The questions looming ahead of Syracuse’s 2019-20 season are larger than past years, but the holes provide new opportunities for six players who’ve waited to shine.
The pillars of Syracuse men’s basketball — Tyus Battle and Oshae Brissett — are gone, meaning Elijah Hughes has no choice but to be the leader it needs. Bourama Sidibe’s knees have always limited him in college, but the junior finally has his bounce back. And Quincy Guerrier knows he must make an immediate impact in his first collegiate season.
On the women’s side, Tiana Mangakahia, the pulse of Syracuse last year, will miss this season after a battle with breast cancer. In her place is Kiara Lewis, who's spent years waiting for a chance to be a lead guard, even though it’s not the path she imagined. Amaya Finklea-Guity is once again expected to start at the five, but she’s found solace in painting when her play strayed. And Elemy Colome, a graduate transfer from Rhode Island, needed to grow up before she could prove she’s more than just a streaky shooter.
Meet the new stars of Syracuse basketball in The Daily Orange’s annual Basketball Guide.
Thanks for reading.
KJ Edelman, Sports Editor
Five years after being the leading man as a junior on Kennedy Catholic high school’s varsity team, Elijah Hughes enters this Syracuse season as its most reliable and dangerous threat. He’s never led at a high level. But as the most talented upperclassman on a young Syracuse roster, he has no choice but to be the leader Syracuse needs.
Kiara Lewis’ time at Syracuse hasn’t gone how she imagined. After transferring from Ohio State and sitting out a year due to NCAA transfer rules, she backed up star point guard Tiana Mangakahia last season despite coming to SU to be the starter. Now, she finally has the chance she’s waited two years for.
We're tired of hearing the comments of where we are and how far we have fallen. We haven't fallen. We're ready to go. We're ready to play.
Quincy Guerrier’s support group from Thetford Academy built him into the player he’s poised to be for Syracuse this season. They all realized his potential, and instilled a training regimen that matched his personality. With Guerrier tabbed as SU’s lone freshman starter, the Orange are hoping the prep work pays off.
Throughout her collegiate career, Elemy Colome has struggled with immaturity. As one of her former coaches said, she didn’t understand the importance of practice at one point. Now at her third school in five years, Colome has to prove that her lack of discipline is in the past.
Bourama Sidibe’s spent the last two seasons injured. After spending two months at his home country in Mali, he feels the healthiest he’s been with the Orange. If Sidibe can be the explosive player he once was, he might be the answer to SU’s perplexing issues in the frontcourt.
Over the first decade of her life, Amaya Finklea-Guity and her mother, Paula, pinpointed two niches that became long-term commitments. Art was passed down through Paula’s fashion design dreams, basketball developed through YouTube videos and invisible defenders. As a junior in high school, the specialties meshed and created a Division-I basketball player who now holds the coveted position of a Syracuse center.