Syracuse Basketball: Marek Dolezaj will thrive in his sophomore season

The prodigious 6-foot-10, close to 200-pound forward’s impending dominance should put Syracuse Basketball over the hump during his sophomore season.

It is rare to think of any college basketball player, let alone an international forward who knows considerably less English than most players in the country as “seasoned” by their sophomore season.

After a 2017-18 season in which Marek Dolezaj compiled a field goal percentage of 54%, and played 725 total minutes combined during ACC and NCAA Tournament action (30 minutes a night), the 20-year-old has more than demonstrated the qualities of a seasoned competitor.

Fourteen months ago, when the Slovakian phenom decided to take his talents to Central New York, I believed that he would make “a seamless transition into Jim Boeheim’s legendary 2-3 zone, and eliminate all of Syracuse’s rebounding woes that seemed to never get fixed during their forgetful 2016-17 season“.

Under Boeheim, Syracuse’s expected proliferation of high-usage rates among their stars (Tyus Battle, Oshae Brissett, Frank Howard) will continue into next season. Undeterred by this, Dolezaj has and will continue to be one of Boeheim’s most coachable and humble talents ever, and shine when called upon.

Orange big men Paschal Chukwu and Bourama Sidibe exemplified inconsistency for a large part of the 2017-18 season, especially when it came to rebounding. Often times, Dolezaj’s nack for grabbing rebounds, contagious hustle, and ability to defend in the post earned him opportunities to play the center position in a small-ball lineup that often thrived both in the Carrier Dome and on the road.

Halfway through the summer, confirmed reports suggest that Dolezaj is now 6-foot-10, and there is no indication that he is done growing.

Not only is he starting to fit the bill of a center in terms of height, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a much more Herculean version of Dolezaj when the Orange take on Eastern Washington in the Carrier Dome on November 6th.

Following a 2016-17 season in which the Orange failed to make the NCAA Tournament and lost star forward and leading rebounder Tyler Lydon (nine per game) to the NBA Draft, there were reasons to expect an injury-riddled and disappointing year of hoops in Central New York.

However, a Syracuse team that appeared to have less skill than the one that preceded it, ended up exceeding all expectations thanks to the clutch, unexpected performances from Dolezaj.

Whether it was his 10 points (4-5 fg%) and seven rebound performance in SU’s 72-70 win over Kevin Huerter’s Maryland Terrapins, his 20-point outburst (6-7 fg%, 8-10 ft%) in a round one victory over Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament, a 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting performance before fouling out in a win over No. 6 TCU in the round one of the NCAA Tournament, or his 13-points (6-8 fg%) against Duke in the Sweet Sixteen, Dolezaj put his peculiar skill set on display when it mattered most during his freshman season.

During his freshman year, Dolezaj’s athleticism, awareness, and selfless nature contributed to Syracuse’s unforeseen success, and his own mini-highlight reel:

During this exchange against Miami, Dolezaj delivers a jaw-dropping, behind-the-back pass to Freshman phenom Oshae Brissett in the paint. Dolezaj, who found himself inches away from being out of bounds, decided to be creative in order to find a cutting Brissett, who scored on the play.

In this clip, Dolezaj and Brissett carry out a textbook give-and-go, highlighted by the Slovakian’s no-look pass to the Canadian on the break. Dolezaj’s head told one story, his arms another, and Brissett finished the play with an easy slam over a dumbfounded Oakland player.

In this final display, Dolezaj makes his athleticism known around the country during the ACC Tournament. After receiving a hand-off from Chukwu, Dolezaj proceeded to dunk over Wake Forest’s seven-foot center, Olivier Starr and drew himself an and-one opportunity in the process.

Dolezaj’s unbounded potential on the offensive end was recognized, especially by Boeheim during his freshman year. In spite of that, his toughness and defensive abilities will also make him stand out as one of college basketball’s premier two-way talents this coming season.

Following a collision with Georgetown center Jessie Govan and a nasty spill that followed, Dolezaj spent very little time on the bench before re-entering the game. The freshman ended up grabbing a clutch rebound (one of his eight in the contest) and knocked down two important free throws in a winning effort on the road.

Dolezaj’s nine multi-block performances and his nine multi-steal performances proved that his effort on both ends is unmatched.

Even when one of his stronger defensive efforts, in this case, a clean block, wasn’t accounted for due to a bad call from the referee, Dolezaj handles the situation in a far different way than most would, and as a result, doesn’t cost his team the risk of receiving a technical foul.

After a 2017-18 campaign in which the freshman often anchored the Orange to success down the stretch, it is obvious that Dolezaj’s ceiling will keep rising and rising as he is given more minutes on a Syracuse team that will see plenty of success starting in November.

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With likely three more years ahead of him under Boeheim, Dolezaj could end up being an NBA-level talent by the time his tenure in Central New York comes to a close, all while carving his name in college basketball lore.