Syracuse Basketball: Pre-Summer Player Rankings for 2017-2018 Season

Frank Howard is a mystery. In games that matter he struggles, but when its inferior opponents he shines. This trend needs to end this upcoming season.

A capable scorer who can hit a jumpshot now and then, he just needs to stop making silly mistakes. Howard is a tremendous passer when he looks to do so. However, he sometimes gets too excited and throws the possession away with a stupid mistake. Whether that’s a foul, a turnover, or a bad shot, he needs to find a way to stop costing the team possessions.

Howard has more experience than anyone else on this roster. As a junior, he is the oldest remaining player who’s played quality minutes. That’s pretty sad, but that’s where we stand as of right now. That’s not to say Syracuse won’t add some grad-transfers, they probably will, but until then, he is it in terms of veteran leadership.

Normally with as much experience playing as Howard has had, you’d think he’d be first in these rankings, but he’s not. The reason for this is that he has let other players like John Gillon, Tyus Battle, and Taurean Thompson in the past take his spot and minutes. Next year, he won’t have to worry about his spot in the rotation from the looks of it. That doesn’t mean he’s a starter either though.  If Howard Washington, a freshman, comes in and outplays him early on in the season, I can easily see Boeheim giving him the starting point guard spot instead.

Howard is more than capable of keeping the starting point guard spot on this team, but he has to earn it. Once again, like Chukwu, his experience in college alone puts him at third in this list. If he improves, it will mean great things for Syracuse Basketball. If he struggles, then the Orange may be in for a long year.