This season has been nothing short of disappointing for Syracuse men’s basketball. When things are going the way you want them too, people naturally look for scapegoats. A lot of people hopped on the “Jimmy Boeheim needs to play less” train following SU’s 76-71 loss to Florida State. People forget that Jimmy is probably the most consistent player on this team and needs to stay on the floor.
The Cornell transfer has scored in double figures in every game this seasons except for three. The grad student is second on the team averaging 13.4 points per game and third on the squad reeling in over six boards per game. The numbers simply don’t lie, you can count on Jimmy to produce on a night to night basis.
Did he struggle against Florida State? Yeah. That’s because FSU is one of the longest teams in the nation and was equipped to give SU some issues. So what did the Orange do? They went with a smaller lineup which worked. Symir Torrence checked in the at the point, Joe Girard slid to his more natural spot at the two, and Cole kicked up to the four which sent Jimmy to the bench. So we learned that the Orange have that ace in their back pocket if they want it.
However, Syracuse won’t see many teams with the length that the Seminoles had so the small ball lineup isn’t going to become THE lineup. Jimmy is one of the most consistent and efficient scorers on this team both inside and around the arc. He might be a defensive liability, but let’s not kid ourselves, who isn’t? Syracuse is an offensive dominant team this season and needs to stick with that’s working. What’s working the is the lineup Coach Boeheim currently deploys to start the game.
With that said, Torrence needs more run at the “1.” Additionally, JG3 needs to stay in and hold down that “2” spot a little more because he’s still one of the hottest shooters in the ACC when he gets going. Right now, Jimmy plays about 35 minutes on a given night. Perhaps bring that down to 32-33 but nothing drastic like some people are calling for. The Orange are idling at 8-9, 2-4 but the season is far from over so don’t go rewriting the universe just to try something new.
It’ll be fun to see how it shakes out tonight between Syracuse and Clemson.
