Who's ready to kick off a fresh season of college basketball? I know I am.
The Syracuse Orange had a depressing end to their season last year losing to the Michigan Wolverines in the Final Four. Although there was a sense of disappointment, Syracuse went above and beyond just about everybody's expectations as many people thought they would be upset early on in the tournament.
Last year is over and this season is a clean slate for the Orangemen to fill with a load of victories. Syracuse lost their starting point guard, Michael Carter-Williams, three point shooting forward, James Southerland, and the senior leadership of Brandon Triche. This is quite a loss, but they are still in very great shape because C.J. Far decided to return for his senior year. The 6'6" small forward lead the team in both scoring and rebounding with 14.5 points per game and 7 rebounds per game. He never received the attention he truly deserved because of the incredible NBA talent of Carter-Williams, but Fair should be prime for an excellent senior season. They also have a very fresh recruiting class coming in with the likes of five star point guard, Tyler Ennis, Tyler Roberson, skinny but shifty, B.J. Johnson, and Brewster Academy guard, Ron Patterson. More notable returns include Jerami Grant who showed a lot of potential last year as well as Rakeem Christmas.
With all this talent Syracuse can definitely have a successful season. I think they will get off to a quick start because they are playing in the Maui Invitational this year. This year in the tournament there are some quality teams, but the Orange seem to be the clear favorite to win. Gonzaga, Baylor, California, and Minnesota are other high quality teams in the tournament. If one team will give them trouble it will be Minnesota, but even they are missing some of their crucial components from last year.
Winning any tournament will boost up a team's spirits. If Syracuse can win the Maui Invitational it will give them the confidence to take down some of the tough opponents in the ACC such as Duke, Pitt, and UNC. The start of their season could very well set the tone for another great run.
C.J. Fair, forward for Syracuse
