The 2016 season is the main focus of Jim Boeheim and company, but that doesn’t mean they can’t let their minds wander off a little further into the future. Syracuse continues to plant seeds for its 2017 roster by offering a scholarship to forward Bourama Sidibe. The Newark native currently has offers from Arizona State, Maryland, Memphis, Seton Hall and Virginia Commonwealth. Sidibe is the 12th player the Orange have extended an offer to in the Class of 2017.
The Orange is smart by gearing its recruiting towards the frontcourt with the graduations of Dajuan Coleman and Tyler Roberson in 2017, as well as Tyler Lydon potentially leaving for the NBA Draft. Sidibe brings a lot to the table that shows flashes of all of these players.
First off, Sidibe’s seven foot wingspan makes him a menacing defender in the paint. His ability to block shots from the weak side is a product of his long arms and forces opponents to change their shots in the air while still swatting away these attempts. Sidibe doesn’t have eye-opening quickness, but that can easily be masked by placing him in the paint of the zone.
Offensively, there is much to be desired in the New Jersey product’s game. He has no fear in rocking the rim and can do so quite effortlessly. He is a skilled ball handler for his size which makes him a threat to drive from the baseline. However, there are no definitive post moves in Sidibe’s repertoire. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing for the Orange. Coleman and Roberson both lack significant offensive games, but make up for it with their rebounding and anchoring of the bottom of the zone. Sidibe also shows signs of an outside game by occasionally knocking down an elbow jumper. The forward does have a soft touch and can finish well around the rim, which is a good sign that he can develop a post game, but at the moment Sidibe can have trouble getting to the basket.
