Looking Ahead

Now that the college hoops season is over, it is time to start looking ahead to what is in store for Syracuse next year.  Rick Jackson will probably be the only major contributor to leave since he is a senior, so the team should have their core group intact for a run next year.  Kris Joseph is in line to become the next senior leader on the team, with Scoop and Brandon Triche also needing to play bigger roles.  With a year of high-level competition under his belt, Fab Melo now knows what is expected of him if he wants to see the floor more, and hopefully he will show up in shape and ready to work next season.  The player I am going to be keeping my eyes on is C.J. Fair.  That dude went hard every minute he was on the floor and is a scrapper who is freaky athletic for his size and crashes the boards with reckless abandon.  I am sure coach Boeheim was impressed with his play and will increase his minutes.  The team has an exciting freshman class coming in, with the highly touted and number 1 rated center Rakeem Christmas headlining the class.  Christmas is a talented shot-blocker who, along with Melo, should be able to cause problems at the rim for just about any team.  I would say things are looking up for the team, and with the NFL lockout already in full swing and an NBA lockout looming, all eyes might be on the campus hardwood come next season.