Syracuse basketball returns, but is it back?

The Syracuse Football season is halfway done. Fran Brown has a QB conundrum on his hands. The Orange are on a bye week. And for the first time this year we’ve arrived at the age-old question of Fall in Central New York.

Is it basketball season yet?

The short answer is no. Despite the ugly losses of the last two weeks, we’re still all in on the Fran Brown experience and need to see what the next six games bring. But there’s no game this weekend, so what’s the harm in a tiny peek ahead to hoops?

Adrian Autry Year 3

We’re two and a half weeks from the first look at the Orange in an exhibition game in Buffalo, three from their first time in the Dome, and less than four weeks from the official start of Adrian Autry’s third season on Monday November 3rd against Binghamton. All’s that to say is the next time we flip the calendar we begin the most important Syracuse basketball season in ages.

Red Autry year one was…ok. Red year two was an unmitigated disaster. From NIL, to the portal, to roster construction, to play style, to injuries, nothing went Syracuse’s way last year. The season was effectively over before New Year's and as we heard from John Wildhack after its conclusion the goal remains to play, “meaningful games in March”(whatever that Dome sized loophole means).

It has to get better?

The initial inclination is sure, it’s Syracuse Basketball. It can’t possibly be as bad as last year. Of course they’re going to play meaningful games in March. Though while the AD left some wiggle room, realistically the only games Orange fans will view as meaningful in March are the ones played in the NCAA Tournament. Filling out a bracket without Syracuse as an option is a grim exercise.

Besides the obvious hurdles of four straight missed tournaments and the first two losing seasons in more than half a century, Syracuse also has to deal with an ACC that’s been hemorrhaging bids lately and a general landscape where it’s harder to make March Madness than ever.

To Be or Not To Be

The glass half full version of this season is easy to envision. Add the ACC’s assist leader Nait George to a senior scorer in JJ Starling and voila one of the league’s best backcourts. Take Donnie Freeman, make him healthy and a year older, and his do it all talent blossoms. The bevy of transfer portal imports fill in the gaps. And the freshman phenoms Sadiq White and Kiyan Anthony(have you heard who his dad is?) flourish into future stars.

Unfortunately the glass half empty scenario is where Syracuse has lived the last half decade or more. What if your two returning stars JJ and Donnie just can’t stay healthy? What if the transfer portal roster construction once again built a puzzle without all the pieces? What if the roster and play style remain out of sync? What if Kiyan Anthony is more like the pepper than his dad? What if the trip to Vegas is a disaster against multiple top 10 teams? What if Alabama or Colgate or Siena or pick your favorite this guy should be the coach instead of Red are winning big?

The Verdict

If the glass is full, by March Syracuse Basketball will be back on track and breathing easy come tournament time. But if the glass is empty we’ll be talking way more about the changes needed for the future of the program instead of worrying about NET rankings and Selection Sunday.

Fran Brown has done Red Autry a great service. In basketball crazed Syracuse, he’s provided a football team to hide behind. But whether it’s today, a month from now or when Fran puts the blocking sleds away for the year, basketball’s time in the shadows will end. And this year there’s nowhere to hide.

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