Syracuse Basketball: Would love to see the senior big men come back

The NCAA is letting all winter-sport athletes have an extra year of eligibility if they want one, which means that Syracuse basketball seniors Bourama Sidibe and Marek Dolezaj could return to the Hill beyond the current term.

Whether that will occur remains to be seen. A lot of Orange fans in chat rooms and on social media feel that both ‘Cuse big men will depart Central New York after the 2020-21 term.

That would certainly be understandable, if they are looking toward taking their hoops careers to the next level and want to get started as soon as possible. They may also have other professional opportunities that they would like to pursue.

For the Orange in 2021-22, the team has one recruit to date in five-star forward Benny Williams. Sidibe, a center, and Dolezaj, a power forward/center, are the only seniors on the current ‘Cuse roster.

As is the case every year, Syracuse basketball could see some guys transfer out, or transfer in, to the program. There’s also the possibility that one or more players decide to leave early for the pro ranks, although I’m not sure that is the case with the present Orange line-up.

If either Sidibe, Dolezaj, or both of them, elect to come back for an extra stanza, they would not count against the squad’s scholarship limit of 13 guys.

It would prove awesome if Syracuse basketball big men Bourama Sidibe and Marek Dolezaj came back.

Unfortunately, Sidibe suffered a knee injury in the team’s 2020-21 season opener, and he’s only played in two encounters in this campaign. Dolezaj has performed admirably at the center spot in Sidibe’s absence, with the Orange’s three other reserve centers not getting a whole lot of run.

If Dolezaj and Sidibe return for another year, and no other current players leave, that would obviously expand the roster and limit minutes for some of the bench players.

Then again, if those two did come back, that may lead one or more other big men to transfer to another school. This is, of course, speculation for the time being. Here’s a piece on Dolezaj from Donna Ditota of Syracuse.com.

Putting all the logistical concerns to the side, I would love to see Dolezaj and Sidibe in a ‘Cuse uniform for one more stanza. Sidibe hasn’t been healthy in 2020-21, and I would like to see what he can do at full-strength.

Dolezaj, meanwhile, is simply an all-around excellent basketball player. He does so many positive things on the court, and he’s clearly the team’s most important player in 2020-21.

Mike Waters of Syracuse.com wrote in an article that Sidibe “was open to the possibility of coming back to Syracuse for a fifth season.”

"Sidibe told Waters, “I’d always love to play again. That’s something that I’ve got to get healthy and then at the end of the season talk to Coach (Jim Boeheim) about. Me and Coach have got to talk about it and see how it’s going to go. It’s not that I haven’t made a decision in my mind yet, but after the season, probably a couple weeks or whatever, I’m going to talk to Coach about it, so we’ll go from there.”"