The saga that has been Benny Williams’ career at Syracuse University continues to get more and more interesting. Pegged by many as a major impact player heading into his freshman year, the now-junior struggled big time in 2021-22. Last year wasn’t easy by any means either, but there were a few games where Williams was very dominant, at times the best player in an Orange uniform. That spurred a lot of hope entering this year, until Syracuse Men’s Basketball’s Twitter dropped a non-descriptive Tweet that still said quite a lot.
Before we go any further let’s make one thing quite clear. We have no idea what prompted this suspension at all. Adrian Autry has responded “no” both times he’s been asked if there are any updates after the exhibition against the College of Saint Rose and Monday night after New Hampshire. Speculating gets us nowhere either.
So why is pertinent that he plays well upon his return? Firstly, Autry has preached playing with spacing in his press conferences, something that Williams has shown the capability to do but never done consistently. He’s seemed to settle into one area over the course of the game, whether it be as a jump-shooter or someone that puts the ball on the floor and attacks the basket. That appears like it’s not going to fly in Autry’s system. Putting it all together is much more pertinent in Autry’s offense, because it heavily relies on a fully-balanced brand of basketball.
On top of that, multiple combo guard-wing players have excelled in filling that role in the very early run this season. Justin Taylor started in place of Williams Monday night and put up 14 points and six rebounds, hitting several big shots and displaying energy we didn’t see a lot last season. Quadir Copeland had a double-double, something that isn’t super common in college basketball, especially off the bench. Kyle Cuffe once again looked like a player that can score at all three levels. Those three players in particular have staked their claim, albeit very early, to being effective in the Autry offense, signaling a major wake-up call for Williams.
Finally, at what point with Williams does Autry say “enough is enough”? Again, the reason why he got suspended could be the end-all be-all to this so we can’t speculate, but you can’t overlook the inconsistency from his first two seasons, particularly the last one. Williams scored 12 points on the road against a Miami team that went to the Final Four last season in a game the Orange probably should have won. He didn’t put up double figures again for another month. You expect and need a lot more from a key component of your starting lineup.
Williams’ fit in the offense and inconsistency in the past as well as other players blossoming under Autry put his playing time in serious jeopardy, suspension aside. If and when he returns he doesn’t live up to standard, it might be the last straw that breaks the camel’s back.
