With Oshae Brissett entering the NBA Draft, Syracuse Basketball will have plenty to think about over the offseason, as they prepare for life without a star player.
On Tuesday, Syracuse Basketball’s Oshae Brissett announced that he would not be returning to the university for his junior season. Brissett had been invited to the NBA Draft Combine, and is said to have impressed many observers from around the league. He wrote a message to Orange Nation expressing his gratitude for the support over his time with the school, and confirmed that he would be remaining in the process for June’s draft. This message was posted to his personal social media accounts:
https://twitter.com/Obrissy/status/1130964793152626688
Brissett was one of the Orange’s most influential players over the last two seasons. He helped Jim Boeheim‘s team reach the NCAA Tournament in both seasons, establishing a run to the Sweet Sixteen in 2018. Along with the likes of Tyus Battle (Who also leaves Syracuse this offseason), Brissett made up a very talented roster, who could compete with anyone on any given night. They showed this by defeating the superstar Duke team 95-91, back in January.
Whilst Brissett’s college career is over, he made a lasting impact on this Syracuse side, and grew and grew over his tenure. His ability to play both ends, and his physical presence will be things that will leave a visible hole in the Orange’s team for the 2019-20 season. These are things that Syracuse will need to address quickly, and correctly, if they’re going to remain competitive in next season’s ACC.
With Brissett, Battle both entering the draft and seniors such as Frank Howard and Pascal Chukwu departing, there’ll be plenty of roles to fill. However, Brissett’s absence stands out as a key one. His presence at the forward positions is going to be hard to replicate. The likely starters in Syracuse’s front court for the upcoming season will consist of Elijah Hughes and Marek Dolezaj in the forward spots – two players who’ve been solid for the Orange. Hghes will likely take the focal role in the team, going forward, and will carry a lot of the work load left by Brissett and the other departures.
But Hughes isn’t the same kind of player as Brissett. Oshae’s ability to be strong in the paint made him a key figure in the Orange’s rebounding game and important piece in their zone defense. New recruit Quincy Guerrier has a similar frame to Brissett, at least when he fills out. Guerrier is listed as 6’7 and 190 – Brissett 6’8 and 210 – the freshman seems the more college basketball ready recruit out of this year’s class, and its only fitting that he looks like a typical replacement for Brissett.
This is a new era for Orange basektball. It’s concerning from a personnel standpoint that four starters from last season have left, but it’s an exciting time to support the Orange. Guerrier, along with Mr. Basketball New York, Joe Girard III, Brycen Goodine, Jon Bol Ajak and Jesse Edwards all bring different things to the table for Boeheim’s squad. With Buddy Boeheim likely to take over a more influncial role and internal talent including Jalen Carey already in Syracuse, there’s no need to worry about the team’s next couple of years – it’s covered.
There’ll be big shoes to fill as the departing class including Brissett contained some important players to this program over the last few years. However, there’ll be new stars coming through the ranks over the next couple of seasons to carry the Orange traditions on.