Syracuse Loses Another Player

The Syracuse Orange basketball team has been dwindling down over the past few weeks with departures of a number of players including swing forward B.J. Johnson and guard Ron Patterson.  But it doesn't stop there for the Orange.

Today, Syracuse freshmen star Chris McCullough announced he has committed to entering the upcoming NBA draft instead of returning to the Orange.  McCullough had led on over the last few weeks that he was considering staying in school.

Before tearing his ACL 16 games into the season, McCullough was averaging 9.3 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per game.  He was also projected as a possible top-10 pick as well, but the injury to his knee will definitely affect his stock.  McCullough is now projected as a late first-round pick or early second-round pick.

With an immense amount of upside, the 6-10 forward will certainly draw interest from a number of teams.  But what does this do for the Orange?

This kills their chances of competing in the ACC next season.  The Orange currently have the fourth rated recruiting class coming into next season with a possibility of adding a few more players due to the transfers of Johnson and Patterson.

If he had returned, McCullough would have been the go-to player for a Syracuse team that will really need to rely on scoring the ball with the loss of senior center Rakeem Christmas.

Syracuse will need another scorer.  Incoming freshmen Malachai Richardson will be looked to more often on the offensive end, but this team will run off of experienced players like Michael Gbinije and Trevor Cooney with hopes that DeJuan Coleman bounces back and contributes as well.