Syracuse Basketball: Why pledge from Petar Majstorovic is vital for front-court depth

For a period of time now, rumors and speculation floated around that Syracuse basketball coaches were looking overseas to potentially add another player ahead of the 2024-25 season.

On August 16, SU Athletics announced that talented and versatile big man Petar Majstorovic had signed a national letter of intent to play in the upcoming term for the Orange.

Majstorovic is a 6-foot-9 center from Haguenau, France, who was born in Serbia. Most recently, in the 2023-24 season, he competed for the ASVEL Basket Lyon-Villeurbanne U-21 team in the French ProA U-21 league. In 2023-24, he averaged 23.6 minutes, 9.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.5 blocks per game.

Majstorovic's commitment to Syracuse basketball gives the program 12 scholarship players for 2024-25 - roughly half of those players are in the backcourt, while the others are in the front-court. It's possible that several of the squad's players could alternate between the guard and small forward spots out on the wing.

Landing Majstorovic was important for the Orange staff, from my perspective. It bolsters the Syracuse basketball front-court, giving the team another quality option at both power forward and center.

Although the 'Cuse still has one 2024-25 scholarship left, media reports indicate that the squad's roster for the upcoming season is likely finalized at this juncture.

Syracuse basketball has obtained additional center depth with Petar Majstorovic.

This off-season, seven players from the Orange's 2023-24 roster entered the transfer portal, while sophomore point guard Judah Mintz departed the Hill for a pro career.

Among those to hit the portal were centers Peter Carey, Mounir Hima and William Patterson, along with power forward/center Maliq Brown and forward Benny Williams.

Conversely, the Syracuse basketball 2024 recruiting class includes Majstorovic, incoming freshmen Donnie Freeman and Elijah Moore, as well as four-star college transfers Eddie Lampkin Jr., Jaquan Carlos, Jyáre Davis and Lucas Taylor.

The Orange's returnees from 2023-24 are Naheem McLeod, J.J. Starling, Kyle Cuffe Jr., Chance Westry and Chris Bell.

Before the 'Cuse staff picked up a pledge from Majstorovic, the team's 2024-25 roster only possessed two true centers in Lampkin and McLeod, although it's possible that Freeman could play minutes here and there at this position.

Due to injuries being a part of college basketball, only having two centers was a bit concerning to me, and many other Syracuse basketball fans, ahead of 2024-25. Last season, due to injury, McLeod only appeared in 14 games, while Westry didn't play at all.

My hope is that McLeod is fully healthy, but head coach Adrian Autry having Lampkin as the likely starter, and then McLeod, Majstorovic and perhaps even Freeman as back-up options, is encouraging.

Freeman, ranked as high as No. 6 nationally in the 2024 class, could be in Autry's starting rotation at the onset of this coming term. Bell, a starter in 2023-24, should start this upcoming campaign at small forward.

Davis, experts have told me, is a versatile player who can compete at either forward spot. And while Majstorovic is listed as a center, at 6-foot-9, he's certainly agile enough to suit up at power forward, too.

Lampkin and McLeod will be a strong one-two punch as traditional centers, and if Autry wants to go with a smaller line-up, Majstorovic and Freeman are talented options.

At forward, Majstorovic, Freeman, Davis and Bell is a wonderful quartet for Autry and his top-flight staff. All in all, while the Orange has a lot of new faces in its 2024-25 front-court, I think this group of forwards and centers is an extremely promising one.

A shout-out to the 'Cuse coaching staff for securing Majstorovic so late in this off-season. I'm excited to see what he can do on the court for Syracuse basketball as a freshman and beyond.