After working its way to a ranking, the Orange was bounced in the first round of both the Atlantic coast and NCAA Tournaments. This season, SU is in a completely different spot. Last year, the Orange came into the year having lost eight players from the season prior. This year’s Syracuse squad is all about its additions as it returns all five players from last year’s starting lineup.

Here’s how our beat writers expect the season to go.

Nick Alvarez
Deep dive
Record: 22-7
MVP: Tiana Mangakahia
X-Factor: Emily Engstler

Syracuse was one elite player away from being a force in the NCAA Tournament last season. Mangakahia drove the team in a breakout year and SU expects her to do that again. The key for her will be to reign in her “instinctive nature,” associate head coach Vonn Read said. The Orange hope that bringing in a fresh batch of newcomers will relieve the pressure off their star. Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi and Marie-Paule Foppossi bring much-needed depth and the 6-footers will complement returning starters Digna Strautmane and Amaya Finklea-Guity. Engstler, though, is the deciding factor between a tournament run and another first-round exit. If the top-10 recruit adjusts and finds her way in a crowded frontcourt, I wouldn’t be surprised if head coach Quentin Hillsman ends his 12th season with another Final Four banner.

Eric Black
All of the pieces
Record: 23-6
MVP: Tiana Mangakahia
X-Factor: Kadiatou Sissoko

Predicting the Orange for 23 wins may be too stingy. Yes, they’re returning all five starters from a 22-win team last season, but this year’s squad is so much more than the players who begin the game. Isis Young and Raven Fox, the top two players off the bench last season, are also back. Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi is poised to surprise after redshirting last season and will provide Syracuse a strong scoring option in the post. As for true freshmen, Emily Engstler’s received most of the attention, and deservedly so. But Sissoko is the player I’m watching this season. She’s a guard in a forward’s body, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she makes an impact early, both offensively and defensively. This team is two deep at every position, can utilize multiple different styles of play and has a ceiling as high as any team in the ACC.

Michael McCleary
Talent management
Record: 24-5
MVP: Tiana Mangakahia
X-Factor: Reserve guard play

Last season, the Orange relied on Mangakahia for a lot. Not that she didn’t respond, though. She put up 17.5 points per game. She dished a country-leading 10.2 assists. But the then-sophomore turned the ball over 176 times. Mangakahia acknowledged that extra help on the ball could pay dividends to her on-court stamina, which may lead to fewer turnovers. The Orange already project to be strong in the paint with Digna Strautmane and Amaya Finklea-Guity returning, and by adding Emily Engstler and Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi, but the secondary ball-handler behind Mangakahia is still SU’s biggest question mark. Syracuse has high hopes for 6-foot-1 freshman Kadiatou Sissoko, who Mangakahia has labeled as a player who surprised her. If she is as good as the Orange project, SU has the pieces to go on a long tournament run.

Published on November 4, 2018 at 8:24 pm