Syracuse basketball's key returnees are headed to ACC Media Day

It is no surprise that SU's two returning scholarship players, J.J. Starling and Donnie Freeman, will represent Orange basketball at the multi-day event next week in Charlotte.

Oct 10, 2024; Charlotte, NC, USA; Syracuse player JJ Starling at The Hilton Charlotte Uptown. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The ACC Tuesday announced the lineup of players and coaches that will be attending the men's and women's Tipoff media event at the Hilton Hotel in Uptown Charlotte next week, October 6-8. The women's event begins Monday, with both sport's crossing over next Tuesday, and the men's event ending next Wednesday.

Starling, Freeman and head coach Adrian Autry will make the media rounds on Tuesday afternoon.

Crucial year for the Orange and ACC on the national stage

We all know that Syracuse is sitting at four consecutive years and counting not to make the NCAA Tournament. It is a gap unlike any other in the modern era (post-1975 Final Four) of the program. With just two returning payers and 11 newcomers dotting the roster, it will certainly be interesting to see where the media thinks the Orange will finish in the 18 team standings.

While the ACC has captured three national titles since 2015, with Duke, then North Carolina (2017) and Virginia (2019), it is also striving to get more NCAA bids for its members, certainly more than the five teams in 2024, and the paltry four bids last season. Duke, Louisville, UNC, and N.C. State are appearing in some preseason Top 25 polls, but programs like the 'Cuse will be gunning to be a surprise team.

Heading into next week's event, which will include commissioner Jim Phillips making his annual remarks Tuesday, just before the Orange take the stage, here are some ACC men's basketball highlights.

• ACC Men’s Basketball has won 15 NCAA national championships.
• Teams currently in the ACC have combined to win eight of the last 24 NCAA crowns and 19 overall.
• The ACC has captured three of the last 10 NCAA Championships (Duke 2015, North Carolina 2017 and Virginia 2019).
• Since 2015, the ACC leads all conferences in Men’s Final Four appearances (10) and NCAA Tournament wins (116).
• Six different ACC programs have reached the Final Four since 2015 (Duke, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Virginia, Syracuse) – the most schools of any league in that span.
• Since the tournament expanded in 1985, nearly half of the ACC teams that earned NCAA Tournament bids have reached the Sweet 16 (106 of 218).

The Syracuse women's team will meet the media on Monday morning. Head coach Felisha Legette-Jack, entering her fourth season at the helm of her alma mater, will be joined by a pair of backcourt players, junior Sophie Burrows and senior Laila Phelia.