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Last year a consistently strong Syracuse Orange basketball program, led by Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim, withdrew themselves from the NCAA college basketball tournament amid an NCAA investigation.
Along with their own self-imposed penalty the program was stripped of 12 scholarships, three per year, and Boeheim was informed that he no longer had 100 of his 966 division one wins.
He was also told that he would not be on the sideline for the first nine games of the next season. Those nine games included blockbuster games against Duke, North Carolina and Virginia.
Syracuse has made an appeal to overturn these sanctions with Boeheim coming into his 40th season. With four returning starters and exciting freshman prospects, one would think that the Orange could have a decent squad this season.
The fact is that the talent that Syracuse have produced in the last couple of years have gone missing. Tyler Ennis left after a solid freshman campaign to the NBA, along with sophomore forward Jerami Grant and highly talented Chris McCullough.
Perhaps the largest loss from the team was team captain and senior Rakeem Christmas, who also made his way to the NBA. These personnel losses may actually be tougher to stomach than the sanction handed down by the NCAA.
So are Syracuse a contender?
Four teams in the ACC are stronger than the Orange and for Boeheim that must be tough. Syracuse is often always at the top with Duke which speaks volumes of the two legendary coaches that lead each of those teams.
Syracuse can improve and become a contender, and with four experienced returning starters and All-American freshman coming onto the team they will get better. Expect a 23-win season from the Orange despite the sanctions.
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