The Syracuse men’s basketball beat writers look back on the season to sum up the postseason run, put it into context and look toward the future. Who stays? Who goes? Why? Check out Sam Blum, Matt Schneidman and Jesse Dougherty’s responses below.

1. How would you sum up this NCAA Tournament run?

Sam Blum: This NCAA Tournament run was about second-half domination. Syracuse won each game by going on massive second-half runs. And when you look at the game against UNC, being unable to replicate that is what inevitably ended the season. But I think the dynamic of this NCAA Tournament run was so fantastic because Syracuse really played up this “us against the world” narrative. And I think it really worked for them. They were a team on the brink of not making the Tournament, and made it to the final weekend. They overcame a lot of in-season adversity and peaked at the perfect time. This team was playing against the odds, and they played pretty well from that position.

Jesse Dougherty: Madness. Really no other way to say it. Every year there are reminders of why the NCAA Tournament has been branded as such, and Syracuse was that reason this year. Middle Tennessee pulled off a colossal upset, Northern Iowa did some pretty cool and pretty terrible things, and there were a lot of other interesting stories across the board — but Syracuse? A 10 seed in the Final Four after it was pretty much determined that the Orange would either have to go through a play-in game or even play in the NIT? Madness. That’s about it. Madness.

Matt Schneidman: There’s not much that can sum up the run Syracuse made in the NCAA Tournament, but I guess “unexpected” might do it justice. From a team that was on the outside of the field looking in among most projections, a run to the Final Four, even if it is a storied program like Syracuse, has to be lauded. At times it was Tyler Roberson who dominated. At times Michael Gbinije. And of course, the most memorable takeover in recent SU history came from Malachi Richardson in the second half against Virginia. The Orange’s tear through teams that were favored came to screeching halt, and that may take away form everything that happened in the four games prior. But it shouldn’t. Syracuse was one game away from making history as the lowest-seeded team ever to make a national championship game. There aren’t many words that can sum that up.

2. Where does this year’s run rank all-time in Syracuse’s Final Four runs?

S.B.: Obviously nothing will ever top winning a national championship. Until another Syracuse team does that, the 2003 team will stand above the rest. But the fact that the Orange is the first-ever No. 10 seed to make the Final Four says a lot about just how special this team is. They weren’t supposed to win the first game against Dayton, let alone that one and then three more after that. Jim Boeheim said after the game that he’s never been prouder of a group of players. And while he tends to speak in hyperbole, I really believe that to be true. There’s very little that can compare to what this team went through, and what it accomplished in spite of that.

J.D.: It can’t be considered the most successful, quite simply because Syracuse won the whole thing in 2003 and will be the peak of the program’s history until a second title is captured. But it was undoubtedly the most unlikely Final Four run the Orange has ever had, which is why Jim Boeheim continually said how proud he is of all this team has accomplished. It’s not just that SU had a bad start to conference play and then finished 1-5 before sneaking into the Tournament. It’s that it really wasn’t your typical good college basketball team — at least one worth of lasting this long — with limited talent off the bench, not too much size inside and two fifth-year seniors in the backcourt instead of blue-chip recruits. But Syracuse clicked when it mattered most, and that’s what’s important in the grand scheme of things.

M.S.: This year’s run was arguably the most impressive given the double-digit seed attached to Syracuse’s name, but nothing can top the 2003 national championship. That game combined the most memorable player in Syracuse history with the most memorable play, so a national title this year is the only thing that could top it. Second-best certainly isn’t bad, especially for a team that could’ve been torn apart by sanctions and suspensions, but one that endured it all and defied the odds en route to teetering on the brink of history.

3. Will Malachi Richardson and/or Tyler Lydon leave? Why?

S.B.: I think it logically makes sense for Tyler Lydon and Malachi Richardson to leave. Neither is fully polished, but both have seen their stocks rise with NCAA Tournament performances. Would either be able to be an impact player at the next level? It’s tough to say. But there are always other factors at play here and so it’s really difficult to guess what either player will. The chance to play in the NBA and get paid to do it is a hard allure to pass up. If I had to guess, I’d say that Richardson is in the NBA and Lydon stays for another year.

J.D.: Both of them will likely test the NBA combine and whatnot (because I’m personally not able to find a reason why any talented underclassmen wouldn’t), and I’m not too sure what each player will do from there. From being around both players all season, I’d guess that Richardson is more “NBA-ready” while Lydon may need another year to diversify his game and continue to go off the dribble. That said, both players had great Tournaments and entering the NBA Draft this season could allow them to ride that “unknown factor” to a decently-sized rookie contract. The short answer is we’ll see, because there are so many outside factors that make this very hard to predict.

M.S.: The yearly circus of asking underclassmen if they’ll declare for the NBA Draft and taking their answers for much more than they are occurred again last night. Tyler Lydon said he plans to return as of what, 20 minutes after his season ended? Nothing to read into there. And Malachi Richardson declined comment. Oh no! Does that mean he’s leaving? In the end, I think Lydon stays and Richardson goes. The former needs to get bigger and develop more of an outside game to fit the bill of the stretch four he’d likely be in the NBA. But Richardson, especially after showcasing his finishing ability and outside aerial display, will declare for the draft. The only question that remains is if he hires an agent or takes advantage of the new rule that would allow him to return if he doesn’t like his post-combine evaluation.

Published on April 6, 2016 at 1:17 am