The next-man-up mentality is one often taken by teams who suffer injuries or lose players for various reasons during the season. But, after just one exhibition game, it is clear to see that Syracuse’s group is one that will not have a definitive alpha (maybe Joe Girard III will become one), but right now, despite senior leadership, success this season will come from which other rotation players step up on a nightly basis.
Luckily for Jim Boeheim, he has a plethora of options to go to if things aren’t working out originally. Last night in SU’s 86-68 exhibition win over Indian University (PA), the 47th-year head coach started Girard, Judah Mintz, Chris Bell, Benny Williams, and Jesse Edwards. Throughout the first half, Boeheim rotated in all 12 of his potential rotation players, and that did not work as the Crimson Hawks went into the locker room with a halftime lead.
So, in the second half, as any good coach does, Boeheim kept pushing different buttons to find what was working. Symir Torrence did not do much in the backup guard role, only playing ten minutes. Justin Taylor played 18 minutes and scored seven points, but did not make that much of an impact on the game. The big guys, Mounir Hima, Peter Carey, John Bol Ajak, and Maliq Brown all played less than 10 minutes and did not have a large impact on the game. Even Bell, who started, played just 13 minutes and did not have a great Dome debut shooting 1-9 from the field and 1-6 from three.
That leads us to who did step up for the Orange, and why this next-man-up mentality will define this season for SU. Quadir Copeland. The freshman guard, thrown under the radar because of the later commitments after him of Bell and Mintz, got an extended run in the second half on the wing, despite being a high school point guard. Copeland thrived as a secondary playmaker on the baseline and the wing next to point guard Judah Mintz, and played 17 minutes, second most on the team off the bench behind Taylor.
The box score isn’t the most exciting thing in the world, five points, two assists, and not really much else. But he passed the eye test with flying colors. Copeland’s 6’6 frame allowed him to finish inside against bigger defenders, and deflect passes at both the top and wing of the zone on defense. He will be a valuable piece off the bench this season, and if something goes array, Boeheim can throw him in at either the top or wing of the zone at any time.
The other “surprising” contribution came from Benny Williams. It’s been well-documented how much he struggled as a freshman as the fourth forward on the depth chart. Now, the sophomore is the most experienced forward on the roster and played 30 minutes last night to finish with a double-double, 15 points, and 12 rebounds. He was perfect from the foul line and even made a three as well. Now, this is not something to expect every night, but as Jim Boeheim said a couple of weeks ago, if Williams can get 10-12 points a night and 5-6 rebounds, that is a massive step and what SU needs to compete on a nightly basis.
Therefore, Tuesday night was Quadir Copeland and Benny Williams stepping up in a big way. But, next week it could be two other guys who people might not expect to step up and provide a spark or big impact. It could be a different person every night. Girard and Edwards will get theirs, as they had 17 and 16 respectively, and maybe even Mintz can be included in that group, as he played a team-high 32 minutes and had 14 points and a couple of steals playing at the top of the zone.
So, Syracuse has its defacto three-headed monster that it will likely get scoring from on a nightly basis, but those fourth and fifth spots and unclear, and could be different every night. What is clear is that the Orange will need guys to step up into those roles each game, but we don’t know who just yet.
