Coming off another NCAA Tournament bid, it’s surprised some fans that the Syracuse Orange women have had six players enter the transfer portal. On one hand a “mass exodus” can signal some internal issues within a program, but could it mean something different for Felisha Legette-Jack’s program?
As the Orange were overachieving this season, their head coach kept pleading for the community to take notice of the team and their success. Center to that success was ACC ROY Uche Izoje and with Izoje already
eligible to enter the WNBA Draft, Syracuse needs to seize on the chance to build a team that can go deeper in March.
Yes, the Orange were overwhelmed by UConn in the second round, but prior to the game, Huskies HC Geno Auriemma had high praise for the Syracuse center
“She took a big chance on that freshman,” Auriemma said of Legette-Jack’s recruitment of Izoje. “Like, whoever thought she would be good. She’s like the best player we’ve seen this year.”
We saw that game that one player isn’t going to catapult Syracuse into the top 10, but when you land a talent like Izoje you need to take a shot and the best way to upgrade a roster in today’s game is through the portal. I’m not going to pretend that I follow the women’s game as much as the men’s, but from my view Syracuse struggled against better teams because they couldn’t match the athleticism 1-5.
That’s not to say the players leaving wouldn’t improve, or can’t have solid college careers, but I think the Orange can use the draw of playing with Izoje (and hopefully Dominique Darius) to bring in players to build around the star center. Izoje will make the game easier for teammates on both ends. On offense, opposing teams will commit to double team Izoje which will open the floor for shooters. On defense, the rim protection allows Syracuse players to be more aggressive on the perimeter.
It will be interesing if the new administration of Bryan Blair will provide FLJ a bit more resources to work with to build a roster. This is a chance that Syracuse should try and capitalize on and flipping the roster could be just the way to get it done.
