Syracuse Basketball: Where the Orange's Rebuilding Process Currently Stands

Syracuse is in trouble.

That could have been the headline last season just after the No. 1 Orange, at 24-0, escaped Pittsburgh's Oakland Zoo with a win on a Tyler Ennis three-point miracle.

At the time, Syracuse was riding high after an overtime win against Duke at the Carrier Dome. Three games later, Ennis' three-point heave gave the Orange the win but showed that Syracuse might be a little more talk than chalk.

One game later, the Orange escaped North Carolina State on a C.J. Fair layup in the closing seconds at home, and the story was not indicative of the top-ranked team in the land.

"Syracuse Survives NC State, 56-55," told the story to the rest of the country that on the right night, the Orange could be had. Additionally, without the Orange's knowledge, a scoring drought was about to take place.

Against Duke, Syracuse scored 91 points in overtime. After that game, the Orange would score more than 62 points only one time in the 10 remaining games on the schedule.

On February 19, just four days after outlasting NC State, unranked Boston College came into the Carrier Dome and stopped the No. 1 Orange with a three-point win in overtime. Word was out that the team that had such stars as Fair, Ennis and Jerami Grant could not find a way to score.

Syracuse lost four of its last six scheduled games, with its efforts crumbling in a 55-53 loss to Dayton in the third round of the NCAA tournament to put the icing on the cake.

A great mystery unfolded. Syracuse forgot how to score.

The Orange's defense remained tough throughout, but for the first time in a generation, Syracuse fans were left wondering where their scoring would come from.

Fast forward to this season, and not much has changed. Syracuse is still in trouble.

With Fair, Ennis and Grant gone, players such as Trevor Cooney and Rakeem Christmas were left to carry the mantle of the once-potent Syracuse offense. Christmas, for his part, has established himself as the most improved player in the nation. He's averaging nearly 17 points and 10 rebounds per game after spending the last two seasons being content with five and five.

Cooney, on the other hand, hasn't been able to pull of the same trick.

Cooney spent the beginning of last season as one of the nation's best three-point shooters, but after running himself ragged trying to create open shots for himself, the shots stopped falling, and he fell from being a 50 percent three-point shooter to just a pedestrian.

Tony Ding/Associated Press

Cooney has been touted as a three-point marksman since his arrival at Syracuse three years ago. After a redshirt freshman year, he only averaged 11 minutes per game but showed promise from the outside regardless of his .267 shooting percentage.

Even after his struggles at the end of last season, Cooney had a respectable .375 shooting percentage from beyond the arc, giving a glimmer of hope that in his third year in an Orange uniform, he could still live up to expectations.

Eight games in, Cooney has connected on just 13 of his 46 three-point attempts. Almost every aspect of his game—scoring, steals, free-throw percentage, etc.—has declined from last season. It's understandable that a player who lost Fair, Ennis and Grant as teammates would struggle a bit, but Cooney's struggles seem to run deeper.

It goes far beyond Cooney, but Orange fans must understand the reality of this season. This is a rebuilding year.

"Rebuilding" tends to be a bad word in the world of sports, but for the Orange, it's not as glum as it sounds. It means this team has watched a multitude of talent pass through its program, and it's difficult to overcome early departures on a yearly basis. This team has great talent, but it is very young, and time and patience will be necessary to bring it along.

The hope for this team is to turn its fortunes around and hopefully get an NCAA tournament bid. The reality could be an NIT bid. That is the definition of rebuilding for Syracuse.

Syracuse fans are used to having a team near the top of the rankings and Final Four aspirations. They're used to seeing a balance of youth mixed with veteran leadership. This season, the hopes of a top ranking have already been dashed, and while on paper the team seems to have a mix of youth and experience, that experience hasn't translated to leadership—at least not on the court.

As far as scoring goes, Christmas is the de facto team leader. He's taken coach Jim Boeheim's direction and goes to the basket on nearly every touch. He's added a hook shot to his repertoire and has been a pleasure to watch. But Christmas has never been an on-court vocal leader. This is not a criticism of Christmas; it's just not the type of player he is.

Cooney appears to want the mantle of the team's vocal leader, especially after Chris McCullough was on the receiving end of a flagrant foul from St. John's Rysheed Jordan. McCullough bounced up and got in the face of Jordan, and a minor scrum broke out. Cooney appeared to be in the ear of McCullough, directing him to look at the scoreboard and keep his head in the game.

Cooney's demeanor in this situation is encouraging, but with him struggling to score, especially in moments where a timely three could be the difference in a game, the leadership title may escape him.

Perceived leadership issues aside, Syracuse's struggles come from a few areas.

Nick Lisi/Associated Press

Freshman point guard Kaleb Joseph was handed down the keys to the offense from Ennis. It was hoped that Joseph could be the understudy to Ennis, but the NBA came calling, and Joseph was left to his own devices.

Joseph's game is far different than Ennis', as with most freshman point guards. Ennis was a phenom who took care of the ball, hit timely shots and had great court vision.

Joseph is too green to criticize for much of his play, as he's been thrust into an impossible situation that only time will improve. He's struggled with turnovers, taken too many bad three-point shots and has difficulty delivering the ball to his teammates in positions where they can score. Joseph can turn all of this around, but in the meantime, Coach Boeheim had Joseph sitting next to him on the bench for the majority of the second half against St. John's.

Boeheim exasperated about Joseph after the game, telling the media, via Donna Ditota of Syracuse.com, "He's gotta learn that he's a point guard and not a three-point shooter."

To Joseph's credit, just eight games into the season, he seems to be the only member of the youth movement, save for McCullough, who deserves extended playing time. Ron Patterson, B.J. Johnson, Tyler Roberson, Chinonso Obokoh and company are the next generation for this team, but their progress is not as far along as Orange fans would like. Again, time and experience should fix this issue.

The starting lineup is also a work in progress. The usual lineup of Christmas, McCullough, Joseph, Cooney and Johnson was tweaked, with Michael Gbinije supplanting Johnson. Gbinije likely earned this roll after his solid performance against Michigan, where he was the most energetic and athletic player on the court. He played well against St. John's, but a few turnovers marred his performance.

Gbinije's insertion into the starting five is significant, as he played 37 minutes. This was fourth on the team behind Christmas, McCullough and Cooney, who each played the full 40 minutes. Patterson and Joseph split the point guard time, and Johnson played just seven minutes.

That's it. No other players stepped foot on the court. This was fueled by the fact that the Orange stayed out of foul trouble, but as the season presses forward, Syracuse will have to find a way to get meaningful minutes for its youth or the rebuild could take longer than just this season.

Another change for the Orange is the aforementioned Cooney. Cooney, by default, is the best three-point shooter on this team. He is also the only three-point shooter on this team. Gbinije, Patterson and a few others might have their moments, but Cooney is on the top of the list in the outside shooting department.

Since the midpoint of last season, opponents have been keying in on Cooney as the key to defeating the Orange. He spent much of the season running around the court trying to create his own screen for just long enough to get an open look.

Cooney's spent all of this season doing the same thing. Joseph and whoever happens to be on Cooney's side of the court have to do a better job of setting him up. This could come in the form of screens or Joseph penetrating and kicking the ball out. Neither has happened much this season.

On the bright side are Christmas and McCullough. The bigs for Syracuse are an imposing force for the Orange. They combine for 31.3 points, 18.6 rebounds and 4.9 blocks per game. If the Orange ever get DaJuan Coleman back, who is recovering from knee surgery, Syracuse could end up with an impenetrable frontcourt.

There's also the 2-3 zone. Boeheim's trademark defense seems to be in good hands, and players such as Cooney, who find themselves struggling on offense, can create ample opportunities for the team on the defensive end.

Overall, the rebuild will be time-consuming but not futile. Syracuse has been lucky over the past several years having players who developed quickly and contributed positively. This is still a talented, albeit youthful, team. If Cooney can get back on track, Gbinije continues his growth and Joseph cleans up his game, the tracks should be laid for the younger players to get minutes and develop on the court.

If none of those aspects improve, the rebuild could turn into a recession.

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