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The Syracuse Orange had an up-and-down year during the 2023-24 season, their first under coach Adrian Autry following the retirement of long-time coach Jim Boeheim. They finished 20-12, with an 11-9 record in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
Judah Mintz, who led the team in scoring last season, has declared for the 2024 NBA Draft, forgoing his remaining college eligibility. Additionally, Syracuse has lost several players to the transfer portal, but they will return several key players. Take a look at the top five players returning to the Orange next season.
Top five basketball players returning to the Syracuse Orange for 2024-25 season
#1: JJ Starling
JJ Starling is the top player returning to the Syracuse Orange from last season's roster.
The five-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class spent the first year of his collegiate career with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish before joining the Orange via the transfer portal ahead of the 2023-24 season.
He averaged 13.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.2 blocks per game while shooting 45.8% from the field, 32.4% from the 3-point range and 71.4% from the free-throw line.
#2: Chris Bell
Chris Bell joined the Syracuse Orange as a four-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class.
He averaged 12.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.7 blocks per game while shooting 43.4% from the field, 42.0% from the 3-point range and 84.2% from the free-throw line.
#3: Naheem McLeod
Naheem McLeod spent the first year of his collegiate career playing for the Chipola College Indians, a junior college, before spending the following two seasons with the Florida State Seminoles.
He joined the Syracuse Orange via the transfer portal ahead of the 2023-24 season. McLeod averaged 3.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 0.1 assists, 0.2 steals and 1.9 blocks in just 14.6 minutes per game while shooting 59.4% from the field and 69.6% from the free-throw line.
#4: Kyle Cuffe
Kyle Cuffe originally joined the Kansas Jayhawks as a four-star prospect in the 2021 recruiting class.
After redshirting his true freshman season and playing just six minutes in 2022-23 due to injury, he joined the Syracuse Orange via the transfer portal.
He averaged 3.2 points, 1.0 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.5 steals and 0.2 blocks in just 10.8 minutes per game while shooting 40.7% from the field, 34.0% from the 3-point range and 46.2% from the free-throw line.
#5: Niko Ruffin
Niko Ruffin joined the Syracuse Orange as an unranked walk-on prospect in the 2021 recruiting class.
He appeared in just two games last season, averaging 2.0 points and 0.5 rebounds in 2.0 minutes per game while shooting 50.0% from the field and 50.0% from the 3-point range.
