Syracuse Orange men's basketball: The veteran group is hoping to end its three-year NCAA Tournament drought

SYRACUSE, NY – Go for it The Tournament. Come back to The Tournament. Come to the tournament. Back to the tournament where Syracuse belongs. These were the answers from JJ Starling, Kyle Cuffe, Eddie Lampkin and Naheem McLeod at media day.

The Syracuse Orange men's basketball team has not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2021, an uncharacteristic three-year drought that represents uncharted territory for the storied program. The last time this happened, Syracuse had no conference affiliation (1970-1972).

The Orange will be a significantly older group in 2024-25, a conscious response from Adrian Autry and his staff as the program looks to end a three-year hiatus from the Big Dance. Now that Syracuse has a more experienced group in tow, he's hoping his four seniors out of the transfer portal will help the Orange find their way back to postseason play.

“They've been through some wars. They know this is an opportunity for them and they are happy. They want to be here as much as we wanted them here,” Autry said of the four transfers. “These guys are all mature. You have a good IQ for the game. They know what it takes to be successful on and off the field. Their maturity and togetherness was a really good surprise.”

Representing that maturity and IQ, the team is led by Jaquan Carlos, the Hofstra transfer who is expected to stabilize Syracuse from the point guard position, initiate the offense and prepare his teammates.

Deep down, the Orange have a true low-post presence in Colorado transfer Eddie Lampkin, who can occasionally pass and get out, which fits the style of play Autry prefers with speed and space in a five-out offense. Lampkin will also be one of the loudest voices in the locker room. When asked if he had taken a mentoring approach to any of the younger players, he answered differently.

“We all took everyone under our wing,” Lampkin said, “because we all want to go to the tournament.”

In Jyare Davis, the Orange have an experienced forward who can rebound, defend and play around the basket. The stocky Davis seems like a nice compliment to the talented, athletic and highly touted freshman Donnie Freeman. Finally, Lucas Taylor brings in points and additional shots behind Chris Bell.

Syracuse's returning players are also now experienced upperclassmen. Bell returns alongside JJ Starling, now in juniors. Starling is expected to be the leader of the group.

“JJ, who went through this, he understands. He was part of the Notre Dame team, then he was part of last year's team where we had a winning streak and a losing streak. He has been through adverse scenarios. I think our voices, our locker room leaders have experience,” Autry said.

Starling follows in step with the reactions of his teammates and has the same goal in mind as the others.

“We feel like we have the right team to go far and get into the tournament. Those are our expectations,” said JJ Starling.

To accomplish this and secure an at-large spot, Syracuse will have to defy conference expectations. Preseason optimism was common to all programs, but the Orange were picked to finish eleventh in the conference in the preseason media poll. Syracuse has not finished 11th or worse since entering the league. The players on this team are motivated and know exactly where they were picked in the preseason media poll.

Organizing the NCAA Tournament has become something of a science. At least it's probably not art. With the expansion of metrics starting at the NET and ending at the selection committee, many have attempted to quantify the tournament selection process by, among other things, manipulating the NET in their favor by using softer teams and kicking teams out.

When asked how Syracuse can get back into the tournament, Autry pointed to KenPom before giving a much simpler answer, sounding a bit like his predecessor.

“You have to win games,” Autry began. “You have to win non-conference games and schedule teams. You have to give your team a chance and I think we did that with our conference. We have some great non-conference opponents and we need to win some of those games, if not all of them.”

Syracuse will have key non-conference games against Texas, St. Joe's/Texas Tech, Tennessee and Maryland. Additionally, the Orange will have a much softer non-conference schedule compared to last season.

Before the three-year tournament drought, Syracuse had become one of the most notorious bubble teams in the country. The Orange could flirt with that status again, but any prediction of where they might end up so early with so many unknowns would be foolish. It can be a long season and the experienced players intuitively understand that. There is no substitute for experience and the standard at Syracuse begins with participation in the NCAA Tournament.

“I think because of their experience they understand the longevity of the season and its ups and downs,” Autry said. “So I think we’ll bounce back.”