Syracuse Basketball: Marek Dolezaj is a top-10 glue guy, Jon Rothstein

Top-10 lists of any kind in collegiate hoops are always subjective, but I really do believe that CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein missed the mark a bit by not including Syracuse basketball senior big man Marek Dolezaj in his new ranking of the sport’s top-10 glue guys.

Maybe Rothstein’s definition of a glue guy is different from mine, and that’s fair. And in full disclosure, I really like Rothstein and think he’s one of the best journalists in college basketball.

For context, Rothstein’s list of the top-10 glue guys during the 2020-21 stanza is Mark Vital of Baylor, Justin Gorham of Houston, Da’Monte Williams of Illinois, Gabe Osabuohien of West Virginia, Marcus Garrett of Kansas, Isaiah Whaley of Connecticut, Jaime Jaquez of UCLA, Connor McCaffery of Iowa, Kyle Young of Ohio State and Brad Davison of Wisconsin.

These 10 players are all really, really good. And virtually all of them suit up for teams that are currently found in the major top-25 polls, whereas the ‘Cuse is unranked. At the same time, some of these squads, one could argue, have more talent up and down their rosters than the Orange does.

Syracuse basketball senior big man Marek Dolezaj is the ultimate glue guy.

Dolezaj, a power forward/center, has performed admirably at the center position this season, as he had to replace senior Bourama Sidibe, who unfortunately got injured in the 2020-21 term opener for the Orange.

As Syracuse basketball (15-8, 9-7) prepares for the upcoming ACC Tournament in Greensboro, N.C., Dolezaj is averaging 10.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.2 steals a game, while connecting on 54.4 percent from the field and 84.3 percent from the charity stripe, according to ESPN statistics.

Dolezaj is the consummate teammate. So unselfish, he’s always looking to make that extra pass so another ‘Cuse player can score. Dolezaj does all the little things well, he hustles, he gets his body – and teeth – abused, and he makes everyone around him on the floor better.

Yes, Dolezaj is one of my favorite all-time Syracuse basketball players. His court vision and basketball IQ are stellar. And the Orange definitely would have won far fewer games at this juncture in 2020-21 if not for Dolezaj’s production, both stuff that shows up in the stat sheets, and stuff that doesn’t.

Head coach Jim Boeheim has said more than once that Dolezaj is the team’s most important/valuable player. I adamantly agree. Rothstein is terrific, but he should have included Dolezaj as a top-10 glue guy.