Syracuse’s frontcourt has been a game-by-game question mark so far this season, lacking the muscle to dominate inferior opponents and the sheer size to truly compete against talented ones.

And with the Orange’s (10-3) nonconference schedule wrapped up, we now have a 13-game sample size of statistics to judge Tyler Roberson, Dajuan Coleman and Tyler Lydon off of.

While numbers never tell the full story, they do give a good indication of certain trends heading into Atlantic Coast Conference play. The Orange opens its ACC schedule at Pittsburgh (10-1) at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, and below are the best and worst stats for each of SU’s three rotational big men before the competition stiffens.

Tyler Roberson

Best stat: 23 offensive putbacks (Hoop Math)

Hoop Math considers a putback a made field goal within four seconds of an offensive rebound, and Roberson has made a living off of them so far this season. He finished with 34 total last year — he’s on pace to shatter that mark — and almost has half of Syracuse’s 51 total putbacks through 13 games. Dajuan Coleman is the only other Orange player with more than 10 (and only has 11), meaning Roberson is not only SU’s most effective second-chance scorer, but really its only one. This is a very important commodity for a perimeter-focused offense, especially on off shooting nights.

Worst stat: 14.4 defensive rebounding percentage (Kenpom)

Roberson’s 14.9 offensive rebounding percentage currently ranks fifth among ACC players, which makes his 14.4 defensive rebounding percentage all the more inexcusable. That ranks 38th among players in the conference, which means an average of more than two players per ACC team are better defensive rebounders than Roberson. In spurts, he is Syracuse’s most reliable rebounder and while it isn’t particularly easy to rebound in the 2-3 zone, he needs to be equally active on the offense and defensive glass moving forward.

Dajuan Coleman

Best stat: 82.6 percent, 19-for-23, from the free-throw line

Coleman’s team-best free-throw shooting percentage is a bit of a surprise, but it is worth noting that it’s come in limited opportunities as he plays around 15 minutes per game. He hasn’t been too keen in creating his own scoring opportunities against smaller opponent this season and doing so won’t get any easier in conference play. But if he can get to the line just a bit more consistently, free throws have proven a reliable points source for the center.

Worst stat: 16.5 defensive rebounding percentage (Kenpom)

Like Roberson, Coleman isn’t doing near enough for Syracuse on the defensive boards. And because rebounding percentage measures the amount of rebounds a player gets while on the floor, this number isn’t dragged down by Coleman’s limited minutes. If he did qualify for Kenpom’s leaderboards — you need to have a minutes percentage of 40 or higher — Coleman’s defensive rebounding percentage would rank 30th in the country. That’s very problematic for a starting center of a team that has little-to-no frontcourt depth and struggled immensely on the glass in nonconference play, most notably in back-to-back losses to Wisconsin and Georgetown.

 

 

Tyler Lydon 

Best stat: 8.67 blocks percentage (Kenpom)

Blocks percentage measures how many shots a player swats relative to his opportunities to do so, and Lydon currently ranks fifth among ACC players in it. This is especially important considering how often he’s played the center spot in the 2-3 zone so far this season. He’s often facing bigger offensive players in that spot, and it seems feasible that he can make up for his lack of strength with a shot-blocking ability that stems from his long arms and anticipatory instincts.

Worst stat: 14.3 usage percentage (Kenpom)

This isn’t necessarily Lydon’s fault, but he’s the least-used Syracuse scholarship player other than backup center Chinonso Obokoh. Kenpom’s usage percentage measures the amount of possessions a player ends with a made shot, turnover or missed shot rebounded by the opposing team. Lydon is shooting a team-high 47.2 percent from 3 (17-for-36) and he is shooting third best from the field at 51.8 percent (29-for-56). These high percentages are in limited opportunities, and I’m not suggesting his usage rate climb as high as Michael Gbinije’s (23.7), Trevor Cooney’s (20.4) or Malachi Richardson’s (22), but it should be closer to those given how efficiently he’s shot the ball this season.

Published on December 29, 2015 at 9:07 am

Contact Jesse: jcdoug01@syr.edu | @dougherty_jesse