ACC Basketball: 10 biggest storylines to watch for 2022-23 season

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 27: Head coach Jim Boeheim of the Syracuse Orange reacts in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen game against the Houston Cougars in the 2021 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Hinkle Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

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ACC Basketball Syracuse Orange guard Joseph Girard III Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports /

5. Syracuse has a top-20 freshmen class and will need all to contribute

Among the teams that had an “interesting” offseason was Syracuse, who lost both Boeheim brothers (Buddy and Jimmy), as well as Cole Swider to the pro ranks. That’s nearly 50 ppg of production gone and the team did nothing in the transfer portal outside of landing Duquesne center Mounir Hima to essentially backup Jesse Edwards.

Speaking of Edwards, he’s one of two returning starters for the Orange, along with guard Joe Girard. Both are double-digit contributors and should be solid go-to players but can they be the No. 1 and 2 options on an NCAA Tournament team? If not, they’ll need some major production from the incoming six-man freshman class.

The star of the group is Judah Mintz, a former Pitt commit and quality two-way combo guard. He’s a capable playmaker and can allow Girard to play off the ball and be a strong defender. If Mintz isn’t an all-conference caliber freshman, things will get rough for the Orange. They also have a pair of wings in Justin Taylor and Chris Bunch that will split all 40 minutes at small forward, while 6’8 Maliq Brown could easily start at power forward if Benny Williams doesn’t break out as a sophomore and at least become a competent rotational player.

This is a roster that if Jim Boeheim wasn’t the head coach, would be projected to finish easily in the bottom 5 of the ACC. And that still very well may happen, which then would keep the questions as to how much longer the Boeheim era continues at Syracuse.