Syracuse men’s basketball 22-23 roster preview: John Bol Ajak

We’re going to spend some time looking ahead to the 2022-23 Syracuse Orange men’s basketball roster. We’ll look at the players that we anticipate will be returning as well as the incoming recruits. Next up is center/forward John Bol Ajak.

Season Recap

In his third year with Syracuse, JBA saw limited action. He appeared in 12 games this past season and averaged the same 5.1 minutes per game that he did two years ago. Jim Boeheim seemed reluctant to trust him for regular minutes so Bol Ajak often went long stretches without any game action. When he did play Bol Ajak wasn’t contributing much in the stat book.

In his 61 minutes this year, Bol Ajak scored 5 points on 2-7 shooting and added 14 rebounds and 5 assists. He does seem to bring energy to the Syracuse locker room and appears to be well-liked by coaches and teammates which is likely why the staff brought him back out of the portal last spring.

Next Year

Perhaps a change to more man-to-man and/or pressure defense would give Bol Ajak a bit more time in 22-23. Unless he shows himself to be able to contribute on the offensive end it’s hard to see him earning a regular spot in the rotation. Bol Ajak provides an extra big on the bench and with a lot of new players entering the Syracuse system his experience could be valuable....should he not try his luck in the transfer portal again this spring.