow into their new bodies. The other thing Boeheim often says is that foreign players also take longer to develop because they didn’t grow up playing the sport. Both are very logical points. So why do we keep recruiting big men from abroad? In this decade we’ve had Arinze Onuaku, (actually, he was born in Maryland to Nigerian immigrants- his father was a soccer player), Rakeem Christmas, (actually he was born in New Jersey but lived from ages 2-13 in the Virgin Islands), Fab Melo from Brazil, Baye Moussa Keita from Senegal, Chinonso Obokoh from Nigeria and Paschal Chukwu from Nigeria. Then there was Moustapha Diagne from Senegal who was going to come here but the NCAA wouldn’t approve his academic record from Senegal before his visa expired. (He’s now playing for LaSalle). Now we have four centers and a power forward born abroad. All are 6-10 or 6-11. None of them weigh 220 pounds. All are still learning the game. Why can’t we recruit American big men who will have had more protein in their diet and grown up playing the sport?
Frank Anselem, a 6-10 210 freshman from Lagos, Nigeria / Westlake (Ga.)/Lincoln Academy (Ga.)/Prolific Prep (Calif.)
24-7 ranks Frank a 4-star recruit, (our of 5), the #150th best prospect in the country but the 24th best center prospect, saying “Athletic center with outstanding frame. Good size, wide shoulders and very long arms. Strong kid but not maxed out. Still raw on offense but physical tools give him very high upside. Has budding elbow jumper and hook shot but footwork and post moves can improve. Has chance to be high level rebounder and rim protector given size, length and athleticism. Still inconsistent but upside is very high. Projects as high major starter with professional upside dependent on development of skill.” Click on the ‘history’ button and 150/24 becomes 152/24 for some reason, but it does show that he was rated the #85 best player in the country back on April 15th. I don’t know what’s happened since then to change things. ESPN/Scout has his as a 3 star and the 35th best center while Rivals has him as a 4 star and the 27th best center. Anselem was originally part of the 2021 class but reclassified. He had been ranked the 76th best player in the 2021 class The reclassification suggests that he’s not as far in his development as he would have been had he waited. Reports from practice have been very positive. Frank is described as “jumping out of the gym” and is contending strongly for the #2 position behind Sidibe.
His high school coach, Joey Fuca said ““Frank’s an agile, athletic 6-9 rim-runner, shot-blocker. He plays extremely hard. He just started playing basketball so he’s got a huge upside ahead of him. He’s very coachable, is a great kid and a great student. He did a great job for us in ball-screen coverage. He can really get out for a guy his size, he can hard-hedge, he can double. He’s very, very mobile for a big guy.
And then offensively, he runs the floor at a high level. The coaches are not going to have an issue with him playing hard.”
NunesMagician: “Still, standing at 6-foot-10 with a 7-foot-5 wingspan, Anselem is a great fit at Syracuse. His length and athleticism should translate well in the 2-3 zone. He should excel on the defensive side of the ball but offensively he’s still raw. The tools are there for him to develop, however. He has good hands, he can run the floor and finish above the rim. He’ll be able to rebound it well on both ends of the floor.”
A comment on wingspan: I’ve always heard that with the average person, your wingspan, (the distance from finger-tip to fingertip when you stretch your arms and hands out), is usually about the same as your height, (I’m 5’ 9 1/2” tall and have a 5-10 wingspan). Whenever I have heard a basketball player’s wingspan quoted, it’s always significantly more than his height. I suspect that is the norm for basketball players. Maybe I’m influenced by the type of players Jim Boeheim likes to recruit but I have a hard time remembering an SU player who didn’t have long arms. (Herman Harried even had long fingers: they were like claws.) Really, it’s pointless to list player’s heights. Instead they should list his standing reach and his vertical jump. You play this game with your brain but not with your skull.
Assistant Coach Allen Griffin: “We haven’t seen this type of athleticism at this position in a long time in terms of the way he can move and the way he can jump. … He’s gotta work on the motor part, of just playing hard on every possession. He can block shots. Just his quick twitch. The thing that I’m focused on with him is do what you do best now that’s going to put you in situations to earn playing time – that’s being fast, his quickness and using his athleticism.”
Some Highlights:
Frank Anselem Is A GOAT!!!
It’s hard to tell much from that. He moves well, especially with that dribble around a defender.
John Bol Ajak, a 6-10 215 redshirt freshman from Natinga, South Sudan / Westtown School (Pa.)
John Bol, (apparently ‘Bol’ is part of his first name, not his last name, which is ‘Ajak’), is a mystery man. When he was recruited last year I found very few imagines of him actually playing. I did find an interview in which he wanted to be up to 240 pounds, (actually he was 198 at the time), and “not a traditional center”, meaning that he can do things from outside. JB likes traditional centers and so do I. Ajak not only came here from the Sudan by way of Kenya but missed a lot of time with an achilles injury and a hip injury. He redshirted last year, indicating that his development was behind Jesse Edwards. I haven’t seen him play and have no idea what he’ll bring to the party this year. I do know that it won’t be 240 pounds.
24-7 rated him 3 stars, the 480th best player in the country and the 76th best center, although it was acknowledged that the injury and lost time probably impacted that rating quite a bit. (Click on the “history” button and Ajak’s rating improves to 314/55.) “A project with length. Thin and not an explosive athlete so struggles to score. Still very raw and in need of development. Does have a promising shooting stroke. Solid positional rebounder. Hoping to develop more as a shot blocker although the length is there. Will take time to contribute but playing in the Syracuse zone will be beneficial for him.” Scout has him the 42nd best center prospect and Rivals has him #40, both with 3 stars. I did see a reference in an article saying that he was rated #35 before his injuries but I don’t know if that was overall, (unlikely) or the 35th best center.
Allen Griffin: “The surprising thing about John is he’s gained a lot of muscle and a lot of weight and he’s throwing his weight around a little bit. He’s being a lot more physical. And the great thing about our group – I call them ‘Griff’s children’ – he’s been vocal and he’s been trying to help Bourama and Jesse as much as he can.” What Griffin sees is a young player with a solid basketball IQ who understands what needs to be done on the basketball court, though sometimes “he’ll have a hard time executing it.” The SU staff is working with Ajak to refine the rougher edges on his game, to make the transition easier when he plays next season. He’s not the most explosive guy. So playing off two feet and being able to finish with contact -- that’s one of the things we emphasize every day. And trying to make quicker moves. In high school, he was able to overpower guys whereas now, he’ll be able to overpower some guys, but he needs to be a little quicker at getting by guys and finishing through guys.” (Syracuse.com)
He's said to be a quick leaner and very passionate about learning and excelling in his adopted sport. Here’s a short highlight I don’t remember seeing last year that proves he can hit the ‘J’ and drive to the basket:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guiffnR-Gy4
Here’s another, which has some defensive highlights. He hustles well and has a good motor:
John Bol Ajak...Syracuse bound with length, potential!
Actually, I think I liked those tapes better than Anselem’s.
But “The Athletic” recently reported that, “Redshirt freshman center John Bol Ajak faces an uphill climb. A team source says Ajak will be hard-pressed to find playing time. Three other centers are on the roster, arguably all ahead of him on the depth chart. He also hasn’t developed as quickly as some had anticipated. “Hate to say it, but I can’t see how he can play at the ACC level,” the person says. “He’s a guy who probably won’t play here at any point.”
Syracuse practice: What we’re hearing after the first two weeks
Jesse Edwards, a 6-11 215 sophomore from Amsterdam, Netherlands / IMG Academy (Fla.)
Jesse grew up in the Netherlands. They do have basketball there but he never played it until he heard of Lebron James and started watching him play on You-Tube. He decided he wanted to play that sport, too, although he’s a very different player from LeBron. He was only 188 pounds when we recruited him. Like Ajak, he had more of a reputation as an offensive player than a defensive player. 24-7 has him as a 3 star , the 198th best player in the country and the 38th best center – but if you click on the ‘history’ button, that becomes 138/27. ESPN/Scout had him as a 3 star and the 48th best center prospect. Rivals didn’t rate him at all. (All of these big men look better than their recruiting rankings. I suspect the fact that they came from other countries and had limited exposure to the people who make these evaluations is a factor.)
He played limited minutes last year but looked promising. He moved well and had an awareness of what was going on around him. He never got credited with an assist but had the best pass of the season, a wrap-around no looker that bounced off Quincy Guerrier’s hands because he couldn’t believe it. He wound up playing 146 minutes and averaged 13.7 pints, 9.6 rebounds and 2.7 blocks while shooting 79.2% from the field.
Jim Boeheim: “He’s got a very good skillset. He can shoot it, pass it very well for a big guy. He’s just not strong enough yet to play. He’s got to get stronger and that’s going to take time. “In Jesse’s case it’s just physical strength. Nothing else.”
He didn’t play enough last year for a highlight film. Here’s a tape I found from his days at IMG Academy in Florida, a high-end instructional place he went to maximize his potential:
Highlights: Syracuse basketball recruit Jesse Edwards of IMG Academy
Again, he moves smoothly, can shoot over people and can drive around them. I like the fact that he doesn’t, (in these highlights, anyway), bring the ball down to the level of the people guarding him.
I’m impressed that Ajak has gone from 198 to 215 pounds, Edwards from 188 to 215 and Marek Dolezaj from 185 to 201. Our strength and conditioning people seem to be doing a good job. These guys are starting to fill out. Someone described them as lottery tickets: you buy three, you have three times as many chances to win. We are hoping that at least one of these guys emerges as a good back-up center and possible successor to Bourama Sidibe.
Bourama Sidibe, a 6-10 216 senior from Bamako, Mali / St. Benedict's Prep (N.J.)
When Bourama came here four years ago, he was much shorter than Paschal Chukwu, our 7-3 string bean center but seemed like the more talented player, especially after he had 18 points and 12 rebounds in the Jordan Brand Classic.. Many predicted he would become the starting center before the conference season began. His high school tape showed about everything you’d want to see from a center: quick movements, aggressive athleticism, running the court, blocking shots making steals, rebounding and scoring both from the low post and on drives, even a medium range jump shot.
The game looked easy for him:
Bourama Sidibe(Syracuse Commit) St.Benedict's Prep Senior Season
But when he got here, it became hard. He developed tendonitis in his knees, which sometimes bothered him so much that he couldn’t play and other times limited his effectiveness. Only occasionally did he show flashes of the talent in that tape. He not only lost much of his mobility but also his jumping ability and 6-10 is not exceptional height for a modern college center. But he showed ‘flashes’ as Greg Robinson would say. The biggest flash was a 18 point, 16 rebound, 3 block effort in 24 minutes at Pittsburgh. But that was easily the best he’s played in his first three years here. He had a 13/10/1 game against Colgate as a sophomore and a 12/14/1 game against the same team early last year. But he had trouble not only with his knees but with foul trouble and thus had only rare opportunities to put those kinds of numbers up.
Last year after off-season surgery he was moving much more freely and as the season progressed the game seemed to slow down for him. He got better at avoiding fouls, which is often a matter of knowing where to be and what’s going on around him. In his last six games he played 25-35 minutes per game and had 6/10/1 against Georgia Tech, 13/10/4 against Pittsburgh, a really impressive 17/15/6 in the Dome loss to North Carolina, 9/12/1 against Boston College, 2/10/2 against Miami, and 12/13/2 in the season-ending route of the Tar Heels. It brought to mind how Rakeem Christmas, after struggling on the offensive end for 2 ½ seasons, started to make places on the offensive end last in his junior season and went on to have a big senior year, averaging 17.1/9.5/2.5. I’ll be surprised if Bourama puts up those numbers, (Christmas was a much more highly ranked recruit), but I’ll take a continuation of the numbers he was putting up in those last six games.
For his career, Bourama has put up the following 40-minute averages:
Freshman: 373 minutes played, 8.7 points, 12.9 rebounds, 2.1 blocks, 7.6 fouls
Sophomore: 281 minutes played, 7.8 points, 11.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 9.7 fouls
Junior: 767 minutes played, 10.1 points, 12.6 rebounds, 2.3 blocks, 6.8 fouls
In those last six games he played 175 minutes and averaged 13.5 points, 16.0 rebounds, 3.7 blocks and 5.7 fouls. As his fouls go down, (and I think they will continue to do so), his other numbers will go up.
Allen Griffin: “Bourama’s gotten a lot stronger, a lot more confident. Obviously, he still needs to work on finishing around the basket. That’s one thing we’ve been really concentrating on – keep getting better around the basket.”
24-7 listed Bourama as a 3-star power forward prospect, the 190th best player in the class and the 48th best power forward, but if you click on ‘history’ that mysteriously changes to #89 nationally and #25 as a PF, which makes more sense. They still have him as a 3 star recruit, as did Rivals and Scout but ESPN gave him four stars and ranked him as the #15 center prospect.
Bourama’s highlights from last season show the complete game we are looking for. He’s just got to do this consistently and stay out of foul trouble:
Bourama Sidibe 2019-20 Season Highlights | Syracuse Forward
