Syracuse Basketball: Predicting Orange's 2015-16 Rotation

After a graduation, a couple of transfers, an entry in the NBA Draft and an incoming freshman class, the Syracuse basketball roster is pretty much set.

Rakeem Christmas, B.J. Johnson, Ron Patterson and Chris McCullough are gone. The four-man recruiting class of Malachi Richardson, Moustapha Diagne, Tyler Lydon and Franklin Howard will join the rest of Syracuse's returning players to round out the rotation.

But what will that rotation look like? As has been the case the past few years, the Orange are undergoing some significant roster turnover. So we can only speculate at this admittedly early point as to how the minutes will be doled out next year.

Nevertheless, here's an early look at how the rotation could shake out.

Starters:

Since a significant portion of the roster will be made up of freshmen, a starting lineup of the team's most experienced players makes the most sense. So Kaleb Joseph, Trevor Cooney, Michael Gbinije, Tyler Roberson and DaJuan Coleman seem destined to be next year's starting five.

For now, Mike Waters of Syracuse.com agrees:

The obvious question mark is Coleman, who hasn't played since the middle of the 2013-14 season and is recovering from multiple knee surgeries. If he has a clean bill of health this fall, expect him to be manning the middle for the Orange to start the season.

However, we still have no idea how healthy Coleman will be or what kind of workload coach Jim Boeheim will give him.

Reinforcements:

Between the predicted starting five, the four freshmen and Chinonso Obokoh, the Orange could theoretically go 10 deep next year. Perhaps Boeheim could have an orange platoon and a white platoon?

However, anyone who has followed Syracuse basketball in recent years knows that most likely won't be the case. Boeheim usually sticks with a six- or seven-man rotation depending on what he has in a given season.

Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

The most likely candidate to be the first player off the bench is Richardson. At 6'6", Richardson could play either guard or forward, and his shooting ability could earn him minutes if the offense struggles. And if Joseph doesn't make the necessary strides at the point, Richardson could push for a starting job, leaving Gbinije as the team's primary ball-handler.

It's shaping up to be another year in which Cooney rarely hits the bench, as the Orange have very little guard depth. Howard is coming off a torn ACL which caused him to lose a year in high school, so there's no way to know how he'll perform until he gets on campus.

That just leaves the frontcourt. If Coleman has another setback, Obokoh is likely the starting center. He will get minutes either way, because Coleman won't be playing 40 minutes a night. 

Between Lydon and Diagne, the smart money is on Diagne to get more run. He has the length and athleticism to play both forward and center, and the team needs depth in the middle because of Coleman's health and Obokoh's inexperience. However, if Lydon shows he can hit some threes and attack the rim, he could jump Diagne in the rotation.

Look for Boeheim to use lots of different lineups early next season to figure out what he has and who fits best in each position. The Orange won't enter the season with high expectations. So if Boeheim develops his bench early on, it can pay off once March rolls around.

What do you think next year's rotation will look like? Sound off in the comments or get involved with Justin on Twitter @JustinNeuman10.