Syracuse Basketball: Benny Williams returning for junior season is big time

Syracuse basketball sophomore forward Benny Williams will come back for his junior season, and that’s terrific news.

Donna Ditota of Syracuse.com first reported that the 6-foot-9 forward from Bowie, Md., would return to the Orange for the upcoming 2023-24 stanza, in which new head coach Adrian Autry will lead the team.

As I’ve noted in numerous columns lately, Autry has deep recruiting ties in the talent-rich Washington, D.C., metropolitan region, and Benny Williams hails from this area.

Williams came to the Hill as the squad’s sole high-school recruit in the 2021 cycle. He was a consensus four-star, top-50 player in this class, with Rivals.com placing him as five stars and in the top 25 across the country.

Much to the dismay of many Syracuse basketball fans, Benny Williams played sparingly as a freshman. As a sophomore in the 2022-23 campaign, when the ‘Cuse went 17-15 overall, he certainly had his ups and downs.

Syracuse basketball sophomore forward Benny Williams will be back as a junior.

He lost his spot in the Orange’s starting rotation in 2022-23 but gained it back. With Autry replacing legendary Hall of Fame head coach Jim Boeheim at the helm of Syracuse basketball, I remained hopeful that Benny Williams would stay with the program.

Per ESPN statistics, Williams appeared in 30 games in 2022-23, averaging 22.3 minutes per contest. He averaged 7.2 points and 4.1 rebounds a game, while connecting on 44.7 percent from the field, 39.6 percent from the 3-point line and 65.0 percent from the charity stripe.

Williams absolutely improved his shooting stroke between his freshman and sophomore years, particularly from beyond the arc. And he showed flashes of his stellar potential and tremendous athleticism.

In late February, as the Orange fell at Pittsburgh, 99-82, Benny Williams earned 34 minutes of court time. He hit on 8-of-15 from the field and 5-of-6 from 3-point land, finishing with a career-high 24 points and nine boards.

The following month, when Syracuse basketball lost to Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament’s second round, 77-74, on a 3-pointer right before the final horn, Williams played quite well. He collected 18 points, 11 rebounds and five steals.

Williams should prove a key piece of the team’s 2023-24 line-up. In looking at the 2022-23 roster, redshirt junior forward John Bol Ajak is in the NCAA’s transfer portal, as is senior guard Symir Torrence.

Freshman point guard Judah Mintz has declared for the 2023 NBA Draft while maintaining his college eligibility. Senior shooting guard Joe Girard III is testing the 2023 NBA Draft waters, and he has entered the transfer portal while maintaining his collegiate eligibility.

Additions to the ‘Cuse ahead of 2023-24 are Notre Dame transfer J.J. Starling, a combo guard and Central New York native, as well as 2023 three-star big man William Patterson, who is a senior at The Patrick School in Hillside, N.J.

That leaves senior center Jesse Edwards, freshman forward Chris Bell, freshman wing Justin Taylor, freshman forward Maliq Brown, sophomore center Mounir Hima, freshman guard/wing Quadir Copeland and freshman power forward/center Peter Carey, who is expected to take a medical redshirt for the 2022-23 season.

I’ll certainly be curious to see whether all of these other Syracuse basketball players elect to return, or if some of them decide to hit the transfer portal.