Syracuse Basketball: With Naheem McLeod out for season, big challenges at center spot

Syracuse basketball will be without junior center Naheem McLeod for the rest of the 2023-24 season, and the Orange may have to adhere to a rotation by committee at the center spot moving forward.

After the ‘Cuse won at Pittsburgh on Tuesday night, head coach Adrian Autry said that the 7-foot-4 McLeod, a transfer from Florida State, would miss the remainder of 2023-24 following surgery on his foot.

Autry said that the surgery went well, and Orange Nation is sending a lot of love to Naheem in wishing him a speedy recovery.

McLeod, the team’s starting center, has appeared in 14 games, averaging 14.4 minutes, 3.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game, while connecting on 59.4 percent from the field.

While those numbers aren’t overly large, McLeod’s height and length make him an imposing force at the center position. With him unfortunately out, other ‘Cuse big men are going to have to step up as Atlantic Coast Conference play continues onward for the Orange.

Syracuse basketball is without its starting center for the rest of this season.

Not only is McLeod out, but also freshman center William Patterson is likely to take a redshirt season in 2023-24, Autry said a few days ago. This isn’t much of a surprise, because Patterson has yet to see the court at all in the current stanza.

Moving forward, sophomore Maliq Brown will be the Orange’s starting center, a role he has already taken on since McLeod got injured.

Brown, to me, is the most important player on the ‘Cuse roster these days. He’s put forth some strong performances in recent games, although he was basically a non-factor in the latest victory at Pittsburgh, in part due to him getting into foul trouble early in the second half versus the Panthers.

Brown is a talented, and underrated, player. However, at 6-foot-8, he will go up against other ACC centers who have a size advantage over him.

Case in point was the rough outing for Syracuse basketball when the Orange got blown out at then-No. 7 North Carolina last weekend. The Tar Heels destroyed the ‘Cuse on the glass, but I don’t believe that was in any way just due to Brown.

It does bring up a larger concern, though. As the Orange faces physical teams that rebound with prowess, with McLeod unavailable, the rebounding arena could prove an issue for Syracuse basketball.

Autry’s two reserve centers, at this juncture, are junior Mounir Hima and sophomore Peter Carey. According to ESPN data, both Hima and Carey have played in six games to date in 2023-24, and each of them is averaging fewer than five minutes per contest.

Will we see more of Hima and/or Carey in the future? My assumption is yes, especially if Brown gets into foul trouble in any particular game.

On Tuesday evening at Pitt, junior forward Benny Williams did play a few minutes at the center spot. Depending on the opponent and the situation, I could envision Williams playing a bit of center here and there.

Much like Brown, the 6-foot-9 Williams is an athletic forward, but both of them will give up size and length to more physical, taller centers in the ACC.

I remain hopeful that all of these guys, as a collective unit, can hold their own as a group at the center position. McLeod’s absence, though, undeniably makes things more challenging for Syracuse basketball throughout the course of the squad’s remaining games in 2023-24.