Syracuse Basketball: Kiyan Anthony, Naithan George leading a dynamic backcourt

Even with senior shooting guard J.J. Starling only having played three minutes in total during the early stages of the 2025-26 season, the Syracuse basketball backcourt hasn't missed a beat.

The 6-foot-4 Starling, a preseason All-ACC second-team selection, is dealing with a lower-body injury. He's expected back soon, as the Orange will host Monmouth on Tuesday night, then head to Las Vegas for the loaded Players Era Festival.

Despite Starling's absence, the 'Cuse backcourt is playing quite well as the team has blown out three straight foes to commence 2025-26. Freshman Kiyan Anthony, the 2025 four-star shooting guard from New York City, has been inserted into the starting line-up with Starling out. Anthony, to put it bluntly, has been terrific.

His backcourt mate, junior point guard Naithan George, stuffed the stat sheet this past Saturday as the Orange beat Drexel by 30 points in Philadelphia. The four-star transfer from Georgia Tech struggled a bit in the 'Cuse win over Delaware State on November 8. However, by and large, George is off to a good start to his 'Cuse career.

Syracuse basketball's backcourt is playing at a high level early on this season.

Let's also give a shout-out to reserve guard Bryce Zephir, a graduate student. On Saturday against Drexel, he and other reserves executed an effective full-court press that helped ignite the Orange to a massive second half in which the Dragons only scored 18 points.

For the entire 2025-26 campaign, Zephir is averaging 12.7 minutes, 3.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game while making 57.1 percent from the field. In the triumph over Drexel, Anthony tallied 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting, but he did commit four turnovers. George finished with 13 points, seven assists and four rebounds.

Through three games, Anthony is playing as well as virtually any other freshman in the country. He's averaging 28.7 minutes, 17.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per contest while hitting on 63.6 percent from the field, 44.4 percent from beyond the arc and 50.0 percent from the charity stripe.

George, who led the Atlantic Coast Conference in assists per game as a sophomore in 2024-25, is averaging 26.0 minutes, 11.3 points, 6.0 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 2.7 steals per contest. He's connecting on 50.0 percent from the field, 40.0 percent from deep and 100.0 percent from the free-throw line.

Undeniably, the Orange needs Starling back to reach its full potential, but during his absence, the team's backcourt is still faring well.