3 Syracuse Players to Watch vs. Houston
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One of the bigger non-conference games for the Houston Cougars gets played against the Syracuse Orange.
For both programs, this is an excellent opportunity to gain ground compared to other collegiate basketball programs that didn’t schedule as many challenging games early in the season, which could give either school a head start compared to other power programs that are looking to make a run to get a higher seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Both Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson and Orange coach Adrian Autry hope to get their rosters involved early. For the Cougars, pulling out a win starts with limiting these three playmakers.
Donnie Freeman, Forward
Curious who the highest score on the Syracuse roster is? It’s sophomore Donnie Freeman who is scoring almost 20 points per game, currently averaging 17.8 points. He’s a tall dude who can fly in the air and dunk the ball. He is good at finding open guys and shooting everywhere on the floor.
This season, the Washington, D.C. native is a problem for the opponents he faces. His 6-foot-9 presence has been significant in the paint, and he fights for rebounds, averaging 5.3 per game.
Not only does he punish guys working on him, but he forces them to foul him, where he is 77.8 percent from the free-throw line. Don’t foul him. Also, don’t let him sneak behind the arc and take a few threes because he is not afraid to take them, going 27.3 percent from there.
Kiyon Anthony, Guard
This athlete is only a freshman. Kiyon Anthony can shoot the ball at an elite level. For only a freshman. From the field, he is 54.8 percent and isn’t afraid to hold onto the ball and shoot it when he wants to.
In the point category, Anthony is averaging 14.8 points and could give the Houston defense problems when he runs all around the court and distributes the ball unselfishly to his teammates.
Watch out for No. 7 in the Orange and White to drive down the lane and take a few shots from downtown. He’s a decent rebounder, averaging only three a season, but his best part of his game is making a 3-pointer, as he is 38.5 percent from behind the arc. Might be an issue.
Naithan George, Guard
Junior baller from Canada is one of the go-to players for the Orange to go to when it needs someone to make a few baskets. That’s never a bad thing when a coach can have a starter to do the things he does, especially for a school that is hungry to get back to going on a deep run in March Madness.
When the 6-foot-3 star constantly dishes the ball to his teammates and uses his eye coordination, his assist numbers skyrocket. He averages 6.8 assists, which is at least twice as many as the rest of the guys on the team.
From behind the 3-point line, George can let the ball fly out of his hands in the blink of an eye as he is performing with a 46.2 percent mark. Houston needs to lock in covering the corner and on the left and right wing because he’ll heat up from any of those spots. Focus carefully on the man wearing No. 11 for Syracuse.
Kolton Becker is a journalist for Texas A&M Aggies and Houston Cougars On SI from Port Lavaca, Texas. He is a graduate from Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural communications and journalism and a minor in sport management. As a former sports reporter with TexAgs and The Battalion, he has covered Texas A&M football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, track & field, cross country, swim & dive and equestrian. In his spare time, he loves to hunt, fish, cook, do play-by-play announcing at high school sporting events, spend time with family/friends as well as be involved with his local church.
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