Syracuse Basketball: Get to know Tyler Roberson, whether he likes it or not

You know, I don't think I've actually thought about the fact that I don't really know much about Syracuse Orange senior Tyler Roberson. In fact, now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever known less about a four-year scholarship player than Robie.

Turns out, that's by design. Donna Ditota decided to unlock the mystery that is Tyler Roberson and gave him the profile he deserves and that SU fans needed to understand what makes their robo-rebounder tick.

What we learn is that it's not just us. Everyone has a tough time understanding exactly what's going on under the hood with Roberson. Even his coaches.

"He was very quiet when he first got here. Always respectful. But you never knew if he was listening, if he wasn't," Autry said. "It took some time. A lot of times, I didn't know if I was getting my point across, if I was annoying him. I just really tried to get a read on him. So that was frustrating — I just didn't know."

Perhaps most important to Syracuse fans is what the relationship is like between Jim Boeheim and Roberson. That's especially true after Boeheim's infamous comments last season in which he said "if I had anyone else he wouldn't play a minute" following a rough performance by Robie. For Tyler, he chooses not to see any criticism as negative because he understands that Boeheim is gonna Boeheim.

"There's nothing much you can do about it except play harder and use it in a positive way," he said. "If I had used it in a negative way, it would have made the situation worse for me. I had to take it and help it fuel me to play."

"The difficult part for me is I want him to be better. I want him to have a career," Boeheim said. "And if he was shooting better, we would win more games. It's as simple as that."

There's plenty more about how Roberson grew up and the ways he is off the court, especially with family and friends. Give it a read and meet back here to discuss.