Could Syracuse basketball have its best perimeter shooting ever this term?

In his more than four decades as the head coach of Syracuse basketball, Jim Boeheim has had his fair share of strong 3-point shooters on various rosters.

In fact, my colleague Mat Mlodzinski highlighted some of the best 3-point shooters in the program’s history not too long ago. One of them, by the way, is currently an assistant coach for the ‘Cuse.

Now, as the Orange gets set to soon embark on its 2021-22 campaign, there is a lot of buzz and excitement over the sharp-shooting potential of this year’s squad.

"Case in point is this recent tweet from CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, who wrote, “Jim Boeheim tells me that Syracuse’s perimeter trio of Joe Girard, Buddy Boeheim, and Villanova transfer Cole Swider is the best shooting perimeter that he’s had as the head coach of Syracuse.” That’s saying something, my friends."

Let’s examine the 3-point shooting prowess of this season’s Syracuse basketball team.

Now, we’ll have to wait and see how this term’s Orange group fares from beyond the arc as compared to ‘Cuse teams in the past. On paper, though, the 2021-22 version of Syracuse basketball seems like it could be lights-out from deep.

It all commences with senior shooting guard Buddy Boeheim. He’s proven one of the top 3-point shooters in the Atlantic Coast Conference over the last two seasons, and he went into full beast mode from beyond the arc during the 2020-21 post-season.

Junior point guard Joe Girard III did have some struggles as a sophomore, but he also had to fight off a Covid-19 infection. I expect him to be terrific from long range this year.

Then add in senior forward Cole Swider, the Villanova transfer who was previously recruited by Syracuse basketball and should know the Orange system pretty darn well.

Per this recent tweet from Mike Waters of Syracuse.com, last year Swider averaged about 19 minutes of court time per game and he connected on roughly 40 percent from 3-point land.

Naturally, opposing defenses are going to swam Boeheim, but if Girard is shooting well, and throw in Swider as another 3-point threat, then that should give Boeheim some open looks, too.

Additionally, I think that freshman forward Benny Williams, a five-star player in the 2021 recruiting cycle, is a more than capable 3-point shooter. It remains to be seen how much run he gets in his first season, but that’s four dependable guys from deep.

And maybe graduate student forward Jimmy Boeheim will knock down a 3-pointer here and there. Scary.

Some more comments on the Orange’s promise from beyond the arc. If big men like Jimmy Boeheim and junior center Jesse Edwards can do their part on the offensive glass, that could lead to some open kick-outs.

The same holds true as it pertains to rebounding within the 2-3 zone. If ‘Cuse players can acquire rebounds with precision on missed shots by their opponents, and then get the ball out quickly to Orange guards, that should lead to open 3-point looks in transition. This also applies when the ‘Cuse makes deflections and steals within the zone defense.

From what I’ve heard about Williams, he’s excellent at driving to the hoop. Buddy Boeheim has improved in this regard as well. Those kinds of movements on offense could result in dishes out to the perimeter for others such as Girard and Swider, who in theory would have step-in attempts from deep.

All in all, I’m really optimistic about what Syracuse basketball can do on the perimeter in 2021-22. So, it seems, is Jim Boeheim.