Syracuse Basketball: Jim Boeheim says SU will ‘have eight or nine’ players

The new transfer measure in collegiate hoops is creating a free-agent explosion for Syracuse basketball and its peers around the country, and head coach Jim Boeheim recently had some interesting things to say on the topic.

In mid-April, the NCAA passed a new policy that enables student-athletes in all sports, including college basketball, to transfer once and retain immediate eligibility.

That action, combined with the NCAA granting student-athletes in many sports an extra season of competition due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, has fueled a seismic shift in college basketball.

Pretty much ever since the most recent Big Dance ended, players from all kinds of squads have announced their intent to transfer, and the Orange certainly has been affected.

In the 2020-21 campaign, the ‘Cuse had 13 scholarship players on a roster that went 18-10 and advanced to the Sweet 16. At this juncture, seven guys have either elected to transfer or move on to the professional ranks.

Conversely, the Orange has brought in three transfers to the program, and it also has one five-star recruit in its 2021 class. That gives Syracuse basketball, for now, a total of 10 scholarship players heading into the upcoming stanza.

Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim isn’t shy in discussing the new transfer rule.

Boeheim recently provided some thoughts on free agency in his sport in a chat with ESPN’s Keyshawn, JWill & Zubin, according to an article from 247Sports’ Garrett Stepien.

There is one comment in particular that I found intriguing. Boeheim said in part, “So the one thing I will do is we had 11 or 12 players last year – we’ll only have nine players this year. We’ll have eight or nine. And I think I play eight or nine. So maybe we can keep those guys here and get ‘em back. But I think we’ll still, at the end of this year, we’ll lose somebody.”

So if Boeheim is saying that the Orange will have eight or nine players in 2021-22, and the team currently has 10, could another guy or two possibly depart the Hill?

Perhaps. Although from my perspective, I feel like the ‘Cuse roster is fairly well set for the next season, unless Syracuse basketball adds another transfer or a 2021 prospect like four-star power forward Arthur Kaluma.

Some Orange fans are concerned that freshman center Frank Anselem could ultimately bolt Central New York, but I haven’t heard anything about that to date.

Either way, the Syracuse basketball line-up is going to look a whole lot different in 2021-22 than it did a campaign ago.