Inside the Loud House
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Tyus Battle makes Syracuse basketball a legit contender

By Paul A. Esden Jr.

SYRACUSE, NY - FEBRUARY 21: Tyus Battle #25 of the Syracuse Orange shoots the ball around Cameron Johnson #13 of the North Carolina Tar Heels during the second half at the Carrier Dome on February 21, 2018 in Syracuse, New York. North Carolina defeated Syracuse 78-74. (Photo by Rich Barnes/Getty Images)
SYRACUSE, NY - FEBRUARY 21: Tyus Battle #25 of the Syracuse Orange shoots the ball around Cameron Johnson #13 of the North Carolina Tar Heels during the second half at the Carrier Dome on February 21, 2018 in Syracuse, New York. North Carolina defeated Syracuse 78-74. (Photo by Rich Barnes/Getty Images) /
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The return of Tyus Battle to the Syracuse basketball squad makes this team a true contender. Don’t believe? Check the facts Jack.

It’s true pinch yourselves Syracuse basketball fans, Tyus Battle is back. So what does that mean for SU’s chances next season? They just got a whole lot better.

If you don’t want to take my word for it, just check what the experts are saying. We’ll go slow through this process so no one gets lost.

First off SU is a top-20 National Championship contender according to the latest Vegas odds.

But that’s only because Battle returned, SU wasn’t getting that same love before. Experts across the league were in a consensus, the Orange weren’t a top-25 team without Battle on it.

Suddenly when he surprisingly rejoined the team, seemingly everyone was jumping on the bandwagon via Syracuse.com:

  • Gary Parrish of CBS Sports: No. 22 in the country
    • Parrish would go on to say that usually when you get unexpected returns from really good players that usually leads to a ‘special season’.
  • Mike Rutherford of SB Nation: No. 23 in the country
    • The one thing to note here, Mike didn’t have Syracuse ANYWHERE near the top-25 prior to Battle making his decision. Then all of the sudden they were top-25? That’s the definition of bandwagon, but either way we’re happy to have you aboard for the 2018-19 season.
  • Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports: No. 16 in the country
    • Rothstein had some bold things to say about Syracuse including: ‘this is a top-five ACC team and SU is going to be a dog this year.’
  • Myron Medcalf of ESPN: No. 16 in the country
    • Myron is the only one of this entire group who didn’t jump on the bandwagon, he’s been on the entire time. Even calling out other ‘experts’ as haters if they didn’t see how good this Orange team can be.

If you aren’t on the bandwagon, it’s time to get on before it’s too late. The hype is real around this Syracuse basketball team. Consider this: the 2018-19 hoops squad is returning all five starters, that’s the first time that has happened in the 21st century for the Orange, the last team to do it was the 1999 Cuse team.

Last year’s team made the Sweet 16, now they’re deeper, more talented, and oh yeah they still have a Hall of Fame coach in Jim Boeheim, that’s a pretty ripe combination. But probably the biggest thing will be SU’s improvement offensively.

SU was 311th overall averaging 66.6 points per game, per Team Rankings. Let’s do the math, Elijah Hughes coming to town adds an 8-10 points per game scorer, Jalen Carey is a pure scorer (over 22 points per game per the Prep Circuit), Buddy Boeheim is more than just a name, people have told me when he steps foot on campus at SU he’s probably the best shooter on the team.

Oh wait there’s more: a healthy Bourama Sidibe is a beast (we saw spurts of that last season), Marek Dolezaj has developed his 18-20 foot jumper (that could prove lethal next season), and then Paschal Chukwu has all the potential in the world.

Next: Syracuse Basketball: Top 30 Players in School History

There’s a realistic opportunity for SU to go from one of the worst offenses in the country to one of the best. If they can keep up their elite defense from last season, I think those experts were right, this could be a very special season in 2018-19.

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