Syracuse Basketball: Frank Howard critical for Orange down the stretch

Amidst an efficient season for Syracuse Basketball, senior Frank Howard will prove to be vital, down the stretch, in terms of any March aspirations this team has.

As the second week of February approaches, crunch time in college basketball nears. The witching hour of the regular season is upon us and any win could prove to be the difference, when considering a college’s NCAA Tournament chances. Syracuse’s beginning of the year proved to be much more successful than last. The Orange now lie sixth in the ACC rankings, with a 7-3 conference play record, and a 16-7 overall record.

This Syracuse team has plenty of talent to like, amongst the names of Tyus Battle and Oshae Brissett, there are, at times, other players who don’t get as much attention. Frank Howard is one of these names. If Cuse can go into March and make another nice tournament run, it wouldn’t be surprising if Howard spearheaded their attempts.

Joe Lunardi of ESPN currently has Jim Boeheim‘s squad ranked as an eighth seed, there’ll be people debating this, however, they’ve undoubtedly shown they’re a better side than last year – a year which saw them just make the tournament, winning their play in-game, on their way to a Sweet Sixteen run, which saw them fall to number 2 Duke. After an improved beginning of the season, Syracuse are on track to not have to even play this play-in game in 2019’s March, however, there is still a way to go.

Syracuse’s roster is much more ready than it was at this time last year. With players maturing and new talents amongst their ranks, Syracuse can do plenty of damage to any given team, as shown at Duke. The transfer of Elijah Hughes from East Carolina has proven to be a difference maker this year. They’ll need the impressive sophomore to keep up his exciting form to help their restricted-at-times offence. Battle has had another great year for him, with Brissett picking it up more recently.

For Syracuse, though, their efforts on both ends of the floor will rely on no-one more than Howard. The senior’s on-court presence is one of the Orange’s most valuable assets. Howard’s ability to lead this team for the rest of the year will have tremendous implications on the course of it. His numbers have taken a hit from last season, but this can be expected with the way Hughes etc are playing.

What Howard will be assessed on most highly is how he leads this talented team. As a senior point guard he has a big responsibility to carry out Boeheim’s tactics on both ends of the floor. He’s certainly shown over his tenure at the Carrier Dome that he’s capable of what he needs to do. There’s little information over Howard’s NBA Draft situation, with most mock drafts not having him taken by a pro team.

If Howard does wish to go pro, there’s no better time to tighten your draft stock than now, as he plays a pivotal role in the rest of the year, and will look to take his Syracuse side into the tournament and make a run, in his final year.