Last Year: 20-12; 11-9, Fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference, No Postseason
Head Coach: Adrian ‘Red’ Autry (Second Year)
Projected Starting Lineup
PG Jaquan Carlos – 6’0″, 180 Senior
G JJ Starling – 6’4″, 206 Junior
W Chris Bell – 6’7″, 192 Junior
F Donnie Freeman – 6’9″, 205 / 5-star recruit
C Eddie Lampkin, Jr – 6’11”, 265 5th-year Senior
Experienced Reseves
G Kyle Cuffe, Jr – 6’2″, 188 Junior
G Lucas Taylor – 6’5″, 200 Senior
W Chance Westry – 6’6″, 205 Sophomore
F Jyare Davis – 6’7″, 220 Senior
C Naheem McCloud – 7’4″, 265 Senior
Freshmen
G Elijah Moore – 6’4″, 176
F Petar Majstorovic – 6’8″, 215
The Orange are building some momentum once again under Coach Red. It wasn’t an easy year for Adrian ‘Red’ Autry to take over, what with taking over for an icon – Jim Boeheim – whose progress had stalled, and trying to rebuild an Atlantic Coast Conference contender on the fly.
In mid-February, Cuse sat at 16-10 overall and 7-8 in league play, and weren’t exactly inspiring the home crowds. The lack of a legitimate post presence after injuries struck and a poor defense didn’t help. Still, the Orange won four in a row to at least revive speculation of a potential bubble case, but it was for naught. A shadow of reportedly contentious team chemistry hung over the campaign, and it ended rather ingloriously as the Orange lost their final two games by a combined 33 points.
For a twenty-win debut back at Cuse, Autry’s first season still left Orange fans wanting more. So, this spring, Autry did more. He pulled Dan Engelstad, who had been the head coach at Mount St. Mary’s the past six years and made an NCAA Tournament appearance, to be his top lieutenant. He signed a couple of Top 50 recruits. And in the transfer portal, Autry and his staff landed a quartet of experienced guys who will push for starting jobs. Cuse aims to provide some fireworks along with at least 20 more victories this year, and the show is about to begin.
Once a star recruit, JJ Starling has put together successive quality seasons, first at Notre Dame and then last year for the Orange. In a lot of ways, he’s a prototype scoring guard. Starling has good functional size and length, a quick first step getting downhill from the perimeter, and a jumper which can be a high-powered weapon. He is still searching for true consistency from the land of trey, but Starling has a great repertoire inside the arc. He dribbles into all sorts of runners and 12-15 foot jumpers, and last year made an excellent 47.6% of his 126 mid-range attempts, per Bart Torvik. If Starling can take the next step as a three-point shooter and make more outside shots off the bounce, he will become a truly dangerous lead guard. Playing off of departed point guard Judah Mintz last year, Starling continued to improve as a passer. Sometimes he’s almost as dangerous as a distributor near the rim as a finisher, and as the feature option this year, Starling is poised to become an all-conference star.
While Starling’s last frontier as a scorer lies far from the basket, rangy wing Chris Bell has the three-ball on lock. At 6’7″, Bell has very useful quickness, length, and anticipation on the perimeter. He’s started every game he’s played since arriving at Syracuse, and Bell broke out as a marksman to be feared last winter. Everybody out there wants an impact 3-and-D guy on the perimeter, and Cuse has found that in the third-year wing. Having established himself in those regards, how many more facets can Bell show to his game? So far, he has played almost exclusively off the ball, and Bell was assisted on 95% of his three-balls last winter. He’s very good at cutting hard to the rim when a defender overplays him to shoot, and Bell made 67.6% of his tries around the cup as a sophomore. With just a bit more refinement on his handle and drive game, Bell can surprise the Orange’s foes this year.
The other main components of Autry’s rotation are largely going to be new guys, whether rookies or veterans. Last season, Cuse played small most of the time, and they had few options even if they wanted to go big, especially once 7’4″ youngster was lost at the beginning of January with a season-ending foot injury. Autry wasn’t screwing around this spring, though, and he’s added one of the biggest, burliest guys in the country to be his center.
One of the most irresistible forces in the nation, Lampkin knows how to use his size as a weapon and has honed his touch receiving passes in the lane and finishing deftly around the hoop.
At Colorado last winter, powerful pivot Eddie Lampkin, Jr, enjoyed a career year. He also proved that he could play both at altitude for almost 28 minutes per game, and that he could do so for a Buffs team that didn’t exactly play a slow-it-down style. One of the most irresistible forces in the nation, Lampkin knows how to use his size as a weapon and has honed his touch receiving passes in the lane and finishing deftly around the hoop. He sets immovable screens, and Lampkin rolls assertively to the cup to present himself as a play finisher.
The best thing about Lampkin is that he’s far more than simply some huge guy who can score down low. He’s always had a good sense of what’s going on in the halfcourt, and Lampkin found a nice rhythm with face-up forward Tristan da Silva last winter. The Buffs ranked 12th nationally in assists last season, and Lampkin handed out the third-most helpers on the team. If he can attract double teams and then kick out to Bell and Syracuse’s other shooters this year, Lampkin could add an exciting wrinkle that the Orange didn’t have last year. Strong and productive on the glass, Lampkin ranked third in the Pac-12 in offensive boards and fifth in overall rebounds per game last season. He put up nine double-doubles and grabbed at least five friendly misses in a game a half dozen times, and Lampkin truly seems to own the paint when he’s working the glass like that. Syracuse was – and there’s no two ways about it – absolutely putrid on the boards last year, and Lampkin is an obvious upgrade. While he doesn’t play much above the rim and is not a great rim protector for his size, Lampkin offers a genuine variety of other skills for Autry & Co to make use of.
As a counterpoint to the physical, low-post style that Lampkin employs, Autry landed a big-time commitment from 5-star forward Donnie Freeman. A superfreak athlete who gets up off the floor easily and can cover ground in a serious hurry, Freeman might be just what the doctor ordered when paired up with Lampkin. He’s not yet a finished product; Freeman is still in need of the strength needed to hold his own against guys who are almost 25 years old and his ballhandling skills are still developing. Aside from that, he looks like a star already. With all of the skills that NBA scouts look for in a modern forward, Freeman is comfortable on the perimeter and shoots the ball out to the land of trey. He can drive a straight path to the basket and thunder home two points or use his elite hops to chase down a putback or tip an offensive rebound out to his buddies. Especially important for the Orange, Freeman is also a quick study as a shot blocker and should surprise even experienced players by catching up to and rejecting their attempts.
The veteran half of Autry’s new pairing at the 4 is proven and highly productive at the collegiate level. Though he’s not a McDonald’s All-American like Freeman, Delaware transfer Jyare Davis is a tough, multi-talented upperclassman who’s ready to roll. Davis has averaged 16.6 points over the past two seasons, and he comes to Syracuse on the heels of an All-CAA campaign. It was also his most complete season, and Davis does a bunch of different things well. Though he hasn’t yet been a strong outside shooter, Davis is crafty and can handle physical play closer to the rim. He does great work a few feet away from the basket, too, and Davis will slip to the elbow and drain jumpers all day. A standout passer with good vision and a great feel for taking advantage of double-team attempts, it’s not difficult to envision Davis developing an entertaining rapport with Lampkin. Both of them can find their teammates out of the high post or back their way in for a score, and Syracuse is going to have offensive options inside for a change.
With star point guard Judah Mintz gone to the NBA, Cuse needed a new conductor to keep things running smoothly. Autry found a good one in Hofstra transfer Jaquan Carlos, a guy who brings some familiar attributes to the job. Last year, Carlos ranked second in the CAA with 1.6 steals per game, and he paced the league with 6.3 assists per contest. All of those helpers were enough to rank 14th nationally, and on a team which has added competent playmakers up and down the lineup, Carlos should plug in smoothly as the lead facilitator. He’s already a more accomplished three-point shooter than Mintz was, and since Carlos is a bit undersized, he will need to be better than ever from distance in making the jump up in competition. An All-Defense pick in the Coastal as well, Carlos will stick his nose into the action against anybody and utilizes terrific quickness to disrupt his man and then pick off passes. Increasingly, he’s made smart and sound decisions at both ends of the floor, and Autry is hoping for that sort of reliability from Carlos with the Orange.
Former Georgia State guard Lucas Taylor is already familiar with the ACC; he played parts of two seasons at Wake Forest before breaking out last year for the Panthers. With good size, good athletic ability, good scoring instincts and good form on his jumper, there’s a lot to like about Lucas. Running as an off-ball playmaker alongside now-Tulsa point guard Dwon Odom last winter, Lucas grew as a scorer inside and out, and his confidence grew quickly. As he continues to move better without the ball and improve his handle in order to attack out of screens, Lucas may look more and more like a featured scorer. With Cuse looking to replace nearly half of the three-point hits they accrued last year, guys who can space the floor will be valuable. At 6’5″, Lucas can also isolate favorable matchups and exploit them in open space, and his combination of offensive tools should help the Orange in a few different lineups.
| Five Stats Which Tell The Tale (with national ranks) |
| 75.4 – Points Per Game (99th) |
| 76.3 – Opponent Points Per Game (286th) |
| 33.4% – Team 3FG Percentage (202nd) |
| 21.5% – Offensive Rebounding Rate (323rd) |
| 69.3% – Defensive Rebounding Rate (324th) |
The Orange have a solid cast of reserves as well, many of whom are still young and improving. Both Kyle Cuffe, Jr, and Chance Westry have had to deal with significant knee injuries to begin their collective careers. Cuffe was able to hit the floor last year, while the larger Westry is hoping that this season will be his opportunity.
Both young guards possess 4-star athleticism and can help on either end of the floor. An improving shooter, Cuffe showed that he can provide a spark off the bench last year. Playing for a team which had plenty of guards but few people big enough to legitimately play in the post last winter, Cuffe didn’t exactly get to grow his role. This year, the competition for top minutes will be fierce, and he will be hoping to shoot it better than ever. A broken hand in the preseason before last year didn’t help Cuffe, but he still played in 29 of Syracuse’s 32 games. This time around, the explosive scoring guard is ready to show his full arsenal. Westry has explosiveness of his own, and when healthy, he can sky to make plays all over the floor. He’s only played in 11 games through two seasons due to injury and rehabilitation, though. As much as Cuse fans want to be excited for what Westry can do, it will again all depend on health. An unselfish wing who can make things happen with or without the ball, above the rim or below it, Westry could add some spice to the Orange.
There will be another 4-star guard in this year’s rotation, as Elijah Moore is going to give the more experienced guys a run for their money. One of the purest shooters in the class of 2024, Moore has good size, good feet, and outstanding fluidity and form on his jumper. Like a great pitcher whose delivery looks easy and repeatable, Moore’s stroke from the outside seems as natural to him as breathing. He moves well around the floor and Moore is already developing a sixth sense for anticipating the aggressiveness of defenders as they try to close out on him. He’s got plenty of athleticism to show off cutting to the rim, and Moore has the resolve to fight through screens and persistent attention. If he can add another steady deep threat opposite Bell, Moore could play often right away.
| Five Out-of-Conference Games to Keep an Eye on |
| @ Tennessee – December 3 |
| N Texas – November 21 |
| N Texas Tech/St. Joe’s – November 22 |
| N Maryland – December 21 |
| vs Georgetown – December 14 |
Last year’s center McCloud is healthy now. The question is, can he be the rim protector who rattles opponents by coming off the bench and doing different things than Lampkin? With imposing stature and great presence as a shot blocker, McCloud has to be accounted for when he’s out there. He can move, but McCloud has not yet become as effective on the offensive end just yet. In an important reserve role, it’s hoped that the additional touch and quickness that McCloud has developed this summer can allow to show off new dimensions of his repertoire. French rookie Petar Majstorovic was added to the roster later on this spring, but has already shown a few skills in practice. At 6’9″ and capable of handling and shooting the rock, Majstorovic might see time off the bench right away; particularly if he can hold his own on the glass and Autry would like to run. French freshman Petar Majstorovic is an intriguing addition as well. The long and versatile rookie has perimeter skills and the feisty streak and frame to make an impact inside, and has shown some good things already in summer practices.
It’s clear that Syracuse basketball is snapping out of the lull which has been the past couple of seasons. Not only has Autry done good work in assembling this current crew – Cuse has been hot on the recruiting trail all summer and things are looking good for next year, too. With a couple of quality veterans sprinkled among rising stars, this year’s team looks like it’s getting ready to make a move. They’ll need to cut down on last winter’s turnover rate in order to rise smoothly, and experienced guard play is a solid place to start. Lampkin and the other new big guys are vital, too – it’s extraordinary that Cuse didn’t lose more games last year given how thoroughly they were dominated on the glass.
With the conference around them getting deeper, Syracuse will need to pick up keynote wins and lots of them in order to really climb the standings. This year’s schedule – which includes a trip to Rocky Top as well as a swing through contending schools in Texas – will afford those types of opportunities. This roster feels a bit more squared up than what the Orange rolled with last year, and if its varied parts are set to push forward in the same direction, the good old days will return for Syracuse.
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