Bourama Sidibe Returning to Syracuse Basketball
Syracuse center Bourama Sidibe will return to the Orange for the 2020-21 campaign, Mike Waters of the Syracuse Media Group reported. Sidibe was the starting center in the season opener this past year, but suffered a knee injury just minutes into the game. He returned briefly against Clemson later in the year, but was held out from that point on. Sidibe is able to return as a result of an extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA due to the pandemic.
Sidibe finished the 2019-20 season on an extremely high note. He had double digit rebounds in each of the last six games and averaged 9.8 points, 11.7 rebounds, 2.7 blocks and 2.3 steals. The hope was he could provide something close to that over the course of the season. At the very least be a steady presence in the middle defensively with help on the boards.
Without him, Syracuse struggled to defend bigger, stronger teams inside. Marek Dolezaj started all season at center, and Jesse Edwards, who was going to redshirt, emerged towards the end of the season.
If Sidibe can stay healthy next season, Syracuse will have solid depth at the center position for the first time in a number of years. An experienced Sidibe, a significantly improved Jesse Edwards and a talented but still developing Frank Anselem is a quality trio of centers.
Should Sidibe prove to be a consistent contributor, it would be quite the comeback story. Many gave up on him after suffering the latest injury in a career that has been riddled by them.
