Syracuse Basketball Facing Roller-Coaster Ride with Another Frosh PG in Charge

The revolving door that is the point guard position at Syracuse just keeps on spinning.

Thanks to a combination of early departures and top recruits, the Orange have seen a different starting point guard in each of the past three seasons in Scoop Jardine, Michael Carter-Williams and Tyler Ennis.

The 2014-15 campaign is no different, as freshman Kaleb Joseph becomes the newest guy to step in at the position for Jim Boeheim.

Joseph, who is listed at 6’3” and 165 pounds, has good size for a point guard, especially at the college level. He was the ninth-best recruit at his position, according to ESPN, and also possesses great athleticism.

The original plan for the Nashua, New Hampshire, native was to back up a would-be sophomore Ennis once Joseph got to Syracuse. However, after a stellar freshman season, Ennis opted for the NBA instead and was eventually selected by the Phoenix Suns as the 18th overall pick in the draft this past June.

That opened the door for Joseph to assert himself as a starter, and he took full advantage of it during the offseason.

One of the things that separated Joseph from his predecessors was his work ethic, and Boeheim definitely took notice of that.

At the Syracuse preseason media day on Oct. 24, Boeheim had these praises for Joseph:

"

He's as hard a worker as any point guard we've ever had -- probably as any guard we've ever had. And he understands the game. I think he has been very good in practices. There's really two tests for a freshman: how do you handle practices, and he's certainly done that, and now how does he handle game conditions, game situations, and nobody knows the answer to that. Some guys exceed your expectations, not my expectations, I don't really think that way, but some people exceed expectations and others maybe don't quite get there. But he's a very talented point guard, we are very happy to have him.

"

Joseph went on to have two impressive performances in the exhibition games, totaling 28 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and only two turnovers.

However, in the two regular-season games thus far, Joseph has struggled somewhat.

In the season opener against Kennesaw State, the freshman tallied four points, five rebounds and six assists—some decent offensive numbers—but he also committed four turnovers and four personal fouls, limiting his playing time to just 23 minutes.

In the second game against Hampton, Joseph cut down the fouls to just one, but he managed to score just five points to go with five assists and three turnovers.

Those performances immediately brought up the inevitable comparisons between him and Ennis, who committed just 1.7 turnovers per game last season.

But the juxtaposition of these two point guards is not quite fair. 

Both players have different playing styles, and Boeheim understood this going into the season.

Boeheim said in a Q&A with CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein on Nov. 3:

"

Well Tyler was really a mistake-free player. He was probably not as talented as Kaleb but certainly did not make any mistakes. Kaleb is a good player and he's a smart player. He'll make a lot of mistakes but he's a good physical talent and I think he's prepared and worked hard to be ready to play the point guard spot.

"

It will take some time for Joseph to get accustomed to the college game, but when he does, he should be able to establish his own brand of game and lead this Syracuse team without having to live in the shadows of his predecessors. 

Sports Illustrated projected Joseph as the 17th-highest scorer among freshmen with an average 10.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game this season. If these numbers pan out, Joseph can easily fill in the offensive void left by Ennis, who averaged 12.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game last season.

Joseph is arguably Syracuse’s most important player this season, and the Orange are likely to go far if he does. As for how far Joseph can take them, that is anyone’s guess.

The only thing that is certain as of now is Boeheim trusts Joseph enough to lead this year’s team. And judging by the way the past few seasons have looked, Boeheim’s faith has usually paid off.