Battle returns, making Syracuse a stronger team
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) >> Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim enters his 43rd season with a luxury few other coaches around the country can claim — all five Orange starters return from last year’s Sweet 16 team.
The roster also has three freshmen, including the Hall of Fame coach’s sharp-shooting son, and a transfer who’s ready to go after practicing with the team for a year. Things are looking up. “The same guys, so we should improve,” Boeheim said. “I think we’re way ahead of where we were last year.”
Syracuse finished 23-14 overall and 8-10 in the Atlantic Coast Conference last season and was not ranked at any point, a rarity in Boeheim’s long reign. That streak is over. The Orange are No. 16 in the preseason, thanks in part to the decision by star guard Tyus Battle to return for his junior year after flirting with entering the NBA draft.
“I think he had a tremendous offseason,” Boeheim said. “He worked extremely hard. Overall, he’s a better player.”
Battle, who nearly made the AP preseason All-America team, led Syracuse in scoring (19.2) and finished with 712 points, the highest total for a sophomore in school history. He said the experience of working out for NBA teams was invaluable, before taking his name out of consideration for the
draft.
“It helped me grow tremendously,” Battle said. “I’m just applying it to my game, trying to get better.”
Joining Battle in the backcourt will be point guard Frank Howard (14.4 points, 175 assists, 68 steals with 126 turnovers), a senior with one year under his belt as a starter. Howard suffered an injury to his left ankle in preseason and isn’t expected back before the season opener at home on Nov. 6 against Eastern Washington.
“Going into the injury, it was probably the best I’ve felt in my career,” Howard said. “I feel like my game has really come together. I’m excited. I’m ready.”
Freshman guard Jalen Carey is recovering from an ankle sprain suffered in the camp-opening scrimmage two weeks ago, and reserve point guard Howard Washington is rehabbing from a torn ACL suffered last January.
The Orange’s three upset victories in the NCAA Tournament as an 11th seed — over Arizona State , TCU , and Michigan State — were low-scoring affairs punctuated by Boeheim’s signature zone defense and a plodding offense that had trouble scoring. Syracuse averaged 66.6 points with a scoring margin of just 2.8 and relied heavily on three players — Battle, Howard and freshman forward Oshae Brissett — because of injuries.
“We were on a very thin edge last year,” Boeheim said. “If one of our top three guys had ever gotten hurt, we wouldn’t have been able to win a game.”
Among those who were hurt were wiry 7-foot-2 center Paschal Chukwu, who has recovered from back woes, and 6-10 forward Bourama Sidibe, who’s rounding into form after surgery in the offseason for tendinitis in his left knee.
The Orange’s performance in the NCAA Tournament caught most observers by surprise. That experience of performing in the clutch should help this team.
“We’re really locked in with the run we had,” Brissett said. “I feel like we have no ceiling right now.”