Transfer forward Jyare Davis commits to Syracuse

The grad transfer will look to bring some immediate stability to Syracuse’s frontcourt.

William Bretzger-Delaware News Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Despite facing a wave of departures at the forward spot, the Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team locked in a commitment for a crucial transfer forward who could potentially serve a prominent role in Adrian Autry’s second season.

Jyare Davis, a six-foot-seven forward who has played three seasons with the Delaware Blue Hens, is committing to the Orange for the 2024-25 season.

Across three years and 94 games with Delaware, Davis averaged 14.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. Davis committed to the Orange shortly after he officially visited campus this past weekend.

Davis was the leading scorer for Delaware and finished seventh in points per game in the Coastal Athletic Association during the 2023-24 season. The grad transfer is a two-time All-CAA selection (second team in 2023-24 and third team in 2022-23).

As mentioned earlier, you imagine that Davis will see a sizable role in Autry’s rotation given his decision to join Syracuse. With the departures of both Maliq Brown and Justin Taylor, the Orange lost both of their main starting forwards from last season and entered this offseason desperately needing some more help at the forward spot.

Davis will certainly bring at least some scoring pop to the table after averaging more than 15 PPG in each of his last two years. While he is nowhere near an above-average perimeter shooter (career 24.6% from three on 1.4 attempts per game), he shot 81.4% from the free throw line on roughly five attempts a game last year (both career-highs) and gives Syracuse more of an offensive interior/post presence.

Outside of Davis, Autry has also landed a transfer portal commitment from former Colorado center Eddie Lampkin Jr.

Where Davis fits in Autry’s rotation is certainly an interesting question. As someone entering his fourth year in college basketball, you’d expect Davis to potentially be either a very fringe starter or serve as a high-minute player off the bench similar to Copeland’s role last year.

In addition to Davis, Autry will have some versatility and optionality to work with at the frontcourt. Along with Davis, forwards Chris Bell and Chance Westry are currently still on the roster, while promising five-star McDonalds All-American forward Donnie Freeman also entering the fold shortly.

At 6-7 and 215 lbs., Davis should be playing most of his minutes at three. If Autry drops him down to play the four, he could be paired with Freeman or any of the three current centers on next year’s roster — Lampkin Jr., Naheem McLeod and Will Patterson.

Despite an initial amount of departures, Syracuse added its second transfer and Davis’ commitment could turn into a valuable one should he transition well into the program.