Network Share: Syracuse '23
Two things are both certain and sure, in that Rivals.com has THE BEST college and high school sports coverage available, and The Juice Online is the industry leader in reporting all things Syracuse University sports. We tapped into both to provide fans substantive content.
How?
By contacting Wesley Chen and Jim Stechschulte, publisher and associate editor/columnist respectively of The Juice Online.and leveraging Rivals.com's sharing culture, Hoya Hoops fans will have a better understanding of just who Georgetown faces tomorrow at 1130a, in their hated rival, Syracuse.
Chen was contacted, involved Stechschulte, with the latter's excellent responses initially posted on our Premium Court message board (along with other pregame content). They are re-supplied here, in their entirety.
Enjoy, and be sure to return for more coverage of Syracuse at Georgetown!
1) OK, so let's hit the question we all need help with...has rhe 2 3 zone gone the way of rotary phones and disappeared? If not how much do they play it?
The 2-3 zone is all but gone from the Orange. The team has played man-to-man almost all of the time, relying on the zone only as a change of pace or on baseline inbounds plays with a short shot clock, using that change of defense to force a difficult shot on that possession. However, that switch has become known, making it easier for opponents to prepare for. Cornell got two wide-open 3's against the zone in those situations in the first half of SU’s last game, so it remains to be seen if it will still be used
2) Who are the guards, returnee/new, that have been turning heads? Show any need to settle down a tad?
Sophomore Judah Mintz has been the top player for Syracuse, as expected. The point guard was named to the Preseason All-ACC Second Team prior to the season and has lived up to it, averaging 19.6 points per game on 44.8 percent shooting from the floor and a surprising 46.7 percent from beyond the arc. His backcourt mate, J.J. Starling, a hometown kid who transferred from Notre Dame, has had a choppier start, averaging 11.4 points and struggling with his outside shot (3-for-24 on 3-pointers). Both are more effective on offense driving to the hoop and look to get to the rim. Doing so has boosted Mintz’s scoring, as his 75 free throw attempts are almost half the team’s total on the season.
3) Gone is Jessie Edwards. Basketball streets are saying Cuse's frontcourt is a weak point. True and who are these guys?
Edwards’ departure has certainly affected the Orange, as they now lack a trusted inside scoring option. Florida State transfer Naheem McLeod stepped his 7’4” frame into the starting spot and has been a defensive deterrent. Maliq Brown backs him up and provides a different style of play, as he is undersized at center, but a smart player with quick, active hands who harasses opponents enough to lead the Orange in steals. Chris Bell and Justin Taylor are the starting forwards. Both are streaky perimeter shooters with Bell more likely to pull the trigger while Taylor plays as an undersized four. Taylor has surprised with his effort on the glass, leading SU with 6.2 rebounds per game.
4) Red Autry is a Syracuse dude to the core. Have the Boeheim stans supported him?
When Autry slid over one seat on the bench, it was a popular, widely supported move. Autry is still going through the expected honeymoon period as the team changes defensive styles and works in several new players. That said, as the team has taken a few lumps early in the season, there has started to be the usual grumbling from some sections of the fan base about some of the decisions. That grousing is nothing out of the ordinary, just the general questions about the rotation and bench players that you would expect for any coach who is established in the position and not running through his team's schedule with ease.
5) Speaking of support how is the NIL effort coming along up there? Boeheim supposedly was slow walking it, and Edwards' WV amount made retaining him impossible
Boeheim was resistant to NIL and the transfer portal, but it always felt like a general resistance to change since they came near the end of such a long career. The program also lost its largest, or at least its loudest, public NIL donor, as there were some disagreements between him and the university about how things were being done, as the school wanted to ensure there would not be any compliance issues. The NIL effort is reportedly improving (the change of the football coach seems to be driving some of the efforts), but with Syracuse being a private school, the nebulous world of NIL and what is true, what is rumor, and what is false will never probably be cleared up.