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

Taurean Thompson was an excellent surprise last year. He was a Top 100 recruit coming out of high school, according to ESPN.com, but we still had our doubts. Just because you have talent doesn’t mean it always translates well to the college game.

The more the season went on, the better Thompson got. He is an excellent scorer and finisher in the post, and can sometimes block a shot or two. In the latter stages of last year he became one of the focal points of the offense, just like he will be next season. He is capable of scoring 20 points or more a night, no question, but the one thing holding him back is his defense.

Thompson got earfuls from Jim Boeheim last year as he time and time again missed guys going along the baseline of the zone, behind him, for layups and alley-oops. He always rotated back too late leading to easy points for opponents. Oftentimes, other teams would continue going back to Thompson’s matchup and expose it. That’s never a good thing.

Thompson can be a star, there’s no doubt in my mind. He is raw, but he knows how to score around the basket which pro scouts love. If he can fix his mistakes on defense and continue to impress with what seems like automatic mid-range jumpshots again next year, then he will hear his name heard in next year’s NBA Draft.

I wouldn’t go as far as to say he can be the top player on this list at any point next season, but I think he definitely is worthy of the two or three spot, no matter how well or how poorly he plays next year.