How Many Will Make Syracuse Basketball's Rotation?

How many players with the Orange play this season?

Mike McAllister | Nov 22, 2020

How Many Will Make Syracuse Basketball's Rotation? /

The stigma around Syracuse basketball and head coach Jim Boeheim is that he only plays six or seven guys while most other programs play nine or ten. There is some exaggeration there, as most teams do not go that deep as part of their regular rotation. That said, which players will crack the Syracuse rotation during the 2020-21 campaign?

The starters will undoubtedly be Joe Girard, Buddy Boeheim, Alan Griffin, Marek Dolezaj and Bourama Sidibe. That is five. Your key reserves are Kadary Richmond in the back court and Quincy Guerrier at forward. That gives you seven players who are essentially guaranteed to get minutes.

Coach Boeheim has said during preseason interviews he envisions playing eight or possibly nine guys. Eight makes sense as someone will have to spell Sidibe, and he does not like putting Dolezaj in the middle for extended minutes as he gets pushed around in there. That means one of Jesse Edwards, Frank Anselem or John Bol Ajak will see time at center as Sidibe's primary backup.

Who could the ninth guy be? There is a chance that someone like Robert Braswell or Woody Newton gets minutes from time to time. Or that both Edwards and Anselem practice well enough that they both see time at center in relief of Sidibe.

The smart money is on the regular rotation being eight players with the starters, Richmond, Guerrier and a backup center. Of course the others will see the court during mop up duty, but expecting them to be regular contributors is probably not realistic.

Published Nov 22, 2020

MIKE MCALLISTER

Title: Publisher All Syracuse Education: Roberts Wesleyan College Location: Syracuse, New York Expertise: Syracuse basketball, football and recruiting. EXPERIENCE Mike McAllister has been covering Syracuse basketball, football and recruiting for more than a decade. Mike's career started with his own free blog as a way to vent following sporting events. Shortly thereafter, a network of basketball sites called Coast 2 Coast Hoops asked him to run their Syracuse site. That site was called Nation of Orange, and Mike quickly established it as a go-to for Syracuse fans. After running Nation of Orange for several months, a position with the Syracuse site on the Scout network became available. After one year as the recruiting expert with Cuse Nation, he was named the publisher. Mike oversaw the transition from Scout to 247Sports, and ran the site on that network for years. Presented with the opportunity to join one of the biggest names in the sports journalism industry, Sports Illustrated, Mike jumped at the chance. All Syracuse was started from scratch by Mike and the Fan Nation team. It has now become a staple for Orange fans of various sports. Mike has broken news on recruiting, Syracuse basketball and football team information and has established himself as the top recruiting inside in the market. He has appeared on local radio shows, television broadcasts, national radio shows and much more. Mr. McAllister has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting and Information Management from Roberts Wesleyan College.