ESPN.com published a list of newcomers to watch in 2020-21, and oddly Syracuse basketball wing Alan Griffin didn’t make the cut of the top 80.
Since Alan Griffin announced in early April that he would transfer for his junior and senior seasons from Illinois to Syracuse basketball, the talented wing has gotten included on countless rankings of the top transfers across the country from a variety of national media outlets.
The 6-foot-5 Griffin, who will contend for a starting role with the Orange in the 2020-21 stanza and should receive extended minutes in head coach Jim Boeheim’s rotation, averaged nearly 9 points and 4.5 rebounds last year for Illinois in just 18.1 minutes per contest, while connecting on 48 percent from the field and nearly 42 percent from downtown.
He’s an extremely efficient scorer and rebounder, to say the least, and Griffin recently landing a waiver from the NCAA for immediate eligibility provides a significant boost to the Syracuse basketball outlook in the upcoming term.
Nonetheless, Jeff Borzello has published an article on ESPN.com where he rates the top-80 newcomers, both incoming freshmen and transfers, based on the impact that he thinks they will have on their respective teams in 2020-21.
Griffin, somewhat surprisingly, isn’t among the top 80. He is listed in the “next 10” category, along with Andre Jackson, a name that tons of Orange fans will remember.
For quite some time, the ‘Cuse was perceived by recruiting analysts as the favorite to secure Jackson, a four-star wing in the 2020 class who ultimately chose Connecticut over the Orange, Iowa, Maryland and UCLA.
Borzello slots Oklahoma State freshman Cade Cunningham at No. 1 overall and Sam Hauser, who transferred from Marquette to Virginia, at No. 2.
Other notables include Michigan freshman big man Hunter Dickinson, who held a scholarship offer from Syracuse basketball, at No. 35, and former ‘Cuse target Seth Towns, who left Harvard for Ohio State, at No. 60.
Finally, guard Jalen Carey, who transferred to Rhode Island from the Orange, is No. 72. Carey is getting buzz as a potential starter for his new squad in the backcourt.
I sincerely hope that Carey shines for the Rams, and I think that he will. But I also adamantly believe that, when all is said and done, Griffin will have a larger impact on Syracuse basketball than Carey and some of these other players will have for their own teams.