2008 Syracuse Basketball Picks & Predictions
Well the Donte Greene era is over at Syracuse, and it didn’t end as fondly as the Carmelo Anthony era. Greene averaged 17.7 points and 7.2 rebounds last season, and he was a first round draft pick, but another Orangeman shared Big East Rookie of the Year honors. It didn’t help Greene when two returning starters went down to season ending knee injuries and the Orangemen lacked depth last season. Jim Boeheim led Syracuse to a 21-14 overall record, including 9-9 in the Big East, which was good enough to earn a deserved NIT berth, where the Orangemen defeated Robert Morris and Maryland before losing to UMass in the quarterfinals. Keep reading our NCAA basketball predictions to see whether we think the Orangemen, who have gone four straight years without winning an NCAA Tournament game, will once again be a force in the Big East and the nation.
Donte Greene’s departure leaves a void in the frontcourt, despite the fact that he wasn’t a prototypical power forward. Kristof Ongenaet, who started 15 games after transferring from junior college, is the complete opposite of Green, but will get the chance to take his spot. Ongenaet is a grinder who dives for loose balls and hustles on defense. Arinze Onuaku ranked second in the Big East and eighth in the country with a .628 field goal percentage. He averaged 12.3 points and 8.4 rebounds against Big East competition last season. Paul Harris returns at small forward. He is built like a linebacker and plays with infinite energy. He averaged 8.2 rebounds last season and showed a much better mid-range jumper. Sophomore Rick Jackson could get more time at power forward and incoming freshmen Kris Joseph and Mookie Jones will compete for time at both forward positions giving Boeheim more options with their versatility.
Jonny Flynn shared Big East Rookie of the Year honors with Pittsburgh’s DeJuan Blair last season. Flynn returns to his point position this season to lead the backcourt for the Orangemen. He averaged a league-high 39.17 minutes per game in conference play, and during one stretch he played every second in seven straight Big East contests. Syracuse will look to get Flynn fewer minutes this season. He averaged 15.7 points and 5.3 assists and could become more dominant with fewer minutes. Eric Devendorf and Andy Rautins have recovered nicely from their knee injuries and should benefit Flynn greatly. Devendorf averaged 17.0 points through the first 10 games last year and Rautins made 40.6% of his 3-point attempts in Big East play in 2006-2007.
Final Analysis
Syracuse enters the season loaded with experience and talent and pretty much no hype at all. Devendorf was a preseason all-conference pick entering last year and was living up to it before his injury. Onuaku has emerged as one of the best low-post players in the conference. Harris is a beast. Then you get to Jonny Flynn, who all the NBA scouts are talking about. This team has more depth and experience than last season, which should help them this season. There will still be pressure on this team, because the Orangemen have not made it to the NCAA Tournament since 2006 and have not won an NCAA Tournament game since 2004. This season Syracuse must put an end to both of these droughts. We have the Syracuse Orangemen finishing in the middle of the Big East pack with our NCAA basketball picks, which should be good enough to make the NCAA Tournament. There is a good chance that this team could be dangerous in the NCAA Tournament in March and should get a victory to end that drought as well. BetUS has Syracuse at +4000 odds to win the NCAA Championship this season.
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