Syracuse Basketball: Way too early look at potential lineups

The sting of defeat doesn’t mean it’s too early to look at the future. Here are some potential Syracuse basketball lineups for next season.

After Syracuse basketball’s crushing loss to Houston in the Sweet 16, there are a few ways to take things.

You can mope around and wish for the NCAA to grant SU a second chance or you can look ahead to next season and enjoy the run while it lasted.

I think it’s obvious to go with the latter.

Looking ahead to 2021-22 is actually quite impossible, given the transfer portal. Players practically no longer have to sit out a year, so the list of transfers has grown exponentially from last year.

Already there are roughly one thousand names entered into the portal and the postseason still has games to be played.

As of now, forward Robert Braswell and center John Bol Ajak have both entered the transfer portal, potentially leaving Syracuse with two fewer players from this year. Forward Quincy Guerrier is also testing the NBA Draft waters, but that leaves a more than possible option for him to return back to Cuse.

For my lookahead purposes, I’m also taking Marek Dolezaj and Bourama Sidibe out of the equation. While they can come back, they are seniors, so to be traditional, they won’t be included in my potential lineups for next season.

This isn’t to say they won’t be back in Orange, but it’s what my brain decided, so it’s what I’m going with!

1. Consistency is key

PG: Joe Girard III
SG: Buddy Boeheim
SF: Alan Griffin
PF: Quincy Guerrier
C: Jesse Edwards

This lineup would probably gel the best and make Syracuse basketball fans the most comfortable heading into next season.

It’s virtually replacing Sidibe/Dolezaj with Jesse Edwards, who wowed the Orange down the stretch of the season, and particularly against Houston in the Sweet 16.

In that game against the Cougars, Edwards finished with five points, six rebounds, and two blocks in 19 minutes, providing a boost off the bench down low where the Cuse struggled.

Besides Edwards at the five-position, this lineup is practically the same starting five Jim Boeheim used throughout the 2020-21 season. Given that, it would be a consistent lineup that had a full season to gel together and would feel comfortable with one full year already under their belts.

2. Athleticism for the win

PG: Kadary Richmond
SG: Buddy Boeheim
SF: Benny Williams
PF: Quincy Guerrier
C: Jesse Edwards

This lineup is also quite possible. Joe Girard III’s time went down toward the end of the season in favor of freshman Kadary Richmond, who offered more in terms of driving to the bucket and defensively in the 2-3 zone.

Benny Williams is a 6-foot-8 small forward ranked 25th in the country by the 247sports composite. He’s been described as, “A high leaper with athleticism,” and, “Has potential as a versatile defender and overall rebounder,” by 247’s Jerry Meyer.

Pairing those two with Buddy Boeheim, Quincy Guerrier, and Edwards would give SU a very effective zone defense. Richmond at 6-foot-5 would be the smallest player on the court, and Williams and Guerrier would be two very athletic wings at the bottom of the zone.

Offensively, it would have enough three-point shooting between Boeheim, Williams, and Guerrier, with Girard III, Griffin, and Woody Newton still on the bench. Richmond even started to hit deeper shots as the season progressed, and could see a jump in his shooting for next year.

But more importantly, there would be a lot of movement and guys that can drive to the basket, which is something that Syracuse basketball lacked at times this year.

3. Cuse got sixth men

PG: Joe Girard III
SG: Buddy Boeheim
SF: Benny Williams
PF: Quincy Guerrier
C: Jesse Edwards

This is practically the same lineup as the one before, but instead opting to keep Girard III ahead of Richmond. The reasoning would be a boost of shooting out of the gates, with the option to have quite the slew of a bench between Richmond, Griffin, and others.

Girard has been a two-year starter, and Jim Boeheim can be a hard mind to change, so Richmond may have to improve a lot to earn the nod ahead of Girard. It also put Williams ahead of Griffin, as he really went in Boeheim’s doghouse to finish out the season.

The trend of Guerrier and Edwards will probably be hard to unpair unless Dolezaj or Sidibe elects to stay. Even then, Guerrier is a surefire starter, and Edwards’ role will undoubtedly increase after his strong play to end the season.

Final (early) thoughts

My go-to lineup would be the first one since it seems like what coach Boeheim was leaning to in the NCAA Tournament.

But with the transfer rules, we really can’t look at this again until we know what the Syracuse basketball roster will officially look like.

If any of the seniors stay, it will be a juiced-up lineup. But if they leave and a few guys transfer, it’ll also be interesting. And that’s also not even looking at if the Orange make a run at anyone in the transfer market, which seems like a good bet – especially a certain someone from Cornell.

All that’s set is that Syracuse closed out the season well, so whatever lineup coach Boeheim does decide on will be loaded with talent and ready for another tournament run.