While Syracuse just completed a disappointing season on the basketball court, program leadership will immediately shift their focus to another locale, diving into the transfer portal to add an influx of talent in an effort to help right the ship.

One addition already made to the program to help in this quest is Orange general manager Alex Kline, who was named to that position back in July. After spending eight years in various player evaluation positions with a pair of NBA franchises, Kline returned to his alma mater as the first person in this new position.

Another plus for the program, beyond the addition of Kline, is that The Juice Online has learned from a source that the SU program has a significantly increased amount of NIL money available for transfer portal targets in comparison to last year. The additional funds will undoubtedly affect their work in the portal, which is important since the Orange should undergo a lot of roster reconstruction.

My current expectation is that J.J. Starling and the three freshmen will return to the Syracuse roster and be joined by the four committed freshmen next year. That leaves a couple players on the roster who will likely depart through the transfer portal.

With the expectation that Adrian Autry will use this offseason to finish reshaping the roster in the offseason to fulfill his desire of playing positionless basketball, it is difficult to see Chris Bell returning to the Orange. After all, Bell has a position he plays almost exclusively, standing in the corner of the court on offense.

He has proven in his time at SU to be a streak shooter who provides little else to the team (lowest assist rate on the team, woeful rebounding rates for a forward, lowest 2-point shooting percentage among players over 6’2”, eighth in defensive win shares, and tenth in defensive rating).

Bell salvaged this past season when the calendar changed to 2025 by making 36-of-82 3-pointers (43.9 percent) after January 1. However, perhaps the most interesting split on Bell’s stat page is his 3-point percentage by game outcome:

19 losses – 39-for-88, 44.3 percent

14 wins – 8-for-45, 17.8 percent

In the seven games where Bell made at least three 3-pointers, he shot 28-of-51, good for a 54.9 percent success rate. The Orange lost each game, including four by double figures.

Bell is not entirely to blame, however, as the players passing him the ball changed from last year. The junior feasted upon corner 3’s the previous year with Judah Mintz and Quadir Copeland as set-up men.

That duo were aggressive, downhill drivers from the top of the key who drew attention from help defenders, creating room for Bell’s quick slingshot release from the corner. Replacements Starling and Jaquan Carlos lack that caliber of athleticism and often attack from angles, reducing the amount of open space for Bell camping in the corner.

An undersized shooting guard with a high usage rate who does not shoot well (last on the team in effective field goal percentage) and is second on the team in fouls per possession behind Petar Majstorovic, Kyle Cuffe Jr. will get passed over in the playing rotation if he opts to stay with the Orange. Elijah Moore already passed him into the starting lineup when healthy and the incoming Kiyan Anthony will likely bypass him in the rotation, as well, eating up any chance Cuffe has at substantial minutes.

Your guess as to what will happen with Chance Westry is as good as mine, but it is most likely that he soaks up the 13thscholarship on the roster and if he ever is able to play, great. In that case, nine scholarships would be accounted for, leaving Autry and Kline four available spots to fill.

All nine players expected to return are listed between 6’4” and 6’9” and are split into six wings (Anthony, Luke Fennell, Moore, Starling, Westry, and Aaron Womack) and three power forwards (Donnie Freeman, Majstorovic, and Sadiq White Jr.). In other words, they are all somewhere between point guards and centers, which sets the top two spots on the transfer portal shopping list.

Eight of them might be expected to contribute on the roster, but incoming freshmen Fennell and Womack will very likely need an adjustment period. That means the roster will have an expected six rotation players, leaving not just available minutes for players, but likely a couple starting spots.

However, it’s not that simple, as Autry’s desired style to play positionless basketball suggests any additions need to be specific types of players, not just general “can play this position” guys.

In addition to diverse skill sets, this roster desperately needs a massive influx of high-end athleticism beyond Freeman and White. This past season’s roster featured a group of players where almost every player was at an athletic deficiency in at least one facet.

The point guard will need a size-and-speed combination that allows defending both point guards and wings. He will also need to be a capable distributor, or at least ball mover, for all the young talent on the roster and a good enough 3-point shooter to create space for others to operate.

The center does not need to be a seven-footer, but must combine footspeed, fluidity, and leaping ability to both guard shooting bigs on the perimeter and protect the rim. Ideally, the center would also be able to shoot moderately well on the perimeter, but this is now the description of a player likely to be the center of a high-end bidding war (as well as a description of Freeman).

As a result, the team might look at going another way by pursuing a rim-running center who works as a screener and cutter, diving to the rim. That type of player would help create both space and mismatches on the perimeter as a screener, then diving to the rim as a roller, looking for dunks and lay-ups.

Beyond those two, this roster needs a pair of 3-and-D wings, one of whom needs to be good enough to compete for a starting spot right away. Adding established shooting threats is vital and having one of those two players good enough to create a battle for a starting spot on the wing will cement the importance of defensive contributions while also driving internal competition.

The latter part of the description of the wings is something that carries to all four targets, as they all need to have both defensive capabilities and willingness. That last word is key, as it needs to be spread across the entire roster.

In two seasons as the head coach, Autry has been unable to instill any sort of consistent defensive mindset in his teams. His first team relied on generating steals as its defensive calling card while this past year’s squad did a good job grabbing defensive rebounds if they were able to force a missed shot.

Obviously, neither of those strategies nor rosters has been good enough on its own. Raising the bar for demands on the defensive end is important because it both forces defenders to improve and instills a focus on how much better the team needs to be on that end.

Adding a handful of good defenders to the mix would also pour gasoline on practice competition, accelerating growth on a youthful roster. The transfers would also come to Syracuse with game experience, enabling Autry to switch to more defensively-minded lineups in games, sending a message to players who may have become comfortable with their roles on the team regarding their effort on that end.

All told, it’s going to be an eventful offseason for the Orange basketball program. It appears they are better prepared this time around, but it is time for their plan to bear fruit.

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