Syracuse Orange men’s basketball: five takeaways from Jim Boeheim’s Tip-Off press conference

In just over 20 minutes at his opening press conference, syracuse orange Head coach Jim Boheim has opened up a Pandora’s Box worthy of men’s basketball talking points.

Boheim briefed reporters on the availability of open media just hours before his team took part in the match. orange tip offKey points from his press conference are Martin Luther’s 95 Papersbut for the sake of simplicity, here are the most important topics covered by Coach Boeheim.

Point 1: The goal is (always) to hit Madness by March.

When it comes to meeting expectations for Orange, director Boheim said it’s the same every year no matter what.

“We’ve done really well in tournaments, and you end up playing in tournaments,” says Boeheim. “If you can’t play in tournaments, you’re not that good.”

Boheim said his team struggled last season after getting off to a rough start. control During the year things went downhill From there.

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Interestingly, Coach Boeheim framed how he coaches and what to expect in the context of March Madness. He said the Big Ten had the “worst” last year because of their conference record at the 2022 NCAA Tournament (for context, the March he made it to Madness out of his 7 of his 9 Big Ten teams). lost in the first round).

Boheim dismissed the notion of being “disappointed” in recent years, given the team’s success when Syracuse won the bid for March Madness.

“You’re never happy when you don’t have a good year and you don’t make it to tournaments,” Boheim said. “We are in the best league in the country. In his 10 years, he has been in the Final Four twice, the Sweet Sixteen he has been in twice, and he has been in tournaments before that. Not many teams did that.”

Orange has made 31 appearances in the NCAA Tournament under Boheim. This is number 32 hope.

Point 2: JGIII moves to shooting guard.

Here’s what the final Syracuse rotation looks like discussion Many months when the season approaches. Jesse Edwards is clearly starting from his fifth position, but Boheim is all but guaranteed another starting spot.

“He (Joe Girard III) has been one of the really good point guards in the ACC over the last few years,” Boheim said. “I think he doesn’t get the recognition he deserves. He did a great job at that point, but I think it’s better for him and our team as a whole than he is in two.

Last season, Girard remained at point guard next to Buddy Borheim, Jimmy Borheim and Cole Sweider at the shooting guard and wing positions. finish In the following spots in the ACC: 20th in points, 6th in assists, 7th in steals, and 3rd in three-point efficiency.

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It will be interesting to see if Girard can maintain his ability as a scorer this season. take in a bigger role. Losing the Boheim brothers and Sweider means more opportunities for Girard to put the ball in the basket.

how girard Step up to the plate will be a big story to watch this season.

Point 3: Mintz has all the benefits.

Girard wasn’t the only player Boheim had a strong admiration for. This time, he paid his own big tribute to his Judah Mintz, one of the team’s most promising youngsters.

“He understands the position and really knows how to play in it,” said Boheim. “He’s very athletic. He understands the game, he’s big and[and]tall. His shooting has really improved. He’s going to be that kind of player.” I have a game for

recent boheim coaches compared From Mintz to former ‘Cuse basketball star Johnny Flynn. There is much optimism about why.

Mintz’s athleticism, size and frame make him the best athlete in the ACC. Next to Girard, Mintz was able to give Orange another dimension of attack that they really didn’t have last season.

“I like this team in the sense that they may not shoot as well as last year, but we have players who can get to the basket better and maybe to the line better,” said Boheim. Told. “I think our offense is different, but I think it can still be very high.”

Orange ranked one of the best offenses in the ACC last season. finish 4th in scoring and 3rd in 3-point percentage. In 2022, however, Syracuse ranked in the middle of the pack in other major scoring numbers.

Mintz gives the team a slashing playmaker who can keep their offense to elite standards. If he lives up to his recent hype, Mintz will be on opponents’ radar throughout the year.

Point 4: Defense needs improvement.

The defense has been orange kryptonite for most of last season.Syracuse gave up second just before the meeting point north carolina A team that finished 4-16 against the ACC in 2021-2022.

“We didn’t defend well last year,[and]that’s the bottom line,” said Boheim. “We’re a very good offensive team and we didn’t get a stop.”

The only question is, will Syracuse stick to the traditional 2-3 zones, or change to cover more people? Boheim kept the answer fairly vague. He said the team runs a specific defensive scheme each game. When asked if he had a go-to player on his roster who could solidify his defense, Boheim said the team as a whole needs to improve on that side of the court.

“Every defense you play is a team,” said Boheim. “It’s really not about one man. Defense isn’t what it used to be. We need team defense and that’s what we’re working on.”

Compared to last year, Syracuse has made significant improvements in wing size, length and athleticism. Edwards’ injury was a big factor in the Orange’s loss of points, but he wasn’t the only reason the team struggled defensively, especially against the ACC.

With more defensive advantages across the roster, expect the team to leap in that direction.

Point 5: Syracuse has promising bench depth.

As for the upside, Boheim couldn’t deny that this team has endless line-up combinations. As my colleague James Szuba alluded to in a recent article, there is something about Coach Boeheim that is missing in recent memory. option.

“We have players who can play multiple positions,” said Boheim. “We have players who can move around, which is good. We’ll use more players.”

In addition to looking at individual players, the obvious story to watch is how rotations develop over the course of a season.

A major obstacle to Orange’s 2021-2022 struggle was simply the lack of a backup plan. The team relied too heavily on his 7 to 8 man rotation, with the starter playing over 33 to 34 minutes a night. There were so many counter or fallback options to go with last season. Now Orange has depth that can eat up minutes and even provides quality playtime for Orange.

Yes, that includes new players, according to Boheim.

“Our freshman is ready to play,” said coach Boheim. “Looking at it and seeing what I’ve seen in action, I can tell you that all the freshmen are ready to play and ready to play.”

Syracuse has added six freshmen to its roster. Mintz is a player in the spotlight these days, but the rest of the rookies offer a lot of potential.

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Justin Taylor, Chris Bunch, and Malik Brown all give Orange an interesting look with his wings. Bunch is a legitimate three-point his shooter, with a size that can do more than just rain from across the arc. Brown is unproven but offers Syracuse another option at the forward.

The real star to watch is Quadir Copeland. The 6-foot-6 guard looked great at the Orange Tipoff event. He was a pretty solid athlete, an underrated passer, and seemed comfortable with the ball in his hands. It will be interesting to see how it fits in with one of the

For the first time in years, expect the Oranges to play with a variety of lineup combinations.Syracuse’s performance this season could go a long way.