CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein recently took to Twitter to discuss a variety of topics on Syracuse basketball as he visited the Hill.
One of those topics was his early prediction on the Orange’s starting five ahead of the 2021-22 campaign, which is inching closer and should prove exciting for the ‘Cuse and its fan base.
Rothstein projects that the Orange’s starting rotation will feature junior point guard Joe Girard III, senior shooting guard Buddy Boeheim, senior forward Cole Swider, graduate student forward Jimmy Boeheim and junior center Jesse Edwards.
Early prediction on Syracuse's 21-22 starting five:
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) October 5, 2021
Joe Girard, Buddy Boeheim, Cole Swider, Jimmy Boeheim, Jesse Edwards
That seems like a reasonable prediction from Rothstein, who is among the best in the business, and let’s go a bit in-depth on this topic now.
So what exactly will the Syracuse basketball starting line-up be?
In the backcourt, I imagine that the starting guard positions are locked up. Girard, who should rebound after a somewhat uneven sophomore stint, and Buddy Boeheim have played in tandem for two years now. Junior Symir Torrence, a Marquette transfer, will back them up.
At forward, the Villanova transfer Swider, Cornell transfer Jimmy Boeheim and freshman Benny Williams are competing for the starting nods. All three should get a decent amount of run in head coach Jim Boeheim’s rotation.
"Rothstein had this to say in a separate tweet: “Syracuse’s sixth man will either be Cornell transfer Jimmy Boeheim or freshman forward Benny Williams. Both are in the top six of the rotation. Impressed with Jimmy Boeheim’s feel and IQ at the high post.”"
Syracuse's sixth man will either be Cornell transfer Jimmy Boeheim or freshman forward Benny Williams. Both are in the top six of the rotation. Impressed with Jimmy Boeheim's feel and IQ at the high post.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) October 5, 2021
I’m unbelievably high on Williams and think that he’s going to be a star in Central New York. However, I could see Jimmy Boeheim starting alongside Swider at forward. Boeheim is a veteran player who averaged a ton of points in his most recent stanza at Cornell.
Then, at center, we’re likely to see Edwards get the starting job, as Rothstein projects. Graduate student Bourama Sidibe is a veteran, but he was also injured for much of last year.
I hope that Sidibe is fully healthy and can contribute a solid amount on both ends of the floor. But Edwards showed flashes of real promise in 2020-21, and I anticipate that he will make the starting rotation.
If I had to guess, I’d say that the starters are Girard, Buddy Boeheim, Swider, Jimmy Boeheim and Edwards, with the three primary bench players being Williams, Torrence and Sidibe. Not too shabby, if you ask me.