Syracuse Basketball: Orange junior center ‘poised to have a breakout year’

A season ago, Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim was fairly consistent in his constructive criticism of the team’s centers.

During his post-game Zoom press conferences, Boeheim would often say that his centers simply weren’t ready to produce in a big-time way against rugged competition in the Atlantic Coast Conference, as well as opponents from other leagues.

Orange fanatics, myself included, have grown frustrated about the lack of production, particularly on offense, by ‘Cuse big men in recent terms.

Hopefully, the 2021-22 campaign will prove a different kind of narrative for Syracuse basketball and its four centers. For one, graduate student Bourama Sidibe elected to return to the Orange for a fifth year, after being injured for virtually all of last season.

When healthy, Sidibe has shown in a limited fashion that he can compete at a high level. How healthy he will be in 2021-22 is a question mark, though.

The team’s three other centers are junior Jesse Edwards, redshirt sophomore John Bol Ajak and sophomore Frank Anselem.

Personally, I think that Ajak is more of a power forward than a true center. Anselem, I believe, has tremendous upside, but how much run he will get in 2021-22 remains to be seen.

Syracuse basketball junior center Jesse Edwards is a pivotal piece in the upcoming stanza.

That brings us to the 6-foot-11 Edwards. Prior to arriving in Central New York, Edwards received a lot of high praise from recruiting insiders for his potential as a big man at the collegiate level.

Edwards was thought to possess a soft touch around the basket as well as a promising overall skill-set in the paint for which many ‘Cuse fans have been clamoring in recent years.

Last year as a sophomore, when Edwards was given a decent amount of minutes by Boeheim, Edwards on numerous occasions put in a solid showing. He wouldn’t score in big chunks, but he would chip in a few baskets, rebound well, and anchor the zone admirably.

From my perspective, I think that Edwards has a chance to shine in 2021-22. One of his teammates seems to agree.

Syracuse basketball senior forward Cole Swider, a transfer from Villanova, recently conducted an interview with basketball reporter Zach Schumaker.

From that interview, Schumaker posted on his Twitter page that, according to Swider, “Jesse Edwards is poised to have a breakout year.”

It will be interesting to see which Orange center is in the starting rotation at the beginning of 2021-22. Sidibe is a veteran, and Boeheim often starts his most experienced players.

But if Sidibe isn’t fully healthy (and I certainly hope he is), then it wouldn’t surprise me if Edwards cracks the starting rotation. It also wouldn’t surprise me if he builds upon his sophomore-year performance and turns that into a strong junior campaign.