College basketball: Renewed energy greets Syracuse men's squad for 2022-23 season
Oct. 15—SYRACUSE — There was a fresh energy surrounding the Syracuse University basketball media day, both from men's coach Jim Boeheim entering his 47th season and fellow alum Felisha Legette-Jack approaching her debut campaign guiding the women's team.
Both coaches and their respective players met formally with media for the first time ahead of the upcoming season on Friday at the Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center.
The number of new faces and changing identities within each program dominated discussion before the teams left for Orange Tipoff with scrimmages and fan events afterward at the JMA Wireless Dome.
FRESHMEN highlight SU MEN CHANGES
Boeheim spoke at length regarding his six-player freshman class, plans to mix man-to-man defense back into his game plans, and utilizing a deep bench among the major changes creating intrigue for the upcoming year.
The Orange will begin with an exhibition game against NCAA Division II Indiana (Pa.)University on Oct. 25 in the Dome and open the regular season, hosting Lehigh on Nov. 7.
The expanded rookie class are all ready to contribute, according to Boeheim, for a unit he expects to be more reliant on slashing, athleticism, and depth than the outside shooting squads of recent years.
Judah Mintz is expected to start at point guard while fellow freshmen Chris Bunch and Justin Taylor appear to be in line for significant forward minutes. Quadir Copeland, Maliq Brown, and Peter Carey are also vying to make immediate contributions.
"There's a new energy around the program, the past few years, we haven't had some of the athletes that we have this year," said returning senior Joe Girard III, expected to shift from point to shooting guard in the first unit.
"This is a big freshman class but they're all really competitive, really athletic, they all bring a new dimension to the team," he continued. "We're looking forward to playing a fast pace but getting some good stops on defense as well."
Boeheim also confirmed plans to mix defenses this year after playing exclusively in the 2-3 zone for the past decade-plus.
"We'll play both defenses," Boeheim said. "We've done that my first 30 years so it's not like this is new for me, we've done that, and some of those years we played 50-50, some of them were 75-25 man-to-man, and 75-25 zone. You don't know until you play."
LEGETTE-JACK INSTILLING HOPE
New SU women's basketball coach Felisha Legette-Jack — whose No. 33 was retired by the program last November — took the podium to display the passion and enthusiasm that led eight players to join her via the transfer portal along with three freshmen and four returners.
Legette-Jack concluded her first official media appearance of the new season with the promise of eventually "cutting down the last net in April," and encouraging the community to jump on for the start of that journey.
"We've already won, and we're doing it in the foxhole and we're going to tell our story," Legette-Jack stated. "Syracuse is alive and well. The light is on, hope is here, and we're going in and we're going in hard.
Among the host of newcomers formally introduced by the team, senior guard Dyaisha Fair, was one of four players that followed Legette-Jack from UB to SU along with several assistant coaches.
"You would love to have your head coach have the courage and the confidence in us, so with her having that confidence in us, it just feels like we can do anything in the world," said Fair, the Rochester native and expected starter.
The SU women's team is slated to host Division II Le Moyne for an exhibition Nov. 3 at the Dome and will tip off the regular season against Stony Brook on Nov. 7 in the same location.
