It’s the time of year when you are left searching for anything to answer for what in the world has happened to Syracuse Men’s Basketball.
There’s plenty to blame, and here at Orange Fizz we’ve already done a lot of it. This team doesn’t have enough talent. They haven’t adjusted to a new world of college basketball where you need to dominate not only on the court but also with NIL. And this team just doesn’t have the effort needed a lot of the time when it matters most.
But for a team to be successful, it always starts at the top. No, this isn’t going to be another piece blaming the coaching staff. Instead, it’s time to ask questions about the top guy on this team, JJ Starling.
Now you can’t be completely down on Starling. He’s had a tough year, including an extended injury stretch around the mid-point of the season. And there’s been many games where he’s the only guy to have 20 points.
But to be the face of a team, which Starling is as the local kid and leading returner for this team, you have to put more towards you team.
The locker room after games this season has always had a little bit of hope. It’s always talk about the next game, which is understandable. And we don’t know what happens behind closed doors. But this team needs a rally the troops guy. A Jason Heyward during the rain delay of game 7 of the 2016 World Series leader.
That had to be Starling this year. And as far as we know, it was not.
Now I, and all Orange fans, should hope he returns next year. Starling’s a great talent who should have a professional career when his time in the 315 is done.
But this year, SU needed a leader. And a leader they did not get.
