Three Syracuse basketball big men may average close to double-doubles

The play of the Syracuse basketball frontcourt is absolutely pivotal to the Orange’s success this season.

The lackluster production at the center spot for Syracuse basketball in recent terms is a huge point of contention among many Orange fans, but I think that ‘Cuse big men are in for strong performances in the upcoming campaign.

When I talk about big men, I’m referring to centers and power forwards. For the Orange in 2020-21, that mainly entails senior center Bourama Sidibe, senior power forward Marek Dolezaj and sophomore forward Quincy Guerrier.

All three showed flashes of really impressive output in 2019-20. Sidibe did really well toward the end of the most recent stanza. Dolezaj is just an all-around hustle guy who has a tremendous basketball IQ. And Guerrier can prove physically imposing in the paint.

A season ago, Dolezaj averaged about 10 points and six rebounds a game. Guerrier chipped in roughly seven points and five boards. Sidibe collected around six points and eight rebounds. Solid numbers for each of them, and 2020-21 should be even better.

Syracuse basketball big men could ultimately determine if the team goes dancing in March.

One critical key in the upcoming season slated to begin this Friday when the ‘Cuse hosts Bryant revolves around the Orange big men avoiding careless fouls that could lead them to foul out of games.

Dolezaj, in my humble opinion, has to look for his own shot even more than he has in the past. Guerrier has to continue finishing well around the rim, and his shooting percentages from downtown and the charity stripe need to go up.

The same holds true for Sidibe as it pertains to free-throw shooting, as he should get opportunities to secure free points from the charity stripe if he keeps on being aggressive in the paint.

Head coach Jim Boeheim said on a recent Zoom call with media members that Guerrier, who had surgery over the summer due to a groin injury, is relatively healthy.

Sidibe and Dolezaj have significantly improved, and each of them is much stronger, Boeheim said, noting that Dolezaj is also displaying a nice shooting touch.

I’m not saying that all three of these big men will tally more than 10 points and 10 boards per affair, but they could each come relatively close.

If they are consistently generating those kinds of numbers, and you combine that with the assumed production of junior small forward Alan Griffin, sophomore point guard Joe Girard III and junior shooting guard Buddy Boeheim, among others, then it’s not a stretch to think that Syracuse basketball could do some special things in 2020-21.