J.J. Starling, the junior guard, has played in six games for Syracuse basketball after missing the previous seven contests due to a left-hand injury.
The Orange, since his return, has gone 3-3. Starling has scored at least 12 points in five of those six affairs. He's notched at least 21 points in four of those half-dozen encounters, including a game-high 25 points on Wednesday night, when Syracuse basketball lost at Clemson, 86-72.
Over the past six games, Starling is averaging roughly 18.2 points per contest. Candidly, he kept the 'Cuse in the game this last Wednesday evening at the Tigers, a group that built a 24-point edge in the second half but ultimately prevailed over the Orange by 14 points.
In his post-game press conference, second-year head coach Adrian Autry noted that Starling has been playing at a high level, but for Syracuse basketball to win contests against high-quality foes, other Orange players must step up, too.
Syracuse basketball boss Adrian Autry dishes on the 'Cuse roster.
In that post-game presser, Autry said in part, "We know what J.J. can do, but we need five guys. He kept us in it. He made some shots, but then the other guys, you know, everybody knows we’ve got to pull our weight. We just didn’t do that today."
Autry's comments here get at the heart of the issues that this Orange squad faces. Starling is a terrific player, there's no denying that. The 'Cuse is also dealing with the absence of freshman power forward Donnie Freeman, who has a lower right leg injury and has missed five straight games.
While Freeman's absence stings, graduate student center Eddie Lampkin Jr. has played well lately. Senior forward Jyare Davis has also put together a few solid recent performances.
Yet, by and large, the majority of the team's 2024-25 roster has proven wildly inconsistent, both since Starling's return and while he was unavailable. Redshirt junior guard Kyle Cuffe Jr. has seen his minutes, and production, increase.
Frankly, I don't want to call out specific players who have been struggling in recent contests, because we know who they are. I'll just add that if the Orange wants to ever grab a victory over a top-flight opponent, such as Clemson, players beyond Starling and Lampkin need to consistently produce more.
Undeniably, turnovers are a big problem for Syracuse basketball, and the Tigers led by a whopping 19-4 in points off turnovers. From my perspective, two things stood out in this setback to Clemson.
Number one, the Orange's offense was often stagnant. No fluidity. Not enough ball movement or player movement. Number two, sometimes I feel like when a game starts to go sideways for the 'Cuse, players aren't always hustling, whether it's on transition defense or in another facets.
That's a problem, and I put that on the players and the coaching staff. Said Autry: "You’ve got to play for 40 minutes. You can’t come down here and play against Clemson and not play for 40 minutes."