Syracuse basketball, at No. 10, is too low in Jon Rothstein’s ACC ratings
By Neil Adler
One of the best in the business, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, isn’t super bullish on Syracuse basketball in 2020-21.
CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein has published his off-season power rankings for the Atlantic Coast Conference, and he isn’t showing Syracuse basketball much love at all.
Rothstein has slotted the Orange at No. 10 out of the league’s 15 members, which for my money is a tad low. Then again, as he points out in his article, the NCAA has set Aug. 3 as the new early-entry withdrawal date for the 2020 NBA Draft.
This means that finalized rosters at collegiate-hoops squads around the country won’t get entirely known for several more weeks. And that’s assuming a 2020-21 campaign is played at all, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
In any event, I think that Rothstein is about as knowledgeable as any other analyst, commentator or writer in the sport, but we can agree to disagree here.
The ‘Cuse, with four starters returning, a deep roster that is a year more experienced, and an under-rated 2020 recruiting class, will finish better than 10th in the ACC. As I stated a few days ago, if Illinois transfer Alan Griffin lands a waiver from the NCAA to immediately compete, Syracuse should amount to a top-six crew in the conference.
"Rothstein had this to say about the Orange in his write-up. “Jim Boeheim boasts veteran experience, but the loss of [Elijah] Hughes’ offense on the wing is significant. [Joe] Girard was quietly one of the best freshmen in the ACC last season.”"
All of that is true, but I just can’t see nine league groups faring better than the ‘Cuse in the upcoming term. In order, Rothstein has Virginia at No. 1, followed by Duke, Florida State, North Carolina, Miami, Louisville, Georgia Tech, Clemson, N.C. State, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Boston College, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.
I’m pretty high on the Hurricanes and Yellow Jackets myself, and I think that the Tigers and the Wolfpack will factor into the NCAA Tournament conversation. The Orange should reside somewhere within the mix of these teams, too.