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Syracuse entered this season with uncertainty. With 12 transfers, the current Orange roster is made up of players who donned another Division I jersey one season ago.

Rebuilding with a more experienced core seemed to be the clear pathway toward a successful season, with four of its starters and six of its top shooters from the field leaving the program. But with Syracuse projected to finish 13th in the 15-team Atlantic Coast Conference, per the Blue Ribbon Panel — 10 spots below last season’s projection — acting head coach Vonn Read knew the Orange had to quickly find its chemistry to make an early impression on the court.

“We don’t have a lot of true size inside, but we do have some athleticism and some quickness. So we’ll try and utilize that and exploit it,” Read said on Nov. 9, a day prior to the season opener.

Syracuse (3-4, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) hasn’t found its chemistry yet, but it has been able to build off its gained experience and overall shooting consistency. The Orange’s 3-point shooting has become the most effective area of their game. As SU approaches the toughest part of its schedule, it should rely mostly on its shots from deep, a unit that ranks 62nd in the nation with 7.7 3s per game.

“I am confident in our team’s ability to make 3s,” Read said. “We are a guard dominated team, so we’ve just got more players out on the floor that can make them.”

Of Syracuse’s seven transfers, four of them led their former schools in 3-point shooting. Jayla Thornton led Howard with a 32.9%, the fourth-highest in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference from players with at least 50 attempts. Alaina Rice and Najé Murray led Auburn and Texas Tech, respectively, among shooters with at least 40 shot attempts from beyond the arc. At Kansas State, Christianna Carr’s shot 35% from deep averaging 2.3 a game tying her for third-best in the Big 12.

The numbers make Chrislyn Carr’s team-leading 42.4% success rate from beyond the arc an outlier. Chrislyn took 18 3-pointers in five appearances last year with Texas Tech, connecting on eight of them. She’s matched that same percentage through seven games with the Orange on nearly double the attempts, shooting 14-for-33 from long, is 48th in the country with at least 30 attempts.

“Coming (into the season), everybody knew that we were able to shoot individually, but how we were going to put that together was going to be the biggest question.” Christianna said. 

Initially, Chrislyn was the focal point of Read’s strategy to beat teams with speed. At just 5-foot-5, Chrislyn has shown pace to compensate for what she lacks in size. She’s been the most effective player charging into the paint, barreling through opposing defenses and sinking crucial 2s. Against Monmouth — where Syracuse scored 42 points off turnovers — she was the Orange’s main passing option in transition, capitalizing on the Hawks’ 33 turnovers by quickly rushing into an empty opposition’s zone and bank in easy layups.

Her style of play fits right into the changes Read has implemented to Syracuse’s offense early on. Injuries have limited the Orange’s options off the bench, which has restricted their options to bring in players with size. The team has already been playing without a main post player, which has forced Read to shift players outside of the paint for a 5-out motion offense.

“We don’t have anybody that we can throw the ball inside to,” Read said. “We’re doing a lot of driving and kicking … and we’re getting good shots on the perimeter.”

This tactic offers a positionless offense, allowing players to move more freely in the opposition’s zone — primarily setting up around the perimeter of the arc — with two players set up on each wing. The ball carrier, which in Syracuse’s case has been Teisha Hyman or Chrislyn, dribbles up to the top of the arc before passing the ball around. The system has set up a majority of the Orange’s 166 3-point attempts.

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But Syracuse finds a gap in the opposing defense, its speed along with the 5-out motion offense creates a variety of shooting options. The Orange can drive directly through the paint for a close-range 2 point jumper or even a layup. More commonly, the ball carrier dribbles into the gap, drawing defenders positioned at the wing inside. It opens up a clear window to dish the ball to a player posted on the wing for an open look from deep.

After a slow start against Colgate, Syracuse went on a 9-0 run to take its first lead of the game late in the first quarter. Seven of those points were scored by Chrislyn, including a crucial 3 to cap the lead off. 

Alaysia Styles rebounded the ball in Syracuse’s end and immediately kick-started the fastbreak with a pass to Hyman as her teammates set up around the arc. Hyman drove into the paint and kicked the ball out to Chrislyn who sunk the 3-pointer that put the Orange up 20-16. Syracuse would go on to win by 22 points.

“They know that our guards and our posts want to get downhill, so I think they’re more focused on our help in and our ability to attack, so that will open up the kick-outs,” Christianna said. 

32.7 percent of Syracuse’s 496 points so far have come from beyond the arc, which ranks 81st in the country. Meanwhile, its opponents have scored just 53 3-pointers, a conversion rate ranking 341st in the country. The Orange have scored more 3s than their opponents in four games so far, only getting outscored through their three straight losses at Battle 4 Atlantis.

Still, against Buffalo to the end the tournament, Syracuse stayed in the game early through its nine 3-pointers. But the Bulls managed 13 3s and the Orange were often caught in transition against a faster UB squad. SU only scored once from deep in the second half.

But with ACC play resuming at the end of the month, Syracuse’s players believe the only way it can contend with its toughest opponents of the season is through becoming a 3-point shooting team.

“Things are finally starting to open up,” Christianna said. “Everyone’s starting to see us put it together one-by-one and find each other good shots and good areas.”

Published on December 1, 2021 at 10:53 pm

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