Well, the last domino has fallen. After days of mixed messages about Petar Majstorovic’s future on the Syracuse Men’s Basketball team, he is officially off to the portal.
That leaves everyone accounted for. JJ Starling and Donnie Freeman are staying. And just about everyone else that played minutes this year? Gone.
The Majstorovic one, however, does come as a bit of a surprise (and not only because there was news earlier this week that he was actually staying). Instead, it just seemed like SU was a good place for the French native to stay and develop.
It’s no secret that it wasn’t a mind-blowing freshman campaign from Majstorovic. Used as both a 4 and a 5 off the bench, Majstorovic averaged just over two points and three rebounds a game.
While these aren’t great numbers, was he expecting more? He came onto what seemed like a semi-deep lineup and was seen as pretty raw talent coming to the 315.
But he was a scrappy player. And if there’s one thing you can’t teach, it’s heart. It seemed like Majstorovic was developing as the season went on. So why leave?
Well, there’s going to be a busy frontcourt next year. Freeman will be joined by Sadiq White, William Kyle and any other forwards that Syracuse can pick up in the portal. That could mean even more limited minutes for a player who didn’t have that many, to begin with.
So where does SU’s roster stand after all of this? Well if you look at players who are returning and are going to make a difference, it’s only Freeman and Starling. You can add in White, Kiyan Anthony and the rest of the incoming freshman class, plus William Kyle.
The moral of the story though is SU has lost a lot of bodies this past week. And now the Orange have to aggressively attack the transfer portal to get them back.
