Syracuse Basketball: Oshae Brissett decision is still very much up in the air
Oshae Brissett hasn’t made a decision on whether or not he’s returning to the Syracuse basketball team. Here’s some insight into that thought process.
The Syracuse basketball team could look very different next season. But how different will it be?
Well, there’s no mystery with what Tyus Battle is doing. Sorry Syracuse fans, Battle is going pro regardless of what transpires over the next month.
That decision isn’t as clear for sophomore forward Oshae Brissett. Brissett and Battle will be participating in the upcoming G-League Elite Camp later this month.
We spoke with Mike Waters of Syracuse.com about this very subject on The Manchild Show with Boy Green and here’s what he had to say about Oshae Brissett’s future:
"“You know I’ve had people I trust tell me that Oshae is leaving the door open to come back to Syracuse. He’s been taking care of everything he needs to do in terms of his classes and academic work so if he wants to come back, he can and that appears to be a good sign.But I’ve also been told by some people that he’s gone. The people I’ve talked to just think this is what he wants to do and this happens every year that maybe you aren’t invited to the NBA Combine and maybe you aren’t a likely draft pick and the player is just ready to start their adult lives and pro careers. I’m rambling a little bit here because I don’t have a good answer to this question. It’s a very personal decision for these guys deciding between coming back to school and starting to receive a paycheck.”"
We’re in no position to tell Oshae what he should be doing. Who are we to say Oshae should return to Syracuse and skip out on starting his professional career.
If Oshae is ready to go pro, more power to him and his family getting that money. But since that decision isn’t official yet (and probably won’t be much before the late May deadline), let’s focus on how the Brissett decision affects the Orange next season.
So already Syracuse is replacing their entire backcourt (Tyus Battle, Frank Howard) with both of their guards gone. Paschal Chukwu is gone, so a center has to step up to the plate.
So before any other decisions happen at a bare minimum SU is replacing 60 percent of their starting lineup and it could be more if Oshae leaves.
Although as Mike points out in the interview above, if Brissett is back “the forward position is locked down.”
- Elijah Hughes
- Aforementioned Brissett
- Marek Dolezaj
- Robert Braswell
- Quincy Guerrier
Not only would your starters be locked down, but your depth would be locked down. If Oshae isn’t there then you’re reaching a little bit. Either Marek has to step up and be your guy or you have to throw a freshman (Quincy) into the deep end of the pool.
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Dolezaj is awesome and makes winning plays and is willing to do the dirty work. Quincy is rated highly (and would’ve been rated higher if he was a US prospect as opposed to Canadian), but there’s a massive gap of responsibility between being a key player off the bench vs being a relied upon starter night in and night out.