Syracuse’s offseason reset has put a spotlight on the transfer portal, and no newcomer may matter more than Gavin Doty.
The Orange are coming off a rough 15-17 season that left them in 14th place in the ACC for the second straight year, a finish that helped trigger a coaching change. Adrian Autry is out, and former Syracuse star Gerry McNamara is back in western New York after his work with the Orange as both a player and assistant, plus his recent success at Siena.
That change has already reshaped the roster. Naithan George and Donnie Freeman entered the transfer portal, while Nate Kingz and JJ Starling are out of eligbility after both finished as double-digit scorers. Rising sophomores Kiyan Anthony and Sadiq White are the biggest returnees, but they’re not being asked to carry the load alone.
McNamara and his staff have brought in a mix of young talent and immediate help. Syracuse added several international frontcourt prospects, along with transfer pieces like Appalachian State center Luke Wilson, Temple guard Aiden Tobiason and McNeese State guard Garwey Dual, who looks like a candidate to handle point guard duties. McNamara also dipped back into Siena for young forward Francis Folefac.
Still, Doty stands out from the group.
A native of Fulton, New York, the 6-5 wing already knows McNamara’s approach from two seasons together at Siena. He cracked the starting lineup as a freshman and took another jump last year, when he averaged 18.0 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. That production earned him First Team All-MAAC honors, and he capped it by leading Siena’s postseason push as the MAAC Tournament MVP.
For Syracuse, that background matters. Doty arrives with a built-in understanding of what McNamara wants, and that should give him a major role right away in a lineup that now has real size and a lot of moving parts. The ACC is a different level, so matching that 18-point pace won’t be easy, but Doty has the skill set to become a central playmaker for this version of the Orange.
There’s still plenty to sort out before anyone can say exactly what this team will be. But after back-to-back 14th-place finishes, Syracuse has reason to believe it can climb out of that hole. How far it goes may come down to how quickly Doty and the other newcomers settle in - and whether Doty can step into the kind of leadership role that helped carry the Saints.
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