Syracuse Basketball: With Bourama Sidibe out, other big men must step up

Syracuse basketball won’t have starting center Bourama Sidibe for several weeks, and other big men need to fill the void.

Only one game into the 2020-21 season, and Syracuse basketball unfortunately saw senior starting center Bourama Sidibe go down with a knee injury.

First and foremost, let’s wish Sidibe a speedy recovery. A spokesman for the Orange program says that “Sidibe suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee” in the ‘Cuse one-point victory over Bryant last Friday afternoon at the Carrier Dome.

Surgery is needed for this type of injury, and Sidibe’s recovery time is estimated at four weeks, per Brad Pike, the ‘Cuse associate athletics director for sports medicine.

Head coach Jim Boeheim said after the Bryant contest that senior power forward Marek Dolezaj will start at center should Sidibe be out for a period of time. That slides junior Alan Griffin and sophomore Quincy Guerrier into the starting forward spots. Guerrier, by the way, started at forward versus Bryant, along with Dolezaj.

Syracuse basketball, despite the Sidibe void, still has plenty of depth, although Boeheim’s comments indicate that he trusts Dolezaj at center much more than the team’s trio of remaining true centers in sophomore Jesse Edwards, redshirt freshman John Bol Ajak and freshman Frank Anselem.

That’s fine, and Boeheim knows his guys much better than all of us Orange fans out there. However, when Dolezaj requires a rest, or if he lands in foul trouble, which has certainly occurred during his ‘Cuse career, then who does Boeheim put in at center with Sidibe gone?

My guess is either Edwards or Anselem. Edwards did receive some court time in 2019-20, while Anselem is a tremendous athlete with huge upside.

Other Syracuse basketball big men will have to make their presences known with Bourama Sidibe sadly injured.

After word broke about Sidibe being out for several weeks, a lot of Orange fans chimed in about the situation. Virtually all ‘Cuse fans agree that Sidibe is a significant loss, but whether Dolezaj or one of the other true centers should replace him is a mixed bag of opinions.

Dolezaj is a senior, a veteran and a leader of this squad. He’s also played a lot of center over his tenure in Central New York. But he does sometimes pick up silly fouls.

And a contingent of Syracuse basketball fans wants to see the younger guys, such as Edwards and Anselem, carve out a bigger piece of the rotation. We’ll have to see what happens.

The other component here is what happens at forward. Both Griffin and Guerrier had terrific production against Bryant, however, it’s unlikely they each secure 40 minutes a game until Sidibe returns. Foul trouble could come into play for Griffin and Guerrier, too.

The next man up at forward has to be redshirt sophomore Robert Braswell, who got a couple of minutes on the court in the 2020-21 opener.

I’ve hoped since Braswell arrived on the Hill that he would gain entry into the main rotation, because I think that he’s a really skilled player on both ends of the floor. Some other Orange fans echo this sentiment.

I don’t foresee freshmen forwards Woody Newton and Chaz Owens getting much run, if any at all. Although probably not ideal, it’s always possible that Boeheim could install junior shooting guard Buddy Boeheim or freshman combo guard Kadary Richmond at small forward, given that they each boast solid height in the 2-3 zone.

I’ll be fascinated to watch what Jim Boeheim does with his line-up variations in the coming weeks, and my fingers are crossed that Sidibe comes back as soon as possible.