Monday Musings: Syracuse Ramping Up Pursuit of 2022 PG
1. Syracuse is ramping up their interest in class of 2022 point guard Bryce Lindsay out of Baltimore Polytechnic Institute. Lindsay says Syracuse assistant Adrian Autry has spoken frequently with his AAU coach. Lindsay holds offers from George Mason, Georgetown, La Salle, VCU and Virginia Tech, among others. Syracuse, Arizona, Arizona State and Purdue are among those expressing interest who have yet to offer. Lindsay is a 6-foot-3 point guard who is just starting to see how recruitment ramp up overall. Lindsay told me that he likes how much they are reaching out to his coach and that he is strongly considering Syracuse.
2. We mentioned in last week's Monday Musings that Syracuse has started expressing interest in multiple transfer and JUCO offensive linemen. How successful Syracuse is on this front may be one of the biggest factors in the success of the 2021 season. Syracuse will have a lot of talent returning, including freshmen gaining invaluable experience this season. That is why improving the offensive line should be among the top priorities during the offseason. Yes the quarterback situation needs to work itself out. Will Tommy DeVito be back? How does JaCobian Morgan play the rest of this season? How quickly does Justin Lamson pick up the playbook? But beyond that, making sure the offensive line is ready to go, by adding some experienced talent to improve depth, will be critical. Pay attention to what Syracuse does here during the offseason.
3. Syracuse currently sits at 1-7 on the season with three games to play. If they are going to put another win on the board, where is the most likely option for that? It seems pretty clear there are two such opportunities. Syracuse's next game is at Louisville on Friday, November 20th. The Cardinals are 2-5 on the season, with wins over Western Kentucky and Florida State. They were blown out by a Georgia Tech team that Syracuse beat. Could the Orange win that game? One week later, Syracuse plays NC State at home. NC State is 4-3 on the season and have been up and down. They have lost two in a row, but both to good teams. NC State has been playing better football than Louisville this year, but Syracuse gets them at home. Regardless, those are Syracuse's two opportunities, and neither would be a miracle upset. Beating Notre Dame in the finale would be in the miracle upset range.
4. Freshman JaCobian Morgan showed enough in his first start that, barring a Tommy DeVito return, he should be the guy for the last three games of the season. The bye week will provide extra preparation, which should help expand the playbook a bit. It provides Morgan will experience that will help next year and gives the coaching staff a look at him in live action. Given Rex Culpepper's limitations and injuries to both DeVito and Culpepper, this approach makes the most sense. One clear difference with Morgan in there is the lack of deep shots. Syracuse did not throw down the field by design as frequently as they did under DeVito or Culpepper. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but an observation. With two weeks to prepare for Louisville, if Morgan gets that start, it will be interesting to see if that trend continues.
5. The start of the Syracuse basketball season is less than three weeks away. The schedule is expected to be released this week by the ACC. How good will Syracuse be? Coach Boeheim has stated he thinks this team will be pretty good. They certainly have a lot of offensive talent on paper. The key to a successful 2020-21 season will be their defensive efficiency. Can Bourama Sidibe become a better rim protector? What is the learning curve for Alan Griffin? Can Buddy Boeheim and Joe Girard limit open looks? Defense will determine how far Syracuse goes.
