Forward Maliq Brown has stepped up this season for the injured Naheem McLeod. The 7’4″ center, McLeod, underwent a season-ending surgery on his right-foot in early January. Syracuse brought McLeod in to fill the void at the center position after Jesse Edwards transferred to West Virginia.
The Orange lost Edwards and then McLeod. The question of who could fill the empty space stood among SU.
Brown has taken that opportunity and salvaged it. Yes, there have been some dull moments over the past month or so. However, given that the 6’8 sophomore isn’t built to play center, he’s done a nice job.
Brown is averaging 9.2 points per game along with 6.8 rebounds in 12 games started. Last year, he posted 5.7 points and 4.6 rebounds in seven games as a starter.
Rebounding has been SU’s major letdown this season. Although Brown has endured himself as a rebounder for most of the season, it hasn’t been enough. Syracuse is ranked in the bottom four in the ACC with 34.2 rebounds per contest. North Carolina sits at the top with 41.1 boards.
Those numbers don’t sound awful, but when it comes to opponent rebounding, the Orange are dead last. SU allows 38.7 rebounds per game, one more full rebound than NC State with 37.6. Virginia Tech lets up just 31.6 rebounds per game.
Brown has posted between six and nine rebounds in his last six games. Three of those contests featured double-digit points. He’s shooting 67%, or 22-33 from the field, over those six games.
On the defensive side, Brown has 16 steals in the last four games. He’s been a weapon on this end of the floor, even though he doesn’t block a lot of shots, which makes sense given his lack of size. Brown has just two blocks in his last three games.
Syracuse is lacking in depth, but Brown has seized his opportunity as SU’s big.
