2022-2023 was one last choppy season for the road for Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim.

The Hall of Famer stepped away from his post atop the program after the team finished 8th in the ACC with a 17-15 overall record and a first-round conference tournament loss to Wake Forest less than a week after beating that same team in the home finale.

The team entered the season with two established players and a couple handfuls of young talent. Joe Girard III and Jesse Edwards were holdover starters as the two primary veterans on the team with freshman Judah Mintz as the expected biggest addition to the team.

Once again the team struggled on defense, as that mostly young, inexperienced group could not gel in the 2-3 zone quickly. The offense was inconsistent, as well, despite having what proved to be three capable scorers backed up by a rotating cast of inconsistent help.

The Orange were up-and-down out of the gate, sandwiching their second straight loss to Colgate between a pair of easy victories. A year after hitting 18 treys, the Raiders rained 19 triples down inside the Dome, but the offensive effort from SU also tanked their attempt to win.

The team bounced back with an overtime win over Richmond in the Empire Classic behind 31 points from Girard, but dropped an overtime decision to St. John’s the following night, starting a three-game slide capped by a 73-44 rout at the hands of Illinois in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. The Illini dominated at home that night, using a 25-7 finishing kick to bury the Orange.

POSITIONAL PREVIEWS

• Guards

• Wings

• Bigs

SU got off the mat quickly, defeating Notre Dame in their conference opener to start a five-game win streak that included a blowout of longtime rival Georgetown and the remainder of the non-conference slate. The team continued showing solid play when the meat of the ACC schedule got underway, winning four of six to get to 5-2 in conference and 12-6 overall.

During that mostly successful 11-game span, Girard averaged 18.7 points per game while Mintz added 15.9 points. Edwards averaged a double-double of 13.0 points and 10.7 rebounds during that span, making it seem the three stars could carry SU into the postseason.

Unfortunately, the level of competition ramped up at the end of January and the Orange got banged around, losing four of five, including to North Carolina and ranked Miami and Virginia squads. Syracuse stabilized with three wins in a row, including likely their best win of the season, knocking off #23 North Carolina State at home to get to 16-10 and 9-6 in the ACC.

Things fell apart in the back half of February with a potential NCAA bid in sight, though, as SU got routed at home by Duke and went into a four-game tailspin, losing each game by at least 17 points. The Orange bounced back with that home victory over Wake to wrap their schedule, but the end of the season was just a few days away.

Boeheim stepped down from his post with a bit of confusion, but associate head coach Adrian Autry was almost immediately named his replacement as the program leader with Gerry McNamara also sliding up one spot on the bench to associate head coach. Allen Griffin is back on the bench with Brenden Straughn filling the vacancy as the final assistant coach.

ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEWS

• Quadir Copeland

• Naheem McLeod

• Maliq Brown

• JJ Starling

• Justin Taylor

• Chris Bell

• Judah Mintz

Edwards and Girard both opted to transfer out of the program for their respective final seasons of eligibility, leaving Mintz as the unquestioned top player on the Orange. Mintz averaged 16.3 points per game as a freshman, showing a knack for finishing in the paint and shooting 44.3 percent from the field. After the season, Mintz went through the NBA draft process, but returned to SU.

Benny Williams returns after starting most of last season at one forward spot while Chris Bell, who started at the other forward spot in all 30 of his appearances last year, is back as well. Williams was inconsistent, but hinted at his capabilities, including a 24-point, nine-rebound effort at Pitt. Bell was second on the team in 3-pointers made.

Both Maliq Brown and Justin Taylor, who were spot starters at forward last year, are back as well. Brown was a workman inside as a freshman, including an 11-point, 12-rebound double-double in an Orange win at Virginia Tech, while Taylor showed some streaky perimeter shooting over the course of the season, peaking with a 25-point outburst against Bryant.

Quadir Copeland and Mounir Hima, who were on the fringes of the rotation last season, have returned, as well.

SEASON PREDICTIONS

• The Juice Online — Jim Stechschulte

• Syracuse.com — Mike Waters (Podcast)

Those familiar faces are joined by a handful of new ones, as the new staff was exceptionally busy in the transfer portal. Autry and his staff quickly reshaped the roster, starting with hometown star J.J. Starling, who transferred from Notre Dame to Syracuse less than a week after the season ended. Chance Westry, a wing from Pennsylvania who spent a season at Auburn, joined him a couple weeks later.

Naheem McLeod, a 7’4” center from Florida State, committed in mid-April and Kyle Cuffe Jr. filled out the roster in early May, transferring to the Orange from Kansas after redshirting as a freshman, then sitting out his redshirt freshman year with an injury.

Syracuse sports a very talented, but very young roster, as every player enters this campaign at least two seasons of eligibility remaining. With all those new faces and a new head coach, and a very difficult non-conference schedule, SU enters the season as a mostly unknown quantity. The team was voted 10th in the ACC at preseason media day, but its overall talent level suggests a better result is possible.

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