Last week I talked mostly about the incoming freshmen and what their impact will have on the Syracuse basketball season. Now I’d like to tackle some of our returning players and what this year could hold for them. Although we lost Christmas, McCullough, Patterson, and Johnson, we still have several returning players that should help to give this team a solid foundation of leadership and poise under duress.
Of those returning, Cooney and Gbinije will be seniors, Roberson, Obokoh, and Coleman will be juniors, and Joseph will be a sophomore. That’s a fair amount of experience returning from last year’s team which should really help in the early portion of the season to find an identity and also to help guide and mentor some of the freshmen.
Michael Gbinije drives to the basket against the defense of the Duke Blue Devils. Photo by: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
In my eyes, Gbinije is the go-to guy this year. Last year he showed that he is not only incredibly versatile, averaging 12.7 points, 5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists, but that he is also very accurate from behind the arc. He ended up shooting 39.2% from 3-point range, by far the best on the team. He was also the third leading scorer, rebounder, and second on the team in assists. He played both guards spots, as well as some time at small forward, proving that he is a threat from many positions.
This year I expect him to break out and have an excellent season. He’s long, athletic, and very explosive off the dribble. It looks like he will be seeing a lot of time at point guard as Kaleb Joseph continues to develop, and I think that will be great for him as he will have the ball in his hands a lot and can be a playmaker both off the dribble and off ball screens. He’s got a quick first step that will allow him to drive into the paint and draw in the defense, which should open things up from the outside for Cooney, Richardson, and Lydon.
He’s also been developing an effective floater which we saw a few times towards the end of last season. If he can add a few more moves in the lane, he could become a real monster for opposing defenses. My predictions are that he sees a big jump in his point production. He might see a slight regression in his shooting percentage as team’s focus in on him, but I think overall it will benefit the team more as it keeps the floor spaced and the defense honest if they are forced to play tight defense on him out to the 3-point line. Now if he could just make those pesky free throws…
Trevor Cooney takes a shot against Notre Dame. Photo by: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Another leader will be Trevor Cooney. Last year, Cooney averaged 13.4 points per game, good for second on the team. Unfortunately, since we had very few reliable 3-point threats, he was constantly guarded by the opponents best defender and often had a difficult time getting open looks, especially from downtown. Because of that, he only shot 30.9% from three, which is very low for someone with as solid a stroke as he displays.
I think this year that number will improve substantially, especially in lineups with Gbinije and either Richardson or Lydon, where they can space the floor and stretch the defense. Last year defenses just jammed up the lane because of Christmas and our horrific team 3-point shooting (one of the worst in the nation). This year, I don’t think that’s going to work due to the multitude of talented shooters we have, where opposing defenses will pay for not closing out fast enough.
I also see Cooney taking over Christmas’ role as our vocal leader. Every team needs a player to step up, take command, and be “the man”, and I see Cooney in that role this year. One thing I’ve always liked about him is his unshakeable demeanor. He never seems to get upset if he’s missing shots, and never backs down from an open look. I think he’ll really step up as our fearless captain this year, and it will help to pull the team together.
DaJuan Coleman (32) goes up strong against Virginia Tech. Photo by: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports
The third major prong of our attack this year is going to be Dajuan Coleman. Now I know what you’re thinking, he’s been out of commission most of the past two seasons, is he going to be ready to play? All signs point to yes. His recovery from knee surgery has been a long and arduous one, but it seems as though he is fully recovered, or will be by the start of the season. With his strength and size, that will be a big help in filling the void that Chistmas, a second team All American, left after graduating last year.
Although Coleman was very raw in his limited playing time over the past couple seasons, he definitely showed glimpses of greatness. His rebounding ability is off the charts, his frame is built to be a bruiser in the low blocks, and he has a couple of post moves that he was finally starting to develop.
I do still have a couple of concerns for him. One is obviously his health. Can he finally stay healthy, or will his past issues come back to haunt him? Unfortunately, there’s no magic eight-ball answer for this, and only time will tell. My other major concern is with his indecisiveness when he gets the ball down low. Far too often he would put the ball on the floor, and immediately have it stolen by a guard helping from the outside, or he’d dribble right into a double team, or turn it over. I’m hopeful that he has taken the time to study Christmas and his array of post moves, and from what I’ve heard from the pre-season scrimmages and summer camps that he’s been at, he’s looked very strong and dominant down low. So hopefully that will translate to the college court.
Tyler Roberson dunks the ball against the Duke Blue Devils. Photo by: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Tyler Roberson is another important player this year, and he’s a bit of a wild card. Roberson is coming off a very solid year where he averaged over 8 points and 7 rebounds per game. Most impressive was the way he ended the season. His last three games he averaged 14 points, 9 rebounds, and just under 2 steals a game, while shooting almost 50% from the floor. It looked like he was finally breaking out of his shell.
Roberson is an athletic freak, with the ability to dominate the glass. He had two games last year with 17 rebounds, and 9 games with at least 10 rebounds in total. He did all that only averaging 28 minutes per game. This year, I think he’s going to be the rock solid forward in Boeheim’s rotation, and I see his minutes, points, and rebounds all going up substantially.
The big things he needs to focus on are his shooting and his drives to the hoop. Roberson was extremely streaky shooting the 12-18 footer last year. Some games he looked great, but often he would miss open shots. He’s been developing a more consistent jumper all spring and summer, so I’m hopeful that it means a higher percentage from the floor. For his drives to the hoop, he needs to work on more than just a simple spin move, which seemed to be his go-to move last year. It was sometimes effective, but once teams realized that he didn’t have many other moves, they learned how to defend it. If he has developed a stronger skillset in the lane, he could be a big surprise for Syracuse this year.
Kaleb Joseph dribbles prepares to drive to the hoop against Notre Dame. Photo by: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Next on the list is Kaleb Joseph. Joseph got a really bad rap last year for having a mediocre-at-best season. He struggled from the floor, shooting only 37% from the field, and had far too many careless turnovers or poor drives to the basket. However, he also showed flashes of his potential such as his outstanding game against Boston College, where he went a perfect 7-7 from the field and had a couple of monster dunks. He might be only 6’3″, but he’s very athletic and quick. If he can focus on his ballhandling skills and making better decisions, he could be in store for a much better season.
I believe he will probably come off the bench to spell Gbinije at the point, which might actually be good for him as it will take off some of the pressure of being the main point guard on the team. He needs to attack the game when he gets in and not play so passively. He also needs to understand that just because you drive to the hoop doesn’t mean you have to throw the ball at the hoop. Draw the defense in and then pass to the open man. If he can figure that out and become a pass-first PG that isn’t afraid to take (and make) open looks, I think he could be a great contributor for us off the bench.
Chinonso Obokoh makes a pass between the defense of Boston College. Photo by: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
That leaves us with Obokoh and I’m really not sure what to expect from him. I think he has the body to be a solid defender in the middle of the zone and spell Coleman when he needs a breather, which could be often considering I doubt Boeheim will want to put too many minutes on Coleman’s knees right away. His offense is still very much a work in progress, but if he can focus on boxing out and rebounding, as well as blocking or altering some shots, he could be a valuable asset to a team that is rather shallow in the frontcourt, specifically at center.
Diagne, one of the incoming freshmen, might be able to help here as well, but Boeheim always seems to have a very short leash on freshmen big men (see Fab Melo, Christmas, etc). To me, the center position is our biggest question mark. If Coleman comes back and dominates like he is capable of, we could be in for a great Syracuse basketball season. If he struggles, or gets re-injured, it could be very difficult for us to win more than 20 games.
What’s so interesting about the team this year is that it is hard to predict how good they will be. A lot rests on Coleman and our incoming class, which gives us a pretty low floor, but an incredibly high ceiling. Being the optimist that I am, I’m going to say that we end up with about 23 wins, a winning record in the ACC, and a birth in the NCAA tournament. I think the team will come together by the end of the year and will be a tough out for anyone we face. I’d say it’s entirely possible we make a sweet sixteen run and prove to everyone that even with some pretty heavy sanctions, Syracuse is a force to be reckoned with. Go Cuse!