Well, outside of junior center Jesse Edwards, the Battle 4 Atlantis early season tournament was certainly a tough one to watch for even the most optimistic Syracuse Basketball faithful.
Between a porous defense, a clear athleticism deficiency, and close to zero bench production in three games, it was hard to find many bright spots. Good thing for Edwards, who has quickly gone from pre-season question mark to necessity for head coach Jim Boeheim’s crew.
Coming into the season, one of the big concerns was where the production would come from at the center position. With veteran center Bourama Sidibe out with a knee injury, the burden of that production fell on Edwards. So far, he has answered the bell and then some.
After two games versus Lafayette and Drexel, I wrote about his early success, but also played devil’s advocate and acknowledged the opponents would get tougher. The opponents certainly got tougher, but the harder the matchups, the more Edwards’ level of play increased.
The first matchup against VCU was filled with foul trouble for Edwards, which resulted in never truly being able to find a rhythm in the game. However, his response in the final two games of the tournament was beyond encouraging.
Syracuse Basketball center Jesse Edwards has taken a third-year leap.
Against Arizona State, Edwards put together his best performance in an Orange uniform. With 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks, Edwards helped guide the Orange to their first Power 5 win of the season. Even more so, his 21 points were actually the most by an Orange center since Rakeem Christmas over a half-decade ago. Sit back and take a quick look at some of Edwards’ best plays versus the Sun Devils, courtesy of the Syracuse Basketball Twitter account.
Career-high 13 for Edwards including this 🔨.
— Syracuse Men’s Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) November 26, 2021
He's also got six boards and a pair of blocks. pic.twitter.com/cExgXJqz7B
In the Battle 4 Atlantis finale, Edwards was one of the few shining players once again in a difficult 40 minutes versus the Auburn Tigers. Going against one of the best frontlines in college basketball in UNC transfer Walker Kessler and 5-star freshman Jabari Smith, Edwards put up a more than respectable stat-line of 17 points and 6 rebounds.
Edwards’ efficiency stuck out as well, as he went 9/11 and 7/8 in his final two games down in the Bahamas while logging heavy minutes.
Although it was certainly a tough tournament for the Orange overall, Edwards’ improvement is one big positive to take back to Central New York heading into December.