Three weeks ago Syracuse was in a state of chaos. The pride and joy of the city, Syracuse basketball, had just been given major sanctions from the NCAA, and far too many people were thinking the sky was falling. It was all an overreaction then, and it’s still an overreaction now. Despite all of the things that have gone wrong from the day of the sanctions until now, there is still no need to worry.
With that being said, a hell of a lot has gone wrong.
First, the university announces Daryl Gross is out as Athletic Director and Jim Boeheim will retire in three years, leaving the front office in disarray and the fans heartbroken. Then, B.J. Johnson and Ron Patterson transfer (Johnson to LaSalle and Patterson TBD). To put the cherry on top, Chris McCullough announces today he’ll be leaving for the NBA after a 16 game collegiate career.
Daryl Gross had to go. The NCAA sanctions may have been what forced him to “resign”, but many weren’t happy with the work he had done at Syracuse in the first place. As for Boeheim, the sanctions forced him to give everyone a date when he’d be giving up coaching, a question many of us had wondered about long before any sort of sanctions.
Johnson and Patterson leaving might turn out to be more of a positive than a negative. With the two of them gone the Orange now have room on their roster to pick up 5-star recruit Thomas Bryant, who is expected to make his decision soon.
Chris McCullough leaving was a surprise, considering he said he would return to the school next year. His leaving means there‚Äôs a spot to be filled in the Orange starting lineup, but Dajuan Coleman, Moustapha Diagne, and Tyler Lydon will be more than happy to fight for it. If the Orange aren‚Äôt able to grab Bryant, McCullough’s departure means the Orange would be down to 10 players on their roster and could start their scholarship punishment next season.
See? Nothing to worry about. The 2015-16 season isn’t nearly as good as it did in November, but there’s still plenty to look forward to. If nothing else, next year will certainly be better than this one.
Posted: Nathan Dickinson
