After a positive COVID-19 test result that came out just an hour before the game which sidelined Buddy Boeheim and some other players, Syracuse Men’s Basketball easily downed Niagara 75-45 on Thursday night. With the win, the Orange improve to 2-0 on the season. To evaluate SU’s performance, we broke out the trustee Fizz Report Card and handed each player a grade.
Quincy Guerrier – A
Guerrier easily was the best player on the court Thursday night. The sophomore tallied 23 points, 13 rebounds and added a block. He now has back to back games with a double-double. Guerrier was a monster on the boards both offensively and defensively. Before the game, he talked about having to be quicker and stronger to be able to battle with the taller guys down low, and that is exactly what he did. It doesn’t seem like his groin is bothering him. Not trying to overreact after just two games, but if Guerrier can sustain this he could flirt with the All-ACC teams.
Kadary Richmond – A
Kadary Richmond earned himself a lot of minutes on Thursday night. The freshman was forced into the starting lineup after Buddy Boeheim was ruled out and boy did he step up. Richmond recorded 16 points, 7 boards, 6 assists, 4 steals, and 3 blocks. He contributed in every faucet of the game. He even outplayed the incumbent Joe Girard. Richmond’s length at the top of the zone is a major factor. Plus, he is an extremely smart offensive player, especially for a freshman. There’s no guarantee, but Richmond could be a consistent starter this season if he keeps it up.
Woody Newton – B+
Wow, well Syracuse may have hit on both of their big freshmen. Newton had a fantastic night along with Richmond. Newton tallied 9 points, 5 boards, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. He showed a lot of hustle, crashing the boards and getting offensive rebounds on his own shots. Maybe it was the energy of being in his first collegiate basketball game, but if he can continue that he will earn himself some consistent minutes off the bench.
Marek Dolezaj – B
There was a lot of hype around Dolezaj heading into the game. With Bourama Sidibe out, Dolezaj had to take over the center position. He didn’t do much, but he did do enough. Dolezaj stayed out of foul trouble, which is massive, and snagged 10 rebounds. He wasn’t a scoring threat on Thursday, but he did his job.
Alan Griffin – B-
Griffin didn’t have his best day. He shot 3-13 for only 10 points. It was in no way a bad performance, just not great. His athleticism was still a factor on the defensive side of the ball, but he wasn’t the fantastic shooter he has been advertised as. Lucky for Griffin, though, the rest of the team picked up the slack.
Joe Girard III – C-
Something is up with Girard. Before the season, he was being touted as the next go-to guy for Syracuse offensively. He only had 6 points in the season opener against Bryant and just 8 on 3-11 shooting on Thursday night against Niagara. To make matters worse, he was 1-6 from deep. = Players have off days, which is fine, but great players know that when the three ball isn’t falling you have to go to the rim and settle yourself down at the line. Girard didn’t look like himself on Thursday and was outshone by Kadary.
Robert Braswell – C-
Braswell was down right not good on Thursday night. He went 0-5 from beyond the arc and 1-7 from the field. He was too aggressive on the wings of the zone and was sometimes a liability for SU. It was not a great performance for Braswell who is trying to earn a spot in the rotation.
John Bol Ajak – D-
Bol Ajak played 9 minutes, registered 1 rebound, and wracked up 3 fouls. Not ideal.
Jesse Edwards – N/A
Edwards only played 1 minute, but got a rebound. That’s about it. Idk how to grade that.
Frank Anselem – N/A
Kind of surprisingly, Anselem only came in for trash minutes at the end and didn’t tally a stat. I’m not sure why he didn’t play more.
