The transfer portal has officially opened, and Syracuse is already being mapped out around what it still needs to add for next season. In a roundtable published by Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician, the discussion centered on where Gerry McNamara should focus his attention, with one theme coming through in nearly every answer: the Orange need more offense, more playmaking and more size.
Kevin put it bluntly. Syracuse needs a #1 scoring option, and ideally a point guard or a forward who can give the Orange 18-20 ppg. He also said the program needs "Shooting, shooting and more shooting." Dom agreed with the premise, saying, "Got the same pick as Kevin here," before arguing Syracuse needs a top perimeter scorer who can get buckets at all three levels and make plays for others in crunch time.
That scoring need is tied to a roster that never had enough reliable answers when possessions broke down. Dom said Syracuse did not have a post scorer at the five who could get a bucket when the offense stalled unless it downsized to play Freeman at the five. That matters now because the portal gives the Orange a chance to address a problem that shaped too many of last season’s late possessions: there was not enough creation, especially when the defense took away the first option.
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The frontcourt picture only adds to the urgency. Szuba said Syracuse’s biggest need is a high-level point guard, with a solid center second. He noted Naithan George is moving on and William Kyle is graduating, while Augie said the Orange are left with Akir Souare as the current center on the roster after losing Kyle. Augie also pointed to Syracuse’s issues on the glass, especially the offensive boards, and said opposing ACC centers controlled the matchup, particularly in the pick and roll.
Kevin’s answer kept circling back to the same word, and for good reason. Syracuse struggled to shoot from behind the arc last season, and the roundtable made it clear that any portal plan has to fix that before anything else. Szuba added that the roster also needs long, athletic players who can defend on the perimeter and inside, while noting Syracuse has already added Mark Morano Mahmutovič.
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Augie said he likes Brandon Rechsteiner from Colorado State, and the roundtable also mentioned Somto Cyril from Georgia as a possible interesting center target. Those names fit the shape of the need. Syracuse does not just need bodies. It needs players who can score, space the floor and hold up defensively in a league where the margin inside the arc can disappear quickly.
Donnie Freeman sits inside that conversation because Syracuse’s next roster has to be built so it does not keep asking one player to solve everything. The portal is open now, and the Orange have to find a point guard, a scorer and a center, in that order or close to it, if they want next season to look different from the one that just ended.
