

As Syracuse gets closer to opening its 2017-18 season, we take a look at the best and worst case scenarios for each player.
Frank Howard
Best Case: Howard develops a reliable outside jumper and becomes a consistent distributor, while wreaking havoc with his length at the top of the zone.
Worst Case: Howard’s junior season mirrors his sophomore year, and he loses his starting point guard job to Geno Thorpe.
Geno Thorpe
Best Case: Thorpe steps into Andrew White’s shoes as a top ACC scorer and pushes himself into NBA draft consideration.
Worst Case: The guards around Thorpe don’t develop as quickly as hoped, and Thorpe is asked to take on too much of the burden like he did in his time at USF.
Tyus Battle
Best Case: Battle becomes Syracuse’s best scorer in the last five years and keeps Syracuse’s streak of first round NBA selections alive.
Worst Case: He struggles with his outside shot and isn’t quite ready to handle the alpha dog scoring role on the team.
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Howard Washington
Best Case: The heady point guard shows flashes of Tyler Ennis, always making the right pass and taking the smart shot as a backup point guard.
Worst Case: Washington is in over his head against bigger ACC guards and struggles to find a spot in the rotation.
Paschal Chukwu & Bourama Sidibe
Best Case: Chukwu and Sidibe form SU’s best 1-2 center punch since Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson, averaging a combined 3+ blocks per game.
Worst Case: Neither fully figures out the defensive scheme like Chinonso Obokoh and both struggle at everything on the offensive end outside of dunking.
Oshae Brissett, Matthew Moyer & Marek Dolezaj
Best Case: All three prove to have underrated offensive games and display a deft outside touch to ease the scoring burden from Thorpe and Battle. The trio also picks up the zone quickly and easily.
Worst Case: Their outside shots never materialize and all three get muscled around (Dolezaj is listed as 6’9″, 180) against bigger, stronger opponents in conference play.
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