Syracuse Basketball: Benny Williams showing expanded inside/out game

On numerous occasions in recent months, Syracuse basketball first-year head coach Adrian Autry has said that junior forward Benny Williams is poised for a big 2023-24 season.

Autry echoed that sentiment last Friday in his press conference on the Orange’s annual media day. He says that the 6-foot-9, 210-pound Williams has gotten a lot stronger and has been working hard on expanding his game.

To that end, Autry said that Benny Williams is displaying an even better long-range shot, while improving his ability to finish in the paint. If Williams is adept in scoring on the perimeter and in the interior, I have every confidence that he’s going to shine as a junior.

The ‘Cuse head coach noted that Williams had some nice performances toward the end of the 2022-23 term, when SU went 17-15 overall, and Autry believes that Williams can carry that forward into the upcoming term, which officially starts in early November.

Adrian Autry expects big things out of Syracuse basketball forward Benny Williams in 2023-24.

Williams, a native of Bowie, Md., was in the starting rotation of former head coach Jim Boeheim for much of his sophomore year. 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 hitting on 44.7 percent from the field, 39.6 percent from the 3-point line and 65.0 percent from the charity stripe.

In 2023-24, Autry has said that he’s going to play a lot of man-to-man defense, while sprinkling in some zone schemes. Historically, while playing the 2-3 zone, the Orange has struggled on the defensive glass, and Benny Williams will be a key player in this regard during the upcoming stanza.

This past Friday night, at the team’s Orange Tip-Off event, Williams did a strong job on the boards when the ‘Cuse conducted a scrimmage, according to media reports. Of course, a scrimmage isn’t an official game, but that’s still a positive sign for Williams and the squad’s rebounding potential in 2023-24.

As a member of the 2021 recruiting cycle, Williams came to the Hill with a lot of hype. Rivals.com had him as a five-star, top-25 national prospect in this class, by way of the post-grad team at the powerhouse IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

In his freshman season, Benny Williams played sparingly, much to the chagrin of many Syracuse basketball fans. He was inconsistent as a sophomore, much like the entire Orange 2022-23 roster, but Williams had several solid outings toward the end of last season.

In late February, at Pittsburgh, Williams was 5-of-6 from 3-point land, finishing with a career-high 24 points and nine boards. When Syracuse basketball fell in heartbreaking fashion to Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament’s second round, Benny Williams tallied 18 points, 11 rebounds and five steals.

Over the summer, in his off-season report on the Atlantic Coast Conference, college basketball insider Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports installed Williams as one of his 10 ACC breakout players in 2023-24.

"Not too long ago, Rothstein conducted a Q&A with Autry as the national pundit observed a ‘Cuse preseason practice. Autry said in part, “Benny (Williams) has kind of picked up where he left off at the end of last season. I don’t think people really understand — I think he averaged like 17 and 10 the last five games of the season or around there. That’s where he’s kind of picked things up.”"

With an expanded game and greater confidence, I’m optimistic that Benny Williams is in store for a terrific junior season with Syracuse basketball. He’s a pivotal piece to the Orange returning to March Madness after a two-year absence.