Syracuse men’s basketball: how two freshman can help the Orange reach their ceiling

For the 2026-27 season, the Orange have added four international players to their roster, including two freshmen who TNIAAM believes could help Syracuse reach its full potential if they are able to make an immediate impact.

Syracuse had plenty of issues to address on both ends of the floor heading into this season, but two glaring weaknesses separated the Orange from the rest of the ACC: three-point shooting and rebounding.

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Syracuse finished second-to-last in the ACC in three-point percentage, shooting just 32.9% from behind the arc, while also ranking last in the conference in rebounds.

Two of the freshmen Syracuse brought in will have an opportunity to immediately help turn those numbers around: Mark Morano and Abdramane Siby.

Morano has already shown that he can shoot the lights out from beyond the arc overseas, catching the attention of coach GMac with his strong play both professionally in Slovenia and with the Slovenian U18 national team. His ability to stretch the floor could be extremely important for the Orange this season, especially after Tyler Betsey, JJ Starling and the rest of Syracuse’s perimeter shooters struggled to find consistency from three last season.

On the other side of the equation, Syracuse desperately needed to get better on the glass. While William Kyle was one of the more athletic players in the conference last season, he stood at just 6-foot-9-inches tall and simply did not provide the size the Orange needed to consistently compete on the boards against some of the ACC’s bigger centers.

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It was clear Syracuse needed more of an advantage in the paint, and that could come in the form of Abdramane Siby. The freshman has already caught the attention of CBS Sports insider Jon Rothstein, and his size and physicality could give the Orange a much-needed presence on the glass.

If both Morano and Siby can make an immediate impact, they could address two of Syracuse’s biggest weaknesses from a season ago and provide the Orange with a…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/syracuse-men-basketball-two-freshman-140000760.html

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Publish date : 2026-10-02 14:00:00

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