Sidibe's Knee Will Dictate Potential Return to Syracuse Next Season

One of the biggest stories to watch in Syracuse basketball's offseason will be roster movement. Which players return and which decide to leave. One player that will receive considerable attention regarding his decision is center Bourama Sidibe.

Sidibe was supposed to be Syracuse's starting center this season, but an injury in the season opener derailed those plans. He returned briefly to play a 11 minutes at Clemson, but his knee did not hold up. Sidibe has not played since. Could he return next season with an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic?

The answer lies in the prognosis of his knee.

"I think Bourama has already made his decision," head coach Jim Boeheim said during his radio show Thursday. "It's just is he going to be healthy? He doesn't want to come back and sit through another year like this. That's what we're trying to explore. We're doing some research on his knee. Doing some more testing. Trying to figure out where he is."

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 has struggled to defend bigger, stronger teams inside. Marek Dolezaj has started all season at center, and Jesse Edwards, who was expected to redshirt, has contributed when the matchups warrant.

With or without Sidibe, Edwards could be a valuable piece next season as well. Boeheim believes he has a very high ceiling.

"I think he's got tremendous potential. He has helped us. He's getting better, he's getting stronger. He works hard. I thought it would be a couple years as we've talked about before... He's definitely getting better and I think he has a chance to be a really solid, good, big player."

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