Syracuse Basketball: This statistic illustrates how critical Jesse Edwards is

Without question, a healthy and productive Jesse Edwards will be imperative if Syracuse basketball hopes to reach post-season play in the 2022-23 campaign, which begins this November.

After a 16-17 mark a stanza ago, Orange coaches and players certainly will want to right the ship and return the ‘Cuse to winning form.

The Syracuse basketball roster, significantly revamped in the off-season, features an intriguing blend of veterans and underclassmen, including a promising six-member 2022 recruiting class and a big-man transfer from Duquesne.

One of several seniors on the 2022-23 roster is the 6-foot-11 Edwards, a versatile center who was a big-time contender for the Atlantic Coast Conference’s most improved player award a term ago before unfortunately getting injured this past February.

Syracuse basketball needs Jesse Edwards to flourish for the team to reach its full potential.

Despite missing a bunch of games toward the end of the 2021-22 campaign, Jesse Edwards was still among the ACC leaders in blocked shots last year.

Appearing in 24 encounters, Edwards tallied averages of 28.0 minutes, 12.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.8 blocks, 1.1 steals and 1.0 assists per affair in 2021-22, while connecting on 69.5 percent from the field.

Isaac Trotter, a staff writer with 247Sports, recently published an article where he looked at college basketball players to watch in 2022-23 who are returning after suffering serious injuries a stanza ago.

"Trotter, understandably, included Jesse Edwards in his piece, and I found this nugget to be fascinating. The 247Sports writer said in part about the Syracuse basketball center, “More than 100 players played at least 100 possessions in the ACC last season. Edwards finished second in overall offense and fourth in overall defense, per Synergy. Edwards was the only ACC player to finish in the top-4 in both categories.”"

Think about that. Jesse Edwards was the only ACC player to land in the top four on both offense and defense. To me, that suggests just how vital Edwards will be to the Orange in 2022-23, both on offense and in the zone defense.

The ‘Cuse does have two promising young backup centers in 2022 three-star big man Peter Carey and Mounir Hima, who transferred to the Syracuse basketball program from Duquesne out of the Atlantic 10 Conference.

While I could envision both the 7-foot Carey and the 6-foot-11 Hima getting spot minutes in head coach Jim Boeheim’s rotation during the 2022-23 season, Edwards will of course be the starting center.

Assuming he can stay out of foul trouble, Jesse Edwards will log the majority of court time at center, and his success at both ends of the floor will go a long way toward the Orange (hopefully) making a run to the Big Dance come March of 2023.