One of two pieces of good news we’ve been waiting for.
Two questions have been hanging over the Syracuse Orange men’s basketball program for at least a week or so. One: Is Tyus Battle coming back? And maybe even more critically: Will Oshae Brissett be returning to SU for his sophomore season.
On Sunday, we learned the answer to the latter query -- and it was the positive news we’d been hoping for.
As he states himself, Brissett is back for “year two” in orange and has some unfinished business to tend to. That’s earning a better spot in the NBA Draft for 2019, sure. But more than that, it’s a greater goal for Syracuse basketball to accomplish while he’s on campus.
In year one at SU, Brissett averaged 14.9 points per game and 8.8 rebounds while shooting 35.4 percent from the floor and 33.1 percent from three. He obviously has the physical tools to one day excel at the next level, and the hype train really got going on his draft prospects after he closed the season scoring 15 or more in five straight games (including 23 against Arizona State).
While Battle was the leading scorer for Syracuse this year, Brissett is the key to the team’s inside game and has upside from beyond the arc as well. If Syracuse is able to surpass this year’s Sweet 16 trip, that process starts with Brissett taking a couple (reasonable) steps forward.
Welcome back, Oshae! Looking forward to seeing you in orange once again.
