The former Illinois transfer departs the Orange after one season
Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
The Syracuse Orange roster turnover continues for the men’s basketball team. At least this time, today’s news is not related to the transfer portal.
Adam Zagoria reported that Alan Griffin is set to enter the NBA Draft and is expected to sign with an agent. The Illinois transfer thus ends his Orange career after one season.
Syracuse’s Alan Griffin to enter NBA Draft.https://t.co/zbvA4Sn7rt
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) April 12, 2021
Griffin showed flashes of offensive brilliance with his three-point shooting for the Orange, recording eight 20-plus point games for Syracuse. However, his lack of knowledge with the zone fell him out of favor with Jim Boeheim as the coach favored more defense in tournament play. Griffin still finished the season averaging 13.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game on 36.1% shooting from three.
While his shooting was incredible at points for Syracuse, his defensive over-rotations and streaky scoring didn’t make him a reliable option down the stretch. After playing over 20 minutes in every regular season game except one for the Orange, Griffin didn’t play for more than 15 minutes in Syracuse’s final four games of the season.
Griffin becomes the sixth player to leave the program this offseason. John Bol Ajak, Robert Braswell, Kadary Richmond (Seton Hall), and Woody Newton entered the transfer portal, while Marek Dolezaj chose not to return to Syracuse for an extra season. Quincy Guerrier is also reportedly testing out his NBA Draft prospects, but it is understood that he hasn’t signed with an agent yet. That means, unlike Griffin, Guerrier could still return to the Orange next season.
Despite his decrease in minutes as the season ended, Syracuse still loses a frontcourt starter that at the bare minimum would’ve provided depth. The Orange enter the 2021-22 season with freshman Benny Williams and Villanova transfer Cole Swider as the only wing options in the 2-3 zone so far.
