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Adrian Autry was blunt during his opening statement following Syracuse’s blowout exhibition win over Clarion. The Orange scored over 100 points and had four players in double figures while knocking down 12 threes. But Autry still wasn’t pleased with his team’s effort on defense and in rebounding.

“Reviewing that game, that’s just not good enough right now, but it’s the preseason, so we got to use these next couple of days, couple of weeks, to get ready and get better,” Autry said postgame.

The Orange outrebounded the Golden Eagles 42-32, but Clarion also shot 48% from the field, totaling 44 points in the second half. Autry called both aspects of the game SU’s biggest concern.

Despite his critiques, Syracuse displayed its revamped roster. The last time Syracuse stepped on the court, it was humiliated by NC State in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

Since then the Orange have completely rebuilt their roster. Top scorer Judah Mintz declared for the National Basketball Association Draft while starting forward Maliq Brown and backup guard Quadir Copeland transferred.

The Orange added Eddie Lampkin (Colorado), Jaquan Carlos (Hofstra) and Jyare Davis (Delaware) along with highly touted freshmen Donavan Freeman and Elijah Moore. Saturday was the first time Syracuse got to show off its new pieces as it ramps up for regular season action in just over a week.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s 101-73 exhibition win over Clarion:

Starting lineup wrinkle

Starting lineups are never a given, but heading into this season, Syracuse had a good idea of who its starting five would be. CBS’ Jon Rothstein reported a few days ago that SU’s most likely lineup would be Carlos, J.J. Starling, Chris Bell, Freeman and Lampkin. Saturday, Autry threw a curveball.

The second-year head coach deployed Georgia State transfer Lucas Taylor and freshman Petar Majstorovic while Bell and Freeman remained on the bench. Majstorovic got the Orange on the board with a layup inside, but picked up two quick fouls before exiting. Taylor also didn’t amount to much, only taking one shot in his first run as a starter.

“I just wanted to play with it a little bit honestly,” Autry said of his starting five. “I think, the next game will be a different lineup.”

Freeman checked in at the 16:45 mark, while Bell saw action less than a minute later. Freeman made an immediate impact, confidently knocking down a midrange jumper with his first attempt. Carlos forced a steal soon after and fed Freeman on a breakaway for a thunderous slam.

At the start of the second half, Autry kept his same starting five. Nothing is set in stone for SU’s first regular season game against Le Moyne, but Autry certainly surprised with his lineup choices against Clarion.

“This is a team that has a lot of different options,” Autry said. “I got a lot of decisions to make this year with this team, so I want to get a chance to see everything.”

Lampkin’s presence down low

Last season, Syracuse lacked a true post presence. Before his injury, Naheem McLeod didn’t provide much of a boost offensively. Then once he went down for the season, SU was forced to play Brown as a small-ball center. The Orange never had someone who they could throw the ball down to and get a bucket. This year SU won’t have to worry about that with Lampkin.

In 2023-24 with Colorado, Lampkin averaged 10.6 points per game and led the Buffaloes to the NCAA Tournament Second Round. Saturday, Lampkin dominated his matchups early and often. He initiated the offense from the top of the key with a dribble handoff to Taylor. Lampkin then slipped to the basket for an easy dunk to put Syracuse up 8-2.

The next two times, Lamkpin showed off his post moves. Carlos fed Lampkin deep in the paint, spinning off his man. The center nearly lost control of the ball, but corralled it and slammed home another dunk. A couple possessions later the Orange fed Lampkin on the wing. Clarion attempted to keep him far away from the basket but to no avail. Lampkin backed down his defender and converted a jump hook for his third consecutive field goal.

“We expected that when I put this team together,” Autry said. “That’s what I envisioned, being able to have a guy that can move the ball through our front court and that’s why he was really important for us.”

Lampkin even showed off his passing prowess. Carlos handed off to Lampkin at the top of the key. Carlos curled off Lampkin to the basket and the big man used a wrap-around feed to hit the point guard for an and-one.

In the second half, Lampkin didn’t see much action with McLeod getting some run and Davis playing small ball center at times. He finished with eight points on 4-for-7 shooting in 19 minutes.

Strong guard play

The absence of Mintz and Copeland left questions surrounding the guard position for Syracuse. In the offseason, Autry brought Carlos — more of a pure point guard as opposed to Mintz — to pair with Starling.

Following his transfer from Notre Dame, Starling went through his fair bit of struggles. From Nov. 28 to Jan. 13, the combo guard averaged just 9.7 points per game and only had three games with multiple 3-pointers. The second half of the season was a different story for Starling. He finished in double figures during each of SU’s final 15 regular season games.

With Mintz and Copeland gone, Starling has the chance to become the head of the offense. Saturday he showed glimpses of what he can do. Starling knocked down multiple mid-range jumpers and converted on a drive to the basket, providing SU with a spark offensively early on. Through the first half, he went a perfect 4-for-4 from the field, totaling nine points.

On the other hand, Carlos may have been the brightest spot for Syracuse. Before he even made a shot, Carlos already tallied six assists. Following the flurry of assists, Carlos started to look more for his shot. Like Starling, he drained multiple mid-range jumpers, totaling seven points at half without missing a shot.

Postgame, Autry revealed the two haven’t been practicing on the same team together and typically they compete against each other. Both relished the opportunity to finally be on the same side on Saturday.

“I was very excited to play with (Carlos) as soon as he committed here because I knew the type of player that he was and the type of person that he was,” Starling said. “In this game, it just showed it. He’s a very selfless player, and it’s gonna be fun.”

Starling and Carlos provided steady guard play throughout. Starling went 7-for-9 with 17 points, while Carlos totaled a double-double with 14 points and 10 assists.

3-point shooting

Shooting was an issue for Syracuse last season. The Orange ranked 11th in the ACC in 3-point percentage, knocking them down at a 33.7% clip. Outside of Bell’s elite 42% rate from beyond the arch, Syracuse didn’t have a knockdown shooter.

Bell returned and Autry brought in Moore, a freshman known for his shooting prowess along with Taylor. The Georgia State transfer hit 64 total 3s in 31 games last season. Though outside of Bell it’s unknown if SU can rely on anyone else to be consistent from beyond the arc.

SU’s streakiness was on full display Saturday. The Orange shot 13 3-pointers in the first half, converting on four. Starling opened up the second half with two triples, but the Orange went on to go one of their next nine.

Less than halfway through the second half, Syracuse had equaled its 3-point attempts (13) from the first 20 minutes but converted one less. Out of the 12-minute timeout, Syracuse got hot, converting on three straight looks from 3. Bell splashed one home before Moore and Carlos followed.

In total, SU finished 12-of-34 from beyond the arch. Bell continued to flash his catch-and-shoot prowess with four 3-pointers, but doubts still remain around whether the Orange have another reliable shooter to pair with him.

Published on October 26, 2024 at 3:07 pm

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