After losing Robert Braswell, John Bol Ajak and most recently Kadary Richmond to the transfer portal, Jim Boeheim has made up some ground. Combo guard Symir Torrence announced his commitment to the Orange Wednesday via social media.
The 6-foot-3 sophomore played around 12 minutes a game in his two years at Marquette, and averaged 2.4 points in his second year with the Golden Eagles. However, these stats need context. Torrence reclassified from the class of 2020 to the class of 2019, so last year was supposed to be his first year of college. He faced some tough circumstances at Marquette as well.
Torrence was stuck behind Markus Howard, one of the most prolific scorers in college basketball, his freshman year. This year, Marquette brought in Ohio State transfer D.J. Carton, and head coach Steve Wojciechowski pretty much guaranteed Carton a starting spot. There’s a reason Wojo isn’t around anymore at Marquette.
Don’t get it twisted. Torrence can play. He was rated a top-75 recruit coming out of high school, and the best player out of the Empire State by 247sports.com.
Torrence should be an immediate rotation player for the Orange. Coach Boeheim certainly knows his game well after watching him play with Joe Girard on the Albany City Rocks team on the Nike EYBL circuit. More importantly, Girard and Torrence should mesh well on the court, along with fellow City Rocks alum Buddy Boeheim. As a Syracuse native, there’s no doubt Torrence will bring passion and drive to the program.
There might be growing pains, but after the departures and negative buzz around the program, it’s a good sign to see the Orange quickly bouncing back and bringing in new talent.
