Syracuse Basketball: 3 reasons Donnie Freeman’s return puts SU season at a crossroads

After missing more than a month of action, Donnie Freeman is set to return to the Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team in Wednesday’s ACC opener against the Clemson Tigers. Freeman’s absence couldn’t have come at a worse time, as he was the team’s leading scorer through the first four games of the season. He also got hurt right before a stretch of four straight games against quality opponents, with the Orange only able to add one resume-boosting win to its resume in those four games.

On the bright side, Freeman returns to the lineup for the start of the ACC schedule. How Syracuse performs during conference play will ultimately determine if the Orange gets an invite to the NCAA Tournament this season or not. Aside from it coinciding with the start of conference play, Freeman’s return puts Syracuse’s season at a crossroads for three other reasons and could potentially be a turning point for the Orange’s frustrating season.

No more excuses

With Freeman back, it’s safe to say that there are no more excuses for disappointing results. The Orange can no longer point to the absence of their leading scorer as a reason why they couldn’t pull out a close game against Houston or why they suffered a humiliating defeat to Hofstra. They are finally at full strength, which has not been the case for virtually the entire season.

Granted, Freeman might need a little time to get up to speed after sitting out for more than a month. Keep in mind that he didn’t play a full season last year because of an injury. He still has just 18 career games under his belt. But all of that aside, if Freeman is on the court, the assumption is that Syracuse is at full strength and should be playing its best basketball with no excuses.

The Orange must reconfigure its rotation

The biggest caveat to Freeman’s return is that Syracuse has to make changes to its rotation. In addition to Freeman shaking off some rust from sitting out more than a month, the Orange has played the last nine games without him. With Freeman likely to play at least 25-30 minutes per game, Adrian Autry will have to retool his rotation in the middle of the season, which could be problematic.

Freshman Sadiq White has started in Freeman’s place and has started to come around. In two of his last three games, White has been one rebound shy of a double-double. His minutes could see a significant decline with Freeman’s return. The same is true of Tyler Betsey, who has been sharing minutes with White at power forward. Betsey’s scoring has been erratic from one game to the next, but when he’s been able to make shots, he’s been key to several Syracuse wins.

On the other hand, Freeman’s return gives Syracuse more depth and versatility. The Orange has been limited to William Kyle and Ibrahim Souare at the center spot, but now Freeman playing that position becomes an option. That will help create playing time for White and Betsey, while giving Syracuse a new lineup that opposing teams haven’t seen this year. The challenge for Autry is quickly figuring out which lineups with Freeman work best for him and the entire team.

Put an asterisk on Syracuse’s NCAA Tournament resume

Last but not least, the return of its leading scorer gives Syracuse a chance to put a tiny asterisk on the rest of its season. It was disappointing to see the Orange lose to Houston, Kansas, and Iowa State in Las Vegas, rather than earning a resume-building win against at least one of those teams. The loss to Hofstra is also a black mark on the Syracuse resume that will be hard to erase.

However, Syracuse has a golden opportunity to make that bad loss and missed opportunities less important in the eyes of the selection committee. If Freeman’s return can help the Orange get off to a fast start in ACC play, it’ll be a signal that they are a different team with Freeman than they were without him. If Syracuse ends up being one of the top ACC teams during conference play, the committee will see what an impact Freeman’s absence was.

Of course, Syracuse has no choice but to add quality wins and avoid bad losses throughout ACC play. The Orange has a small margin for error with regard to its NCAA Tournament hopes. But if Freeman’s return can be a true turning point in Syracuse’s season, some of the Orange’s failures to this point will be easier to overlook. That puts this season at a crossroads with Freeman’s return on Wednesday.