Oshae Brissett’s rise to NBA Draft consideration is no small feat

When Oshae Brissett announced that he was going to test the NBA Draft waters, I’ll admit I was skeptical. Not that he shouldn’t have — he definitely should have taken advantage of the process that he’s afforded. But I, like many, was curious how he was going to get the opportunities to improve enough to even have a decision to make regarding staying in the field.

Now, he’s staying in the draft pool, and seems more and more likely to get selected — basically weeks after barely being a top-100 player. This is no small feat, and something that should be commended. Brissett put in the work to get himself picked. We’ll find out next month if it ends up paying off.

The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie looked at Brissett’s effort along with other players this week, and along with the above sentiment around him working his way up draft boards, there’s also the fact that the decision made the most sense for his game given what Syracuse is doing on offense. That’s no knock on Jim Boeheim or SU — as Vecenie himself notes — but as he puts it, the goals are misaligned between what Brissett needs to show pro scouts and what the Orange need him to be as a player.

His ability to show that in a short amount of time this month is great. But does that same misalignment also explain the last few years of middling regular season results, the offensive struggles and the recruiting misses at some junctures? This offense hasn’t been all that dynamic, and prospective players seem to see that from afar. No one would really be able to prove it impacts recruiting, but... it’s not a stretch to think that players don’t currently see SU’s offense as a way to get to the NBA. Just some food for thought, that could potentially be addressed if things open up this year and add some tempo.

That, plus the rest of your Syracuse-related links below:

Vecenie’s Draft Combine takeaways: Who opened eyes, who’s on the fence, and what’s up with Bol Bol? (The Athletic)

This isn’t to say Jim Boeheim is a bad coach or anything; he’s not. Rather, their goals are misaligned here. Brissett needs to show that he can hit catch-and-shoot 3s, defend in man-to-man, and attack closeouts. But that’s not what he’ll be asked to do at Syracuse, who will likely ask him to create off the bounce, and try to make plays on his own — something that he’s just not quite good enough at because his handle isn’t great and his first step isn’t all that strong.

TBT co-founder on Boeheim’s Army, Syracuse venue, financial incentives (Syracuse.com)

When did you guys come up with the idea for these eight host teams? That’s something we’ve always thought about. We love home court type games. There’s nothing more sterile than a neutral court game. The idea of playing in a home court was one we planted in 2014 in the championship game. We had the fans vote on where that game would be. And Team Barstool ran away with the voting against Notre Dame so the game was in Boston.

College Football Playoff 2019: Prediction for every semifinal, bowl game (Sporting News)

Dec. 28: Capital One Orange Bowl — Syracuse Orange vs. Florida Gators

Gophers coach P.J. Fleck’s rule: ‘You commit to me, you can’t go see another place’ (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

“I have a rule: You commit to me, you can’t go see another place,” Fleck said. “Not because I’m insecure. But if you want to be committed, you’re going to be committed. Too many people teach young people to be committed but also one foot in and one foot out. ... You’ve got to be all in.”

Sean McVay reveals he almost took a job at Syracuse under Doug Marrone (Syracuse.com)

“I said, ‘You know, you actually refused my resume,’ ” McVay said, recounting a recent get-together with Marrone and other coaches. “But in all actuality, I was very close to going and working with him if the United Football League opportunity didn’t present itself.”

Milwaukee’s Jamari Sibley Has Marquette, Syracuse and others In His Top 10 (Anonymous Eagle)

Jonathan to Represent ACC Peers on Autonomy Committee (Cuse.com)

Orange Ranked #30 in Final Oracle/ITA Poll (Cuse.com)

How Michigan’s abnormal coaching search led to Juwan Howard (Detroit Free-Press)