Syracuse's forwards have changed significantly in the offseason. Gone are Benny Williams, Malik Brown and Justin Taylor, who all left via the transfer portal.

Though Chris Bell remains, he is joined by a five-star McDonald's All-American and a veteran transfer from Delaware, now on his third school.

Here is a full breakdown of each forward on the SU roster.

Davis came through the portal from Delaware, where he was a two-time All-CAA Second Team selection after being the CAA Rookie of the Year. The Blue Hens were not his first collegiate team, as Davis redshirted as a freshman at Providence before transferring out.

Davis proved to be a reliable scorer at Delaware, averaging 16.2 points per game in his two years as a starter, while also improving his rebounding, lifting his defensive rebounding rate from 14.8 to 19.3. While not an impact defender, Davis also developed his playmaking ability, averaging 2.5 assists per game in those two starting campaigns.

Listed at 6’7”, Davis may be a little undersized to be the power forward his past production suggests in the ACC. While his deep perimeter shot still needs additional work (25.8 percent on 3-pointers the last two seasons), Davis’ improvement to 81.4 percent at the foul line last season and shooting above 40 percent on two-point jump shots each of the last two seasons suggests he can make a three here and there.

Bell’s step forward in productivity from his freshman to his sophomore campaign was fueled in part by an increase in minutes and even more by a sharp jump in his 3-point shooting. The lanky forward more than doubled his triples made from 39 to 84 while only seeing a 77 percent increase in attempts from 113 to 200. As a result, Bell shot 42.0 percent from long range, a steep jump up from his 34.5 percent mark as a freshman.

Unfortunately, Bell’s efficiency drops a great deal when he is chased off the 3-point line, as evidenced by his 34.8 percent mark on two-point jump shots, many coming after a shot fake and dribble inside the arc past a defender. Adding a second dribble and turning into more of a driver may lead to improvement in his results, as he has been a good finisher at the rim, making 65 percent of his shots there. It may also result in more easy points at the foul line.

The concerning part about Bell is his lack of significant contributions elsewhere. His defensive rebounding rate last season stood between those of guards Judah Mintz and J.J. Starling and was equal to his freshman year when the Orange played zone. His assist and steal rates were also lower than every non-center last year, so there are several areas where he can show improvement.

Top recruit Donnie Freeman comes to Syracuse with a lot of notoriety, a lot of athleticism, and a lot of talent. Ranked #11 overall and second at power forward in his class by Rivals, Freeman completed his prep career at IMG Academy, then was named a McDonald’s All-American.

Freeman was late to join Syracuse this year, as he was one of two incoming college freshmen who spent their summer playing for the Bahamas National Team, who qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

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