Recently at Orange Fizz we ran a poll on what fans expect from transfer shooting guard Alan Griffin. 
One responder had an interesting question
Buddy Boeheim certainly had his struggles last season, but he was also the second leading scorer for the Orange. If Elijah Hughes stays in the draft, Boeheim has a good shot of taking over scoring duties. 
Last season Griffin averaged around 9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. The most promising element of his game is that he was a terrific three shooter, hitting over 41 percent of his attempts. 
Boeheim was a 37 percent three shooter but he also took over double the shots than Griffin. So, it’s tough to truly say that Griffin is the better shooter. He simply didn’t have the volume that Boeheim did, since he was Illinois’ fourth guard. 
Boeheim’s also much more familiar with the zone. Besides spending 18 years living in the Kingdom of Zone, he’s spent the last two seasons settling in at the top.
Instead, Griffin will likely slide in at Hughes’ spot at small forward. At Illinois, Griffin played positions 1-4.  While he’s undersized on the wing, SU doesn’t have any better options. He’ll also help space the floor for the Orange, just as Hughes did last season. 
Griffin has an opportunity to play significant minutes at small forward. He wouldn’t get that same amount of playing time as a shooting guard for SU.
Besides, playing Griffin at shooting guard would cripple SU’s offense. Why play just one shooter and a weaker offensive player like Quincy Guerrier at small forward? It doesn’t make sense.
Griffin is applying to be eligible next season, but he may have to sit out a year if his waiver isn’t granted. If he is declared eligible, the combination of Boeheim and Griffin gives Syracuse one of the best spot up shooter duos in the country. 
Defenders will have to be on the lookout from three quick shooters with seemingly limitless range – Girard, Boeheim, Griffin. That rotation combined with a couple of bigs down low could be promising for SU. Is he the second coming of Hughes? That’s a tough ask. But he’s a solid guard/forward combo who will help the Orange either this season or next.
