Through two exhibition and two regular season games, Syracuse is undefeated, a perfect 4-0. There have been plenty of highs, such as Judah Mintz’s scoring prowess, the versatility of lineups, depth playing a role, and more. But, there have also been lows, Benny Williams being unavailable due to a suspension for a violation of team rules, the defense being extremely spotty at times, and a lack of three-point shooting.
There are still plenty of things we’ll learn about the Orange as the season progresses, but one thing is clear through two games, and that is that Justin Taylor has earned a place in the startling lineup, and there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be in that role for the entire season. It’s often lost about how young of a team Syracuse is, often with five players on the court in their first or second year in the program.
As a freshman last season, Taylor played in 29 games and only averaged 4.2 points a night over 16.7 minutes per game, but he did shoot almost 40% from three in his limited action. Now under Adrian Autry, Taylor has an expanded role and is clearly improved from his freshman season.
He’s confident attacking the basket, is physical in the paint rebounding the ball, using his 6’6 218 lb frame to his advantage, and the results are evident early. He’s driven to the basket and finished through contact at the rim and is still confident to fire from behind the arc at any time.
Through two games, the Virginia native is averaging 13.5 points per game, shooting over 50% from the field, nearly 45% from three, and is corralling 6.5 rebounds per contest. He’s becoming an all-around player before our eyes and is more than capable of doing things on the court that many of Syracuse’s other wings are not capable of. Chris Bell is not as physical as Taylor, nor is he as consistent. Quadir Copeland’s jump shot is still a work in progress, but his explosiveness and vision have been superb through two games. Then, there’s Williams, whose consistency has been his biggest issue. As they say, the best ability is availability, and the junior has not been able to provide that.
Under Jim Boeheim, he always spoke about how he did not care about who started, it was all about who finished games, and that should still be true under Autry. But, being in the starting lineup and getting your name called over the public address system is not a small deal, and with his play to open the season in Williams’ absence, if the junior is to return to the starting five, the player he should replace is Bell and not Taylor.
