Syracuse Basketball: 2019 class will surprise people, Jim Boeheim says

At the Atlantic Coast Conference media day, Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim shared a bunch of thoughts on his 2019-20 unit.

One of the things that I adore the most about Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim is that he’s brutally honest, and he calls things as he sees them. This may turn some folks off, but not me. I appreciate the candidness.

On Tuesday, the Atlantic Coast Conference held its annual basketball media day, with Boeheim, redshirt junior forward Elijah Hughes and junior forward Marek Dolezaj representing the Orange at this event. Several topics that this trio discussed are worth delving into further.

"The ‘Cuse has a five-member 2019 recruiting class that, in large part, has flown under the radar on a national level. Boeheim, however, says these dudes will impress. “I think, if you look at the ratings of guys we’ve had in the past, like Oshae Brissett was 120 or something. Some guys just don’t get rated because of where they play or where they’re from. This group is a much, much better class than their ratings would indicate. I think they’ll prove that on the court.”"

I’m with Boeheim here. On the 247Sports Web site, Syracuse’s 2019 class is slotted at No. 33 across the country, and I think these five freshmen have the potential to well exceed that ranking.

"Dolezaj added this. “I think we have a really good young group, Joe [Girard III], Brycen [Goodine], really good guards. They know how to play. Joe, unlimited range. He can shoot the three. He’s a really good scorer. Brycen is really good, athletic. And Quincy [Guerrier], really strong guy. He’s really similar to Oshae. He’ll help us a lot. He’s strong. He can shoot. He can go to the basket. And our two centers [John Bol Ajak and Jesse Edwards], they’re great young guys, and they just need a little bit of time, and they will get used to it, to the zone, to the offense and the defense, but I think they will be really good for us.”"

Regarding the ACC’s move to a 20-game league calendar, Boeheim opined, “it’s a challenging schedule, and we have to be ready right away. But you want to be ready right away every year anyway.” The Orange, as we’ve noted on multiple occasions, kicks off its 2019-20 term by hosting the defending NCAA champions, Virginia.

"Hughes, according to Boeheim, has taken on an active leadership role with the underclassmen, and that’s fantastic to hear. “I think the thing with Elijah, last year he really was about our fourth option offensively, he’s our second-leading scorer, which tells you a lot about what his ability is to score,” Boeheim said. “I think he’s improved over the summer. I think he’s worked really hard. The trip helped him and helped our whole team. His role is different this year. He’ll have the ball more.”"

Boeheim believes that his roster will perform much better on offense, which makes sense, given all of the shooters that he has at his disposal and the possibility of a more formidable paint-scoring presence. On the defensive side, though, Boeheim says that his crew could experience growing pains.

"“Our defense is going to have to be something that gets better. We think we can get better defensively. We think we can do a few more things defensively, but, obviously, when you’re a pretty good, solid defensive team, you’re not really thinking as a coach about changing to other defenses. Certainly, we’ll look at what other things we can do on the defensive end.”"

Hmmm. Perhaps a little man-to-man defense sprinkled in once in a while? I love the vaunted 2-3 zone, but that could prove fun to watch, particularly since the ‘Cuse has a ton of depth in 2019-20, and Syracuse appears intent on implementing a more up-tempo style. I can’t wait for hoops to commence.