Last Year: 17-15; Eighth (10-10) in the Atlantic Coast Conference, No Postseason
Head Coach: Adrian Autry (First Year; previously had been associate head coach at Syracuse since 2016)
Projected Starting Lineup
| PG Judah Mintz – 6’4″, 185 – Sophomore |
| SG JJ Starling – 6’4″, 206 – Sophomore |
| SF Chris Bell – 6’7″, 188 – Sophomore |
| PF Benny Williams – 6’9″, 210 – Junior |
| C Naheem McLeod – 7’4″, 265 – Junior |
Projected Starters’ 2022-23 Stats
Judah Mintz: 16.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 4.6 apg, 1.8 spg – 44.3% FG
JJ Starling: 11.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.2 apg, 0.7 spg – 42.1% FG @ Notre Dame
Chris Bell: 6.6 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 0.4 bpg, 0.3 spg – 34.5% 3FG
Benny Williams: 7.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 0.8 apg, 0.8 spg – 39.6% 3FG
Naheem McLeod: 3.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.2 bpg – 54.7% FG @ Florida State
Experienced Reserves
| G Quadir Copeland – 6’6″, 200 – Sophomore |
| F Maliq Brown – 6’8″, 222 – Sophomore |
| G Justin Taylor – 6’6″, 218 – Sophomore |
| C Mounir Hima – 6’11”, 230 – Junior |
| G Chance Westry – 6’6″, 190 – Sophomore |
| C Peter Carey – 6’11”, 205 – Sophomore |
Experienced Reserves’ 2022-23 Stats
Quadir Copeland: 2.1 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 0.5 apg, 0.5 spg – 34.1% FG
Maliq Brown: 5.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 0.9 spg, 0.5 spg – 69.8% FG
Justin Taylor: 4.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 0.7 apg, 0.6 spg – 39.3% 3FG
Mounir Hima: 1.0 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.0 bpg, 0.3 spg – 46.2% FG
Chance Westry: 2.5 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 1.0 apg, 0.7 spg – 31.6% FG in 11 games played @ Auburn
Peter Carey: did not score in three games played
Freshmen
| G Kyle Cuffe – 6’2″, 190 – Redshirt Freshman / Kansas |
| C William Patterson – 7’2″, 220 – Freshman |
If you’re going to change it up, then change it up. That’s the approach being taken currently at Syracuse, where legendary coach Jim Boeheim has retired after an iconic, 47 year career. Adrian ‘Red’ Autry, Boeheim’s longtime assistant and a former star guard for the Orange, has taken over as head coach. And after nearly a half century of steady, half-court-focused offense and that trademark Syracuse 2-3 zone defensively, Autry is going to put his own stamp on things.
“Coach Red (Autry) is trying to go up and down,” says new guard Kyle Cuffe, Jr. “We’re going to change the dynamic of how people look at Syracuse basketball.”
“We wanna be versatile at both ends of the floor. Be aggressive…just be able to adapt,” the new coach declared at his opening press conference. Autry isn’t taking over at Syracuse to be the caretaker of some living history museum. “We’ll be versatile. We’ll do whatever it takes.”
Syracuse is going to put pressure on their foes at both ends of the floor, and appears to have both the team speed and size to pose real problems for the other guys. In large part, that will be because Autry has sewn together a highly talented group of young guards who, in their own ways, are bound and determined to fully show off their skills. That new approach will be spearheaded by the return of star sophomore point guard Judah Mintz.
As a rookie, Mintz ranked fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference in assist average, eighth in points per game, and he led the league in steals. After declaring for the NBA Draft but deciding he’d be better served to spend another year in the ACC, Mintz is looking to be an efficient and exciting leader for a potentially star-studded group of castmates. Mintz loves to drive the lane and make things happen on his way to the rim. He loves to pressure opponents wherever he can and he loves to attack in transition. With the high rate at which he picked the opposition’s pocket, Mintz turned defense into quick buckets often last winter, and that talent will be of tremendous importance once again. His aggressiveness leads to some mistakes, but Mint also consistently forces defenders onto their heels and disorders the other team to open things up for himself and all of his friends.
When he gets into trouble, Mintz has a couple of different floaters that he can always go to and he’s got terrific vision combined with the audacity to dart into tight spaces and get off a shot or pass. He doesn’t love to shoot three’s like so many guards, but will take and make short jumpers, and is especially adept at the pull-up in transition. Mintz made a strong 61.4% of his attempts near the goal as a rookie, per Bart Torvik, but settled down to a streaky 35.4% from mid-range. Out beyond 15 or so feet, Mintz occasionally struggled. Expanding his shooting range will only serve to make Mintz a more dangerous offensive player, and a much more attractive pro prospect. As is, he’s already proven to be a promising leader to run the show and will greatly help Autry to implement his new scheme. “Our style of play has changed. Our personnel, from a team standpoint, is a lot different. Also just the way he (Coach Autry) coaches, the way he speaks to us, is a little bit different,” Mintz told Fan Nation’s All Syracuse this fall.
Starling is keen to prove that he’s every bit the burgeoning star scorer- and shooter – people said he would be
Joining Mintz will be three different four-star prospects from just a year ago, all ready for a mulligan to re-start their promising careers. JJ Starling played the most minutes out of the three new guards, starting 24 games for Notre Dame last season before transferring in-conference. He scored in double figures 16 times and proved capable of getting his shot when he wants to against top competition. He wasn’t as good down the stretch as he had been to start the year, though, averaging 9 points on just 17% shooting from deep as the Irish went 1-11 to finish a disappointing season. Now, Starling is keen to prove that he’s every bit the burgeoning star scorer – and shooter – people had said he would be before he arrived at Notre Dame. “I’ve always known JJ as an opponent. Never a teammate. I’ve always respected him, respected his game,” Mintz says of his new co-pilot. “He’s a great player. I knew that before he got here, but being on the court with him this fall has been tremendous.” Like Mintz, Starling can use his dribble to set up good looks in close, make short jumpers and floaters around the paint, and, prior to last season, Starling had always shown a pure stroke from deep to complete his repertoire. Autry is counting in Starling to emerge as an All-ACC player this season and a tremendous compliment to Mintz both in transition and the half-court.
Chance Westry, like Starling, was a Top 25 prospect coming into last season, but underwent a knee surgery prior to the start of last season and never really felt quite right. He played in 11 games, but Auburn coach Bruce Pearl and his staff helped Westry to shut it down in hopes of getting a medical redshirt for the season. He never made a shot from three despite 14 attempts in those 11 games, and it was clear to Westry that things weren’t clicking. “My mind wants to be like, ‘Oh, I can go out there and play,’ but then my body is responding like, ‘You need to be a little bit patient,’ you know,” Westry said in March. “Just take some time off so I can get back to my old self.” After an offseason of rehabbing, training, and lifting – he’s up to nearly 200 pounds from the 185 he weighed upon arrival in Auburn.
Regarded as a strong defender, Westry will earn more in the race for minutes by offering matchup options to go along with his size and quickness. Westry is a plus but not amazing athlete, and a smart player who can impact the game at both ends of the court, and by both scoring and distributing on offense. He’s got good vision to go with his good size, and will post up smaller players. Westry also uses those traits to his advantage defensively, and can guard multiple positions. With a clean ball of health this year, Westry should be able to play in a variety of lineups and help the Orange’s uptempo offense to create mismatches.
| Five Stats Which Tell The Tale (with national ranks) |
| 46.3% – Team Shooting Percentage (56th) |
| 72.9 – Opponent Points Per Game (246th) |
| 9.4 – Opponent FT Made Per Game (7th) |
| 10.3 – Opponent 3FG Made Per Game (361st) |
| 5.0 – Blocks Per Game (14th) |
Cuffe is the third new import to Syracuse’s backcourt, an explosive scorer and attacking playmaker who figures to keep the offense humming when Mintz isn’t in the game – or at his side. While Cuffe isn’t a pure point guard, he can handle the ball and create plays for open teammates. First and foremost, Cuffe is an aggressor with the ball in his hands. He’s an electric athlete who puts his defender at a disadvantage and never relents, pressing his advantage off the bounce and getting points at the rim and the foul line. He also figures to feature prominently in Autry’s new-look defensive attack, as well. Cuffe uses his athleticism to hound opposing ballhandlers as well, and loves to poach passes and turn defense into offense. Unfortunately, after being forced to redshirt last season in Lawrence due to a knee injury, Cuffe broke his hand in late June and has missed a significant portion of summer workouts. If he is 100% healthy for the start of the season, it will provide a real lift to the Cuse rotation, and Autry told reporters at ACC Media Day that his team is fully healthy for practice.
An exciting group of athletic young forwards return for Autry, and will provide the defensive versatility and mismatch potential that were the hallmarks of so many great Cuse squads of old. Chris Bell started every game of his freshman season, and returns as the Orange’s top deep threat. With great length on the outside and a smooth release, Bell was great with catch-and-shoot opportunities on the wing in his first year and will look to build upon the respect opponents will show him on the outside as a sophomore. He took just 16 shots around the rim, and needs to look at slashing to the bucket a bit more assertive with all of the aggressive closeouts he’s going to see coming at him on the perimeter.
Maliq Brown started seven games during his freshman season also, but was very much Bell’s opposite when it came to offensive approach. Brown attempted a grand total of five shots that weren’t within arms reach of the bucket last year. That’s okay, though, because Brown’s philosophy seems to be ‘why waste time on complicating things when you can dunk half of your buckets and make an outstanding 73% of your attempts in close?’ Brown did those things last year. Additionally, he was terrific on the offensive glass, and picked up lots of his points by covering up his teammates’ misses and hustling. Per Hoop-Math, Brown’s 23 putback stabs ranked second on the team, and he converted them into buckets at a 73.9% rate. Likewise, Brown was one of the few great fits in the zone with his quick feet and long arms; and despite averaging just over 20 minutes per contest, he ranked third on the Orange in both blocked shots and steals. Now, the expectation is that his defensive abilities will translate to the new man schemes in an exciting way. And with more and more great guard play, Brown should continue to be in great position to cash in easy looks near the rim.
Benny Williams had a very up-and-down rookie year on the wing, but remains a tremendous talent. At his best, Williams showed glimpses of a fairly complete offensive game. When he was on, Williams hit outside jumpers, got into the lane to score up close, and actually could carry the Orange offense for stretches. He scored in double figures ten times, with three double-doubles including a performance of 18 and 11 with five assists against Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament. He can make decisive moves towards the goal and finish acrobatically, and is developing the strength and explosiveness to be a mismatch against larger players.
There were also eleven games in which he scored three points or fewer; for instance, against the same Wake team in the regular season finale, Williams played eight minutes and didn’t scratch. Boeheim didn’t have a great deal of patience for all that, and sometimes Williams wouldn’t get as much run as a result. If the real Benny Williams stands up and hits shots consistently this winter, he will play more than the erratic 22 minutes he averaged last season.
Despite all of the length & athleticism on the perimeter, the Orange got well & truly lit up from the three point arc last season. The stalwart 2-3 zone could not achieve its usual success, and thus the Orange will change gears. “You want to be balanced, obviously, but I think we’ll lean heavily on man-to-man. When those guys are so extended because guys can shoot so far, it just opens the court up,” Autry has said. “When they get it into the middle part of your zone, you wind up playing three-on-three, but three-on-three with someone kind of coming down in rotation, so they’ve got a little bit of advantage.” Compounding things, beyond departed marksman Joseph Girard III, Syracuse only shot enough triples to keep defenses honest, and thus there was an often momentum-shifting imbalance from the outside. A stylistic shift on one end should help; and Autry is going to need his talented young guards to make a higher volume of open jumpers when they’ve got the ball.
Quadir Copeland and Justin Taylor return from their reserve roles last season to push for expanded minutes on the wing. Taylor, like Williams, can knock down the three and should defend multiple positions in the new man-focused defense. He only hit double figures three times, but one of them was a 25 point explosion against Bryant in the non-conference. Taylor has strength to help defend on the wing, and finished third on the Orange on made triples (at a 39.3% rate) as a rookie. Copeland is one of this young team’s leaders despite having been a freshman himself last winter, and helps to keep this new group loose but engaged. The rangy returnee will be expected to be able to defend all over the court, and can check spots 1-4 against most teams. A Philly product, Copeland prepped on the same IMG Academy team as Taylor, and brings great length at speed to give Autry matchup options. Copeland can also get to the rack, and should get out and finish some transition opportunities this year when the defense forces a live-action turnover.
| Five Out-of-Conference Games to Keep an Eye on |
| N – Purdue / Gonzaga – November 21 |
| N – Tennessee – November 20 |
| N – Oregon – December 17 |
| N – Maui Invitational 3rd Game – November 22 |
| vs LSU – November 28 |
The 5 spot has been almost completely remade; there was no choice after Jesse Edwards took his talents to Morgantown. During Edwards’ Orange career, he at times frustrates fans by not being a more aggressive physical force around the basket. However, now that he’s gone, Autry must replace 14.5 points, 10.3 boards, 2.7 blocks and 1.4 steals every game. Imported to take the first crack at replacing him is another former ACC foe, Florida State transfer Naheem McLeod. At 7’4″, McLeod brings even more size than Edwards but isn’t as mobile and doesn’t have as developed an offensive game. If McLeod can hold down the boards, defend effectively without fouling and roll to the basket after setting screens, the talented young guards are going to help McLeod take care of his scoring game by hitting him in the hands with good pases. It’ll be up to McLeod to be in good position to cash in on those opportunities. McLeod originally committed to FSU out of high school and had to go the JuCo roster in order to qualify academically for the Seminoles. In working his way onto the roster and then earning a bigger role in each of his seasons, McLeod has shown that he’s willing to put in the effort to improve his game. Now he’s going to have the opportunity to put it all together.
Mounir Hima will fight for a bigger role at the five after playing in nearly every game but only really seeing spot minutes. Hima is a tremendous shot-blocker and rebounder, but has thus far been quite limited offensively. Peter Carey is a skilled big with a developing offensive game, but redshirted last season following a knee injury. Carey has now had surgery on both of his knees since halfway through high school, and thus is a bit of a question mark heading into this year. Whether Carey is able to contribute or Hima to show more offensive pizazz, Brown may steal some minutes at the 5 spot also. With Autry’s desire to get out and go more, Brown may be the Big in more of a 4-out lineup at times. The Orange are also welcoming 7’2″ freshman William Patterson to the roster. A highly intriguing prospect given his length and mobility, Patterson chose Syracuse over TCU and Oklahoma State. He did so in no snall part because of how Jesse Edwards developed during his time with the Orange. It’s possible that Patterson will redshirt, but he can score with quickness and shows soft hands near the rim.
With quickness, youth, and enthusiasm to burn, Syracuse’s new core is embracing the challenge ahead and leaning into their new identity. “It starts from the guards and trickles down to the wings and bigs,” Mintz enthused to All Syracuse. “Just being able to pick up our man and get in people’s faces, I feel like it fits the talent we have on this team and the athleticism we have.”
This is surely going to be a different Syracuse team than many. And yet, there will be plenty of people on the bench and court who are proud to wear Orange, and want to see a return to the high standards which Boeheim established.
“We don’t want to just make the (NCAA) Tournament, but we want to make a run. We want to be really good, from a Syracuse standpoint,” Mintz declared thus fall. “That’s why I came back. That’s what everyone here is trying to accomplish this year.” With a confidence that only such skilled youngsters can exude, Syracuse is on a mission to re-establish their place on the ACC. They may have a rookie coach, but Autry is well-acquainted with winning where he’s at, and has a like-minded bunch ready to roll.
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