Yes, I know Syracuse’s men’s basketball season so far has not lived up to any sort of expectations fans had for 2024. The Orange currently sit at 9-9, 3-4 in conference play, and have a GAUNTLET of a schedule coming up. Who’s on that gauntlet you may ask? An elite Clemson team, Pitt who was ranked #18 in the country just a few weeks ago, two matchups out west with the ACC’s leading scorer in Maxime Raynaud at Stanford and Cal, and then hosting number two Duke. Yikes, Autry and his squad might be lucky to pull one win out of that crew. But before you upset fans pull the plug on the season though, hear me out on how 2024-25 may not be a complete failure just yet.
Contrary to what a lot of SU fans might be saying on Twitter, there is certainly talent on this roster. Since returning from his injury, JJ Starling has been one of the best guards in the conference, averaging over 22 points per game. Alongside that, Eddie Lampkin continues to perform at his role down low, notching four consecutive double-doubles dating back to the Florida State game on January 4th. That game on the 4th is also notable in the fact that it’s the last time we’ve seen freshman phenom Donnie Freeman, who started to find some consistent form before injuring his leg. Couple that with some veterans stepping up like Kyle Cuffe and others, this team does have more than people are making it out to.
Although Freeman’s status stands as day-to-day with no timetable of return, it’s hard to really say that we’ve seen this team at full strength. What would this team’s success look like with a healthy JJ Starling, a consistent Eddie Lampkin, and a Donnie Freeman finally finding some footing in college? That remains to be seen, and time is running out, but if they were to all play together at some point this season, I don’t think it’s crazy to say this Syracuse team could still make a run.
If the Orange could play every half like the second against Notre Dame, that team is doing a lot more than 9-9. Maybe this is just the SU fan inside of me, but Adrian Autry hasn’t lost my confidence just yet. We saw it with NC State last season, all a team has to do is make the ACC Tournament for some magic to happen. If this team clicks and gets in, it’s not impossible to see this team in March. This coming stretch though will be very telling, and hopefully, all the dots can finally connect for this team to make some noise in the conference against some top dogs.
