The roster building for Gerry McNamara’s first Syracuse season continues to pick up, but there’s still work to be done.
Here’s what the 26-27 Orange looks like as of this writing:
PG: Garwey Dual, Ryan Moesch, Noah Lobdell
SG/SF: Aidan Tobiason, Kiyan Anthony, Gavin Doty, Mark Morano Mahmutovič
F: Calvin Russell
PF: Sadiq White
C: Tasmen Goodrick, Abdramane Siby
With four spots remaining, what do the Orange need? Two specific things jump out to me:
Size
So right away that’s a guard heavy roster and it sure
seems like White is the only current option at PF, unless you want to really play some small-ball. Both Tobiason and Dual have the wingspan to play bigger on defense than their height, but this roster would have some glaring weaknesses.
If Syracuse isn’t able to land Owen Freeman after his visit, they need to find someone else who can fill the starting center role. If they do add Freeeman, then you have to still be a little concerned that both he and Goodrick are coming off seasons with knee injuries. Siby’s a very intriguing prospect, but is he going to be ready next year?
With four more roster spots, the Orange should be adding a center and another power forward. Not just to have a backup for White, but to have more flexibility with lineups. Can you find another strong rebounder who can step away from the rim to make shots? If so, you can open up your own small-ball group, and a big line-up where White slides to the 3 and you roll out a backcourt of Dual/Tobiason.
One player who could fit that additional forward spot is Francis Foleac, who of course played for McNamara at Siena. Folefac and White as a forward tandem would provide a strong defensive pairing….and if you can land a center and Folefac, then you’d feel a lot better about the frontcourt.
Shooting and Scoring
You can have the best defense in the country, but at some point you need to put the ball in the basket, especially in key situations. Doty and Tobiason are the only players who averaged double-figures last season-neither doing so against P5 competition. Will they be able to do the same in ACC play?
Here’s another area where adding Freeman and Folefac could help, but even adding them would leave Syracuse short on outside shooting. We saw how that impacted the last few years as opponents were able to pack the lane and make it harder to get to the rim.
McNamara should certainly appreciate the value of outside shooting, so it would make sense for him to find a sniper. You need someone who can come in and force defenders to stick with them on the perimeter to open up the paint for Dual,Tobiason and Doty who like to operate in the lane. Position doesn’t matter for this one- just get someone who can hit close to 40% from deep and have them in your back pocket for when you need them
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What do you think the Orange will be looking for to fill out the roster?
