OMAHA, Neb. — Sitting in the chair in front of his locker, Oshae Brissett discussed the future of his college career minutes after Syracuse’s run ended in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

“As of right now in my mind,” he said, “I’m coming back next year for another season.”

Brissett broke out during his freshman season for the No. 11 seed Orange (23-14, 8-10 Atlantic Coast), one that ended on Friday night in a 69-65 loss to No. 2 seed Duke (29-7, 13-5) at CenturyLink Center. He finished the loss with 15 points, seven rebounds and a pair of steals on 5-of-15 shooting. In just one season, the forward that ranks sixth in the country in minutes per game has grown into a playmaker both in the paint and from beyond the arc. But along with his marginal improvements offensively, Brissett’s draft stock has also seen a similar jump.

“You obviously hear it when people tag you in stuff,” Brissett said. “Whole lot of draft boards … It is tough because I’m always on my phone but I just try to forget about it and think about what I have in front of me, which is this team.”

Brissett, a 6-foot-8, 210-pound forward, finished his freshman season averaging 14.9 points and a team-high 8.8 rebounds per game. He often attacked the paint and drew multiple fouls per game — he went 5-for-6 from the charity stripe Friday —  and even finished first on the team with a 33-percent clip from 3.

Not a highly-touted recruit, Brissett found himself outside the Top 100 in 247sports.com’s and ESPN’s Class of 2017 rankings. But the do-it-all freshman quickly became an integral part of the Orange’s rotation, especially as the season progressed.

“Oshae has grown so much just from the summer to now,” SU sophomore Tyus Battle said. “It’s been a lot of hard work especially with coach (Adrian Autry) … Just to see him in the Tournament averaging 18 and 10, it’s amazing.”

Against Clemson, in a must-win game, Brissett finished with a team-high 17 points. He added six rebounds, three blocks and a pair of steals in the 55-52 win. Then, after Syracuse made the NCAA Tournament, he exploded for a game-high 23 points and 12 rebounds on 7-of-15 shooting to lift SU over Arizona State in a play-in game.

Brissett has grown from a new freshman into a veteran in Syracuse’s seven-man rotation. And with three prospects joining the Orange next year, Brissett will likely need to step up as a sophomore leader.

“The guys that are coming in next year,” Brissett said, “I feel like I need to educate them and let them know a lot about how the season should be.”

Published on March 24, 2018 at 2:06 am

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