Syracuse Basketball: Other coveted prospects didn’t play tons as freshmen

Syracuse basketball forward Benny Williams isn’t the only Orange player to not see the court a whole lot as a freshman.

I’ve made it clear that I’m super high on Williams, and I have a ton of admiration and respect for him. I also recognize that a massive number of ‘Cuse fans are extremely frustrated (that’s putting it lightly) by Williams’ perceived lack of playing time as an Orange newbie during the 2021-22 campaign.

As Syracuse basketball prepared to host Clemson on Tuesday night, the ‘Cuse (8-9, 2-4) certainly is having a disappointing stanza to date.

Head coach Jim Boeheim has made it clear on several occasions that Williams isn’t playing well in practice or in games. At this juncture, Williams is averaging 13.2 minutes per contest, although he’s only seen the floor for a combined four minutes in the team’s two most recent outings, which were a home defeat of Pittsburgh and a home setback to Florida State.

Let’s take a look at some other Syracuse basketball players in their freshman stints.

Since the debate over Williams’ minutes this season is such a hot-button topic, I decided to wade through other ‘Cuse rosters dating back around two decades to see what other Orange freshmen primarily rode the bench as first-year guys.

A couple of things here. This isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison. The make-ups of rosters over the years, naturally, will factor into how much a freshman may or may not play in a given term.

Furthermore, some of these other freshmen that I’m noting here were ranked higher than Williams, and others were ranked lower than him.

I think that’s part of the disconnect here among Syracuse basketball fans over Williams’ playing time. He came to the Hill as the highest-rated recruit for the Orange in numerous stanzas, and with the transfer portal making it easy for guys to bolt a program if they’re unhappy, my sense is that helps explain why so many ‘Cuse fans are irritated that he’s not playing more.

Plus, with Syracuse basketball presently under .500, some of my fellow fans believe that Williams should get more run, since this year’s squad isn’t likely to make the Big Dance (or perhaps even the NIT).

What’s more, some fans don’t think that the two starting forwards, graduate student Jimmy Boeheim and senior Cole Swider, are good at all. While I agree that both Boeheim and Swider have flaws and limitations, I don’t fully agree with such a blanket statement, either.

One other thing here. From my perspective, once a high-school prospect joins a college team, his recruiting rankings mean absolutely nothing. Just my take, though.

In 1999-2000, as a freshman, shooting guard/small forward Kueth Duany averaged 9.3 minutes per game. He would go on to become a key part of the Orange’s 2003 national-championship group.

In 2001-02, power forward Hakim Warrick averaged 17.4 minutes. He was also on the 2003 title squad, and he would become an All-American in college.

In 2003-04, forward Demetris Nichols averaged 17.0 minutes. He was named to the All-Big East Conference first team as a senior, when he led that conference in overall scoring.

In 2005-06, big man Arinze Onuaku and guard Andy Rautins averaged 8.4 minutes and 8.0 minutes, respectively. Both were key pieces on the Syracuse basketball 2009-10 group that went 30-5, advanced to the Sweet 16, had the No. 1 national ranking and earned a No. 1 seed in March Madness.

In 2008-09, forward Kris Joseph averaged 13.5 minutes. During his senior year, when the ‘Cuse went 34-3 and reached the Elite Eight, Joseph led the team in scoring.

In 2009-10, forward James Southerland averaged 7.5 minutes. He was a starter on the 2012-13 group that journeyed to the Final Four.

In 2010-11, future NBA Draft lottery pick and shooting guard Dion Waiters averaged 16.3 minutes, future college All-American and forward C.J. Fair averaged 18.6 minutes, and the late Fab Melo, a center who was selected in the 2012 NBA Draft’s first round, averaged 9.9 minutes.

In 2011-12, big man Rakeem Christmas averaged 11.5 minutes. He would become an All-American in college and get selected in the 2015 NBA Draft.

Also in 2011-12, guard Michael Carter-Williams averaged 10.3 minutes. He would lead the Orange to the Final Four a year later and then become the NBA’s Rookie of the Year.

In 2012-13, forward Jerami Grant averaged 14.3 minutes. He’s carved out a pretty nice NBA career for himself.

In 2015-16, guard Frank Howard averaged 10.5 minutes. And in 2018-19, guard Jalen Carey averaged 12.2 minutes, although he did transfer to Rhode Island.