Once-promising Syracuse basketball career for Benny Williams, sadly, comes to an end

The Syracuse basketball career of junior forward Benny Williams has come to an end, and it's sad.

On Tuesday, the team announced via its X page that the 6-foot-9, 210-pound native of Bowie, Md., had been dismissed from the program.

I know that a lot of my fellow 'Cuse fans will have a lot of things to say about Benny. My only sentiments here are that I have no idea what's going on with him personally, I do not know why he was dismissed from the team, and I want nothing but good fortune and success for him moving forward.

Williams came to the Hill as the sole member of the Orange's 2021 class, and he was rated five stars and in the top-25 nationally by Rivals.com, with numerous other recruiting services placing him as four stars in the top-40 overall in this cycle.

Benny Williams, a junior forward, has been dismissed from the Syracuse basketball program.

The playing time - or lack thereof - that Williams received as a freshman under then-head coach Jim Boeheim was a hot-button topic among 'Cuse fans. Williams showed flashes of his athleticism and potential in both his freshman and sophomore seasons, but his time on the court and his overall performances were inconsistent in those first two terms.

Heading into the 2023-24 season, as a junior, Williams was expected to be one of the starting forwards under new head coach Adrian Autry. However, on November 1, Syracuse basketball said on X, “Benny Williams has been suspended from the team for a violation of team rules. He is expected to rejoin the program soon.”

Williams missed several games at the onset of the 2023-24 stanza and then returned to the 'Cuse. In recent contests, even as the Orange had struggled, Williams did provide some solid play off the bench.

This past week, Syracuse basketball looked sub-par in falling on the road to fellow Atlantic Coast Conference groups Boston College and then Wake Forest, prompting Autry to rip into his players for their play of late.

The 'Cuse (14-8, 5-6 in the ACC) is set to host its next three ACC opponents, starting with Louisville on Wednesday night, followed by Clemson and then No. 3 North Carolina.

Per ESPN data, Williams in 2023-24 appeared in 18 games, averaging 5.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per affair. He was hitting on 40.0 percent from the field, 20.6 percent from beyond the arc and 53.8 percent from the free-throw line.

Before joining Syracuse basketball, Williams was a standout at the St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Potomac, Md. He spent his senior year competing for the post-grad team at the powerhouse IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

For whatever reason - or reasons - the 'Cuse career of Benny Williams didn't pan out as he, the program and the fan base had hoped. It's disappointing, to put it mildly. Williams will have one year of collegiate eligibility remaining, and I sincerely hope that he finds a new college home and thrives wherever that may be.