If you think back to Adrian Autry’s preseason press box, he laid out an outline of what he wanted his team to look like. In his second year, Autry envisioned a fast, athletic team that could shoot threes. When you look around the country, specifically in the SEC, that’s how most of the best teams play. It doesn’t take a basketball genius to understand that’s not how Syracuse played this season. The Orange finished outside the top 100 in tempo and 330th in the country in three point percentage. It’s honestly comical how far this team strayed from the initial identity.
When you look for reasons why this happened, at the end of the day it all comes back to one thing. The Orange didn’t have the athletic, well-rounded basketball players you need to play that style of basketball. That was especially true when you looked inside and Eddie Lampkin was on the floor as the team’s center. The fact is, Lampkin’s lack of athleticism clogged the lane. SU’s big man was also given the ball an ungodly amount of times outside the three point arc. He couldn’t dribble or shoot, so a lot of the time those possessions ended up empty.
Syraucse needs to get away from trying to fill the traditional roles of basketball and go all in on athleticism, especially to play Autry’s brand. If this team wants to play man to man defense at a high level, they need five guys who can switch at all times on defense. If Donnie Freeman plays the five, that isn’t an issue. Sadiq White has enough size to be a decent four. Then, if the Orange can bring in a pair of big wings, or a wing and a tall point guard, there’s no reason for rebounding to be an issue.
SU’s first move in the portal, picking up William Kyle, may be a sign that the team is leaning towards athleticism. That is the way to go in today’s era of college hoops.
