Aiden Tobiason didn’t need much time in mid-April to see where Syracuse fit into his future.
He and his family made the trip from Wilmington, Del. to Syracuse, heard Gerry McNamara’s pitch, and came away sold on the role the Orange wanted him to play. McNamara was looking for an outside threat who could also do damage inside the arc, and Tobiason fit that blueprint. A transfer commitment followed soon after.
That fit matters because Syracuse is counting on scoring, and Tobiason has already shown he can supply it. Last season at Temple, he scored in double figures in 27 of 32 games, averaged nearly 16 points a night, and topped 20 points seven times. He also boosted his scoring average by 10.5 points from his freshman year to his sophomore year, turning himself into one of the American Conference’s better scorers on a .500 Temple team.
Now he’s set to step into a bigger spotlight as the projected starter on the wing for a rebuilt Syracuse roster. The Orange will get an immediate test next Tuesday, Oct. 13, in their first of three exhibition road games, starting with UConn at 7:00 p.m. ET on UConn Sports+.
Tobiason, listed at 6-6 and 210 pounds with a nearly 7-foot wingspan, also got a taste of the next level at the May NBA G-League Combine. McNamara knew that event would put him against high-end athletes, and it gave Tobiason another chance to show the scoring versatility that helped make him such an appealing addition.
But this preseason, the part of his game that has been on his mind most isn’t just the shot. It’s the reads.
“I was playng point (guard) a lot over the summer, trying to make reads faster just playing more on the ball,” Tobiason explained Wednesday at ACC Tipoff in Charlotte.
He made clear that his offensive package isn’t changing, even as his responsibilities expand.
“I’m still going to shoot the three (34% from beyond the arc last season), still cut, get some dunks in there,” he added. “But I definately want to show I can be a playmaker.”
Tobiason’s path to this point started long before Syracuse. Out of St.
Elizabeth High School in Wilmington, he had about six Division I offers from lower-level programs. He also spent plenty of time on the golf course, learning from his father, Michael, an All-American golfer at nearby Division II Goldey-Beacom College who played professionally in the early 2000s.
That golf background even came up on stage at ACC Tipoff, where Trip Durham asked about his game. Tobiason told the audience that his 6-iron is “for sure” his best club, and said he can drive it “205-to-210” yards.
He’s now approaching his third college season with a clear understanding of what Syracuse fans want. Tobiason said the message from the fan base has been impossible to miss, and he feels it.
“Talking to the fans, they are really eager to have Syracuse back winning in March (the expanded NCAA field of 76) and back on the map, and I really feel compassion with them,” Tobiason said in Charlotte.
“Our whole team feels it,” he added. “It runs through our veins in practice. It is all about getting Syracuse back, to where Syracuse was.”
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Virginia enters with its own issues after recent losses and some defensive struggles, which gives Syracuse an opening if it can handle the details that have undone it in conference play. Both sides have enough uncertainty around them to make this a revealing game, especially for an Orange team that needs more than a single win to change the tone of its season. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse Defense Suddenly Has A Big Concern Before Virginia
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The Orange also had a special teams wrinkle to monitor, with kicker Tripp Woody marked doubtful and wide receiver Darien Williams ruled out. Virginia had its own injury note, with starting cornerback Omillio Agard listed as questionable, so both sides are waiting on final availability as kickoff approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse Must Build Around Amarri Monroe With His Status Still Unsettled
Amarri Monroes Syracuse future is on hold in the broader legal sense, but the Orange are preparing as if he is part of the rotation right now. The guard remains eligible to play because of a court injunction while he challenges the NCAAs 5-in-5 rule in a lawsuit, and Gerry McNamara has made clear the plan is to use him like any other key piece as the season unfolds.
The problem, of course, is that Monroes standing could shift again with the NCAA expected to appeal and no trial date on the calendar. That leaves Syracuse in a familiar sort of limbo, building around a player it wants on the floor while knowing his availability may still change at some point during the year. [Read more 🡒]