The Syracuse Orange men’s basketball season begins in earnest next week with the season-opener against Lafayette set for Tuesday. The Orange already have two exhibition games against Pace and Le Moyne in the books.
In those exhibition contests, Jim Boeheim experimented with styles of play and lineups, including going to the press and utilizing a small ball lineup with Jimmy Boeheim at center with Cole Swider and Benny Williams on the wings.
Last season, Bourama Sidibe tore his meniscus in the first game against Bryant. With few experienced centers behind Sidibe, Boeheim went with the undersized Marek Dolezaj to stopgap the middle of the 2-3 zone.