The 2017-18 Syracuse basketball season came to a crashing halt on Friday night vs the Duke Blue Devils. ITLH looks back and grades the season.
This is a season Syracuse basketball fans won’t soon forget. Before the season kicked off, local media (including myself) didn’t understand how the Orange would score the basketball. There was a lot of hope and finger crossing that Tyus Battle could score 20 points minimum a night to keep this team in games.
Perhaps that was a little aggressive, but what other option did this team have? Taurean Thompson skipped out of town. Geno Thorpe played for a few games and decided Jim Boeheim wasn’t for him. Howard Washington tore his ACL. While the rest of the lineup went through a myriad of injuries themselves and mostly played through it.
This season should be aptly labeled, ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’.
Despite that truth, Boeheim was the face of consistency. He relied on his patented 2-3 zone, when others demanded he ‘adapt or die’ to the obvious solution, man-to-man defense. Fortunately he stuck to his guns and that’s the reason the Orange made it all the way to the Sweet 16. So now that it’s all over, how did this season grade out?
Our first player on the block is one of the most polarizing in Syracuse basketball history. Howard has a second home in the Jim Boeheim dog house. That’s exactly where he has resided over the last couple of season.
But that wasn’t the case in 2017-18. Howard tripled his scoring efforts, became THE man on campus as the point guard, and really provided this team with a steadying veteran presence. While the only reason this man didn’t receive an A grade, was because of the turnovers.
Howard had a ton of unforced turnovers this season that certainly cost the Orange in a few games. But on the other hand, his three point shooting and terrific passing helped the Cuse win a few that maybe they shouldn’t have.
The third year was clearly the charm for Howard in his Junior campaign. Now as the the Senior on the squad next season, it seems like Frankie will try to keep the momentum alive. He’ll likely return as the starting point guard if incoming freshman Jalen Carey doesn’t pry it from his dead fingers.
Some would say I’m being a bit too harsh here and that criticism is duly noted. I base this grade off of what the unrealistic expectations were before the season. After Taurean Thompson left, pundits started to think, ‘where the heck is the offense going to come from for the Orange this season?’
Fair question. Which led many (myself included) to think that Tyus Battle would have to drop 20 a night for SU to have a chance this year. He got pretty darn close, but a lot of flaws were revealed in Battle’s game.
Battle struggles to drive to the left. He often can get caught playing ‘hero ball’ trying to put the team on his back and play isolation while the other four members of the team watch. That’s not healthy offense.
But overall SU wouldn’t have sniffed the tournament if Battle didn’t play for the team this year or went down with injury. It’s a double-edged sword and many are hoping he returns to the squad. His confidence and swagger is infectious to the rest of his teammates.
The secret sauce to the Syracuse Orange making it to the Sweet 16. His 17 minutes this season were some of the most critical 17 minutes I’ve ever seen.
While Bayer never lit up the box score, he was a team player who gave the Cuse everything he had. Heck in a pivotal moment in the round of 32, SU knocked off a National title contender in Michigan State.
The Cuse doesn’t do that without Bayer’s huge block at the end of the game. Basketball is a team game. There is no ‘I’ in team. Bayer embodied what the 2017-18 campaign was all about for this team. This clearly wasn’t the most talented roster we’ve ever seen from the Cuse, but it was arguably the most tight knit. That camaraderie I truly believe was the reason this team made it as far as they did.
Sadly the Bayer experiment ended after the season. Bayer’s dad announced on Twitter that his son would seek grad-transfer opportunities. In 50 years, not many Orange fans, if any, will remember Bayer’s impact, but I know I will. Thanks for the memories Bayer!
It’s hard to give Howard Washington a grade because he tore his ACL just when he seemed to be finding his stride. It was a detrimental blow to an Orange team that quite literally battled every obstacle they could have faced.
With Frank Howard and Tyus Battle dominating the minutes at guard, there weren’t many opportunities for the youngster to get playing time. But he made the most of what time he did have.
Only averaged around six minutes a game and scored 19 total points on the season. Howard will be a nice depth piece on next year’s squad and in the future. The one thing I can say about Howard from a source who knows him well is that this kid is a pro’s pro.
As the new guy coming into a big time program, it’d be easy to say screw this, I’m not getting enough playing time I’m out of here (Geno Thorpe…cough…cough). But he didn’t he embraced the role that he earned and kept biding his time. Well Howard, good things come to those who wait. Always remember that.
I think we’re all guilty of being prisoners of the moment. For example:
- Wow that was the greatest game I’ve ever seen!
- This could be the biggest upset in history
You get the point. The Syracuse connection is Bourama Sidibe. He came in as a three or four star recruit (depending on the recruiting service you look at) and he was projected to be a key cog for the Orange this past season.
Sadly due to unforeseen ankle and knee problems, Sidibe was riddle ineffective from the start of the season to the end. There were certainly moments where Sidibe was able to rest enough to get his body right to have an explosion. His best game of the season came against the worst team in the conference in Pitt (18 points and 16 boards, both career highs).
While this season was a relative disappointment due to injury, next year could be special. With the Darius Bazley news, a forward spot has just opened up and that could be Sidibe’s if he plays his cards right.
Our first A+ of the report card goes outside of the United States. I’m sure mama Dolezaj will put it up on her Slovkian refrigerator. Now I’m not sure what reactions this grade is going to get, but let me explain.
Dolezaj wasn’t only adapting to the Syracuse basketball team, let’s be honest, he was adapting to America. Hardly an easy transition for anyone, let alone a player doing that when no one else speaks the same language.
Dolezaj was understandably timid when the season first started, but he slowly and methodically worked his way into the dynamic of this team. He developed his shot and that proved to be the difference maker during the season.
He had two performances that deserve recognition here. The Wake Forest game where he scored 20 points and led the team literally came out of no where. If you would’ve combined his previous four games to that point you wouldn’t have gotten 20, but he found a way. Also his performance in the round of 64 (before fouling out) vs TCU was the stuff of legend. Without him SU would’ve been done right there. He’s got a bright future as a four-year player at Syracuse.
Nobody likes giving out bad grades, but Matthew Moyer has the distinction of the worst grade on the team this year. I hate kicking a guy while he’s down, but he just failed to live up to expectations.
Moyer had one game (18 points vs UConn) that had you saying WAIT A MINUTE! Sadly that was the only time you were on the edge of your seat watching Moyer play. I’ll give the kid credit, the kid seems tough and brings some energy.
Sadly that’s all he brought to the table. The only good thing about Moyer transferring is that it opens up a scholarship spot. But who knows what the Orange can do with a scholarship this late in the process.
We all should’ve known that Moyer was leaving after all the Jim Boeheim and Matthew Moyer’s dad beef in the middle of the season. Some people can handle the Boeheim coaching style and some can’t, look no further than Frank Howard (success story) and Moyer who ends up being an example of when something went wrong.
The Canadian Sensation lived up to all the hype and some for the Syracuse basketball program. Oshae Brissett showed a refined three point shooting game that got better like a fine wine throughout the season.
But the biggest surprise of his game was the rebounding efforts. Even Boeheim said that was a pleasant surprise. Brissett became the second scorer for this team and was invaluable down the stretch.
Despite being a freshman, Brissett rarely revealed those butterflies. A couple of times he did look like a deer in headlights (look at the Duke games this year), but the big question on Orange fans’ minds is, will he stay?
The NBA Mock Drafts haven’t peeped his name and his initial sentiments after the season tell a similar tale. If he can stay, the Orange should be in pretty good shape next year. But that’s obviously a huge if as is Battle for that matter.
There is not a player on this team that I’ve criticized more than Pachal Chukwu. I feel like a disappointed dad when I see Chukwu play. I just know how much potential he has and he flubs it away too much for my liking.
After speaking with one of the greatest SU players in history in Roosevelt Bouie, I think I get the Chukwu thing a little better now. When you hear someone is 7-foot-2 (tallest player in SU history), you think to yourself wow must be nice.
But it’s harder than that. Bouie revealed that it’s hard getting those tree limbs and trunks to move being so big. Chukwu really has terrible hands and he fumbled away a lot of passes down low this year.
But he also was one of the best rim protectors in the country. A healthy and engaged Chukwu is a dangerous sign for the other teams in the league. Chukwu in the middle of that zone is the ideal size and length for what Boeheim is looking for. A little more focus and he could be THE guy to watch next season.
We can debate this A+ all day and if you disagree I respect that, but you’re going to catch these hands. This is without a doubt one of the best coaching performances in Boeheim’s illustrious history.
If you’d like to do a discount double check on my statement, check out ITLH’s Neil Adler’s top-eight Boeheim coaching jobs of all-time!
But back to the point, Boeheim encountered nearly every demon you can in college basketball: injuries, alien abduction (Taurean Thompson), and drama (Geno Thorpe). Somehow someway he gathered his six and a half deep bench to the Sweet 16.
He got in by the hair of his chinny chin chin, but he got in. SU has proven that’s all they need to make something happen in March Madness. I know he got zero consideration, but he should’ve gotten some love for Coach of the Year with what he accomplished. This was a phenomenal year and one I’ll never forget, that’s because of Boeheim.
The regular season for the Orange certainly had its’ ups and downs. The year before, the team had no shortage of big time wins. In fact SU had three top-10 victories on their resume during the 2016-17 season. Of course they coupled that with some gruesome losses that they couldn’t explain to the gods at the pearly gates.
This season, SU didn’t have those tantalizing wins. The Orange did improve their horrible road record and got some really nice wins at Miami and at Louisville, that is what probably got this team over the top.
Better late than never the Orange did get a top 25 conquest, it just came in the regular season finale when the Cuse needed it most vs Clemson. The Cardiac Cuse certainly lived up to their moniker this season with nearly every game coming down to the bitter end.
SU was only ‘blown out’ five times (losing by more 10 or more points) and one of those was in double overtime against Florida State. So with that food for thought in the back of your mind, the Orange weren’t a fun team to watch with their stagnant offense, but they certainly made things interesting at the end of nearly every game this season.
We’ll also include the ACC Tournament in this conversation. SU finally beat an ACC opponent, check that one off the bucket list folks. It was Wake Forest, but thankfully that still counts.
On Selection Sunday, making it in as the final team suggests that SU needed every win they got and still only got in by the skin of their teeth. Many analysts suggested that the Cuse didn’t ‘deserve’ to get into the tournament. Well guess what, no one cares what you think!
SU has proven over the years that it doesn’t matter how you get into the tournament, as long as you get a ticket to the dance anything can happen. The Orange were a 10 seed in 2016 and made it to the Final Four. This past season the Cuse did work as an 11 seed making it to the Sweet 16.
Next: Syracuse Football: An inside look at SU star quarterback Eric Dungey
Probably the most impressive thing about the Orange making it that far in the tournament this year is the explosive offenses the 2-3 zone had to face. All of the teams SU played averaged over 80 points per game