Geno Thorpe is new to the Syracuse basketball program. But, despite the youth this team has compared to last year’s, Thorpe is not one of the freshmen.
A Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native, Thorpe is a graduate transfer to SU from South Florida. Whereas last year’s Orange was stacked with graduate students in Andrew White III, John Gillon and DaJuan Coleman, Thorpe stands alone as the only graduate student-athlete on the team.
Thorpe is the Orange’s new scoring weapon. The 6-foot-3-inch tall guard was South Florida’s leading scorer last season. He averaged 15.1 points per game.
Thorpe is a skilled three point shooter—a scorer Syracuse greatly needs after losing White III to graduation at the end of last season. Thorpe hit 37.5 percent of his threes last year. He is also a good shooter in general, scoring on nearly 40 percent of his shots.
It might seem small, but Thorpe is a good free throw shooter as well. Sinking free throws at nearly a 85 percent clip, he is not the player you want to foul. Many of Syracuse’s games last season were greatly affected by free throw effectiveness. Thorpe is the player with potential to bring back some John Gillon-esque free throw streak theatrics.
Thorpe also led the Bulls in assists per game (4.6), steals per game (1.6) and minutes-played per game (33.0).
Thorpe is versatile on the court and can play both guard positions. When committing to Syracuse, Thorpe was transparent about his recruiting process. He said that Coach Jim Boeheim told him he would see time playing both shooting guard and point guard, strengthening a Syracuse backcourt made up of Tyus Battle (the lone returning Syracuse starter), Frank Howard (a backup guard last year) and freshman Howard Washington.
Thorpe should add game experience and scoring ability to the Orange. There is a wide opportunity for Thorpe to come in and help the Orange in a clear rebuilding year.
Other player previews:
Published: David Edelstein
