Sometimes we have to be realistic.
The 2011-12 team had all of the tools to win a national championship, even though Fab Melo missed the NCAA tournament. Despite losing four of its last five regular season games, the 2012-13 team went to the Final Four. Twenty five straight games worked for Syracuse last year, but it all went downhill from there and SU was bounced in the Round of 32.
This year’s Syracuse team is nowhere close to where it was the last three. SU will be lucky to get into the NCAA tournamentbased on the non-conference schedule thus far.
The Orange does not have enough depth or experience to even succeed in the ACC. A loss to St. John’s at the Dome, and barely getting a win against Louisiana Tech is not comforting to the concerned hearts of Orange Nation.
Heading into a stretch of easier opponents after the Villanova game on Saturday, that is an opportunity for Syracuse to pick up wins before it hits much tougher opponents in the coming weeks.
This team will have a very difficult time getting to the NCAA tournament if it continues to struggle the way it has. That is bad news for now, but not for the future of the program.
Syracuse already has an incredible recruiting class coming in next year, and could be full of freshmen talent ready to make an immediate impact without the need to learn from this year’s starters. This year’s starters will have a year under their belt and regardless of what system Jim Boeheim tries to use, he will always have talent and comfort in the guys on the floor. If he decides to go with a young lineup, he has experience coming off the bench and guys who can eat up minutes. If he decides to go with the experience, he has talented freshmen who can make an impact coming off the bench.
Either way, this year will be a struggle, and it has, but it helps this team only prepare and make the best for next season.
Posted:  Austin Pollack
