Position Preview: Forwards
Projected Starters
Alan Griffin: Griffin transferred in from Illinois and will move into the staring lineup in place of the departed Elijah Hughes. Griffin brings elite outside shooting along with strong rebounding to the Syracuse roster. The biggest knock on him at Illinois was his ball handling, but buzz from Syracuse practice is that he has shown great strides in that area. At Illinois, Griffin was one of their key offensive sparks off the bench. His role at Syracuse will be much more expanded.
Marek Dolezaj: Dolezaj has been the swiss army knife at Syracuse thus far in his career. He does a little bit of everything from passing to rebounding to scoring. Dolezaj's biggest fault has been his lack of strength, which hurts his ability to defend inside. Word out of Syracuse is that he has gotten bigger and stronger, which will only help him on both ends of the floor. When he is aggressive offensively, he can be a versatile weapon.
Key Reserves
Quincy Guerrier: Guerrier had a solid freshman season, but played through much of the year with a substantial groin injury. He had surgery in the offseason, and is fully healthy heading into the season. Guerrier is a big, physical forward who can post up, hit short jumpers, absorb contact and finish at the rim. He is a gifted rebounder and steady defender who should see more minutes this season.
John Bol Ajak: Ajak is an unknown heading into the season. Could he provide additional front court depth? He is a 6-10 forward/center who can shoot from the outside. However, we have not heard much buzz about him from practice and training camp. It will probably be difficult for him to carve out a consistent role.
Biggest Question
How will the minutes be split between Griffin, Dolezaj and Guerrier? We know all three will play, but how much is the question. Griffin can also play in the back court at times, while Dolezaj can play either forward spot. So there is rotation flexibility there. So how many minutes does Guerrier get off the bench? It seems reasonable to expect 15-20 minutes per game. It is difficult to envision more than that barring injury.
