Syracuse basketball, with roster changes, takes dive in early rankings

Syracuse basketball finished the 2020-21 season at No. 25 in the final Coaches poll after a run to the Sweet 16, but whether the Orange begins the upcoming campaign as a ranked squad remains to be seen.

Given the new transfer measured implemented by the NCAA, in which college basketball players can transfer once with immediate eligibility, the sport has witnessed an explosion of free agency since the most recent stanza culminated.

Head coach Jim Boeheim had previously said that the ‘Cuse would experience a sizable shake-up of its roster in the off-season, and he was right.

As it currently stands, the Orange has 10 scholarship players. It had 13 on scholarship in 2020-21. The team has added three transfers, along with 2021 five-star forward Benny Williams.

Conversely, five guys have elected to transfer, and two are heading for the professional ranks. The latest development surrounds sophomore forward Quincy Guerrier, an All-ACC player who said on Twitter that he would enter into the transfer portal while continuing to test the NBA Draft waters.

Syracuse basketball will likely be a fringe top-25 team to begin the 2021-22 term.

The ‘Cuse picking up transfers Cole Swider from Villanova, Jimmy Boeheim from Cornell and Symir Torrence from Marquette is solid. In my opinion, Williams is a star in the making.

But seeing players depart such as Guerrier, freshman combo guard Kadary Richmond and junior forward Alan Griffin, among others, is a huge void to fill.

As such, ESPN recently put out its latest early top-25 ratings for the next season, and Syracuse basketball went from No. 14 to among the “next in line” group.

The Orange also fell to No. 25 overall in the latest early ballot from CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein. In an earlier edition of these rankings, Rothstein had the ‘Cuse at No. 15.

Interestingly enough, Rothstein notes the team’s projected starting line-up as sophomore point guard Joe Girard III, combo guard Torrence, junior shooting guard Buddy Boeheim, forward Swider and center Bourama Sidibe, who is coming back to Central New York for a fifth year.

To me, that’s a three-guard starting rotation, and I kind of like it! Although it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if either Williams or Jimmy Boeheim gets a starting nod. The same goes for sophomore Jesse Edwards at the center spot, due to Sidibe being injured for pretty much all of 2020-21.