Gavin Doty talks upcoming Syracuse Basketball season

Syracuse forward Gavin Doty breaks down the Orange's high-energy identity, defensive grit, and what fans can expect in year one of the new era.

Oct 7, 2026; Charlotte, NC, USA; Syracuse Orange Gavin Doty (4) answers questions from the media during the ACC Tip-Off in Charlotte, NC. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Syracuse was represented by head coach Gerry McNamara, and wings Gavin Doty and Aiden Tobiason at ACC Tipoff in Charlotte earlier in the week.

We caught up with Doty and the interview is on this week's Juice on the Cuse Podcast, presented by On SI and Bleav.

Syracuse is ready to compete

One thing became evident early on in the interview—the team is react to practice against people other than themselves.

"Yeah, you know, it was very exciting. Me, G-Mac, and Aiden had dinner last night, and we talked about how we just want to play somebody already. So, really looking forward to UConn, six days away. It'll be a great test, obviously against a legendary program. Dan Hurley is a fantastic coach and they run great things over there. So, that'll be a great test for us. We got a great group. Very diverse and just really can do a lot of things on the floor. So, I'm really looking forward to it."

What Doty brings to the table

Doty was one of the hottest transfer commodities on the market after a season where he led Siena to an NCAA Tournament berth while leading the team in scoring (18.0 ppg), to go with 6.9 rpg and 2.2 apg. He plans on bringing an even better version of himself to the Orange.

"I think what you can expect is just a different level of energy. I take a lot of pride in every day, every game just to have high energy on the floor. The balls on the ground I'm going to dive on it. If it's going out of bounds, I can tell you that I'm going to try to save it. Offensively, I've grown my skillset a lot over the past couple years at Siena. I want to limit the turnovers as much as I can. I've got my shots, getting a lot better over the last two years. Took a big jump my freshman to sophomore year, and I'm going to take another big this sophomore to junior year."

Doty wants to dance

Many prognosticators have Syracuse competiting at the middle of the ACC, fighting for an NCAA Tournament berth. That leaves the Orange with little margin for error as they try to break a five-year tourney drought.

"Our goal is to win some big games in March and I fully believe that we can do that, especially with the group we have. We value character a lot in our program, attitude, maturity, respect. We got a great group in terms of that that we're going to leave it all on the floor every night. So, it's really, really exciting."

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