Syracuse Basketball: The Curious Case of Tyler Roberson

The Syracuse basketball team has been an utter disappointment and that hasn’t been helped by their Senior Tyler Roberson. Can he still contribute?

Amidst the struggling Syracuse basketball season, one player seems more lost than the others. Tyler Roberson, a senior who averaged 9 points per game and 8.5 rebounds per game in 30 minutes per game his junior year, cannot find the floor.

Roberson has always been somewhat of an enigma in his time here at Syracuse. Last year, Boeheim was quoted saying that if he had anyone else, he wouldn’t play Roberson. Jim may have been saying that to motivate Roberson, who did respond and had some great games.

When Syracuse traveled to Tobacco Road last year to take on Duke in Cameron Indoor, Roberson had 14 points and 20 rebounds. He constantly was giving Syracuse second chances on the offensive boards, and they were making the Dukies pay. There was no question that Roberson was the MVP that day when the Orange pulled off he upset. This upset ultimately likely led to Syracuse’s controversial NCAA Tournament birth, which they took advantage of and made the 2016 Final Four.

Flash forward to this season, Roberson is averaging 6 points and 4 rebounds in just 17 minutes per game. Roberson has now found himself on the bench because Boeheim finally has ” someone else to play” in Taurean Thompson.

Despite having Thompson at his disposal, Boeheim needs to play Roberson more. This is a team that we’ve seen struggle to rebound. Against South Carolina the Orange were out-rebounded by 7, against Wisconsin they were out-rebounded by 15, and against Georgetown out-rebounded by 11.

If there’s one thing that Roberson has always given Boeheim, its energy and effort. He crashes the glass hard and since Boeheim will never come out of the zone, Roberson’s knowledge of the 2-3 is incredibly valuable. The Orange are giving up 65 points per game, and coming off of giving up 93 to a very bad St. John’s team. Something has to change.

As much as Boeheim likes to poke at Roberson and talk down about him, he may be their only

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chance to save the season. While it is great to have the offensive ability of Taurean Thompson and Andrew White on the floor, Roberson’s rebounding and defense should not be underestimated. If there is one thing I will say, its that in years past Syracuse’s offense has not always been great, but there defense has been.

This is not necessarily a guaranteed way for the Orange to turn things around, but I think it is worth the risk to start to put Roberson out there on the field more. In the Orange’s two most recent losses to Georgetown and St. John’s, Roberson has only played about 6 minutes per game.

One other interesting thing to note is that in both of those games, the Orange have given up their first and second most points in a game. Roberson is a player that has given nothing but hustle, and heart for Boeheim in his years here, but Boeheim doesn’t treat him like so. There isn’t much to lose on the rest of the season, its time to reward the senior for his contributions in past years, and play the man!

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