After missing the 2017 NCAA Tournament and losing to Ole Miss in the NIT, the offseason has been quite eventful for the Syracuse Orange.
Here’s a list of things that have happened:
- Mike Hopkins left for Washington
- Jim Boeheim signed an extension
- Tyler Lydon declared for the NBA Draft & signed an agent
- Syracuse hired Allen Griffin as an assistant coach
- Elijah Hughes committed to Syracuse
- Marek Dolezaj committed to Syracuse
- Geno Thorpe committed to Syracuse
There’s some negative in there, but some huge additions that will not only help the Orange for the 2017-18 season, but down the line, too.
James Szuba
A-
I think Syracuse has done a tremendous job in the time between the Ole Miss loss and now. Losing Lydon was somewhat expected, losing Hop came as a huge surprise. I think Syracuse did about as good of a job it could given the circumstances. Griffin was the best possible hire to replace Hop and the acquisition is already paying dividends by securing Geno Thorpe. We knew we had three guys in Brissett, Washington and Sidibe. After missing on Jordan Tucker (read: Duke stealing him at the last moment), Syracuse almost immediately secured Marek Dolezaj. Getting Hughes was also a smart move - it secures a shooting guard for the 2018-2019 season after Battle departs while giving him a year to grow and learn the system without losing eligibility; he likely wouldn't have played much, if at all, this season. Thorpe was about an ideal grab as you could have hoped for. He can play the point and off guard positions and only has one year remaining. This is key because he can spell Frank and Tyus at either guard position and this also frees up a scholarship for the 2018 class that will be paramount to Syracuse's success.
The only thing the staff could have done better was to get Jordan Tucker, and I think it's totally reasonable that they didn't get him. It's hard to pull a kid away from a Blue Blood/top 5 program.
Now if we could only get rolling on that foreign summer trip...
Ben Sigel
B
I’ve been critical of the staff this recruiting cycle, but it’s because they set the bar so high. With their overall success over the past decade in recruiting, it’s what people expect — myself included. So when a 2017 situation happens where the Orange missed on a bunch of five-star prospects, something had to be said. But with that said, everything really turned around these past six weeks.
The additions of Hughes, Dolezaj and Thorpe were huge for not only right now, but the future of the program. Syracuse addressed a few needs including another scorer/guard for next season, a guard for the future and another skilled forward with high upside.
As for the departures from the program this offseason -- Tyler Lydon was expected and Mike Hopkins was a killer. The Orange rebounded well by adding three players this offseason, but no one can replace Mike Hopkins. Until someone other than Adrian Autry steps up on the recruiting trail and becomes a legitimate threat, SU will feel Hop’s absence.
I like the addition of Allen Griffin. This upcoming 2018 recruiting class, like James said, is important in many ways. I’m eager to see how Griffin approaches prospects, what his pitch is and what his role will be on the trail.
Syracuse did virtually everything they could this offseason to earn a perfect score of an ‘A’, but I view Hopkins leaving as a bigger deal than most, and it can’t be overlooked.