We'd kind of figured it by now, but now the confirmation is in: Chris McCullough will be back for his second season at SU.
Big -- albeit not surprising -- news this afternoon/evening: Syracuse forward Chris McCullough will return for his sophomore season with the basketball team. He confirmed his return to SU while speaking with Syracuse.com's Donna Ditota about his recovery from knee surgery and plans for the future (including coming back this fall).
Sharing his current situation with Ditota, he seemed to make quick work of confirming his return -- though not until December 1, apparently. And provided some additional updates on where his current timetable sits. He's been working with the Orange's strength and conditioning staff to strengthen his knee, which needed surgery following an ACL tear in January. McCullough was cleared to start upper body weight lifting last week, and should be running by summer, according to him. The December 1 start date is based on his own feedback, so take it with a grain of salt until we get into the summer and start hearing about his progress. As we know, it's not the best idea to rush things with injuries to big men...
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So that's definitely good news for the Orange, who hope to be eligible for the postseason again in 2015-16, and live up to what should be top-5-/10 potential, nationally. McCullough's return certainly helps that, and confirms that unless there's some other surprise departure, Syracuse will have everyone back next year except for Rakeem Christmas. Yes, those are some tough shoes to fill -- but with a much more experienced squad in the fold next year, it'll certainly be a little easier to do so. At one point, McCullough was thought to be an NBA Lottery pick, but obviously that talk cooled down significantly following his injury.
Good luck with your recovery, Chris! Happy to have you back in orange for another year!
