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The Syracuse Orange men's basketball program officially began its 2012-13 season Friday as it hosted media day inside the universities' Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center. The event feature head coach Jim Boeheim speaking about the upcoming season, players being hounded by reporters and a photo shoot.
Though, there was a lot to dissect from media day there was one clear-cut story that many reporters were focusing on -- redshirt freshman Trevor Cooney.
All over the place, Syracuse basketball media members were asking about the 6'4, 195-pound guard who sat out last season because there was no room for him on the jam-packed roster, which featured two NBA first-round draft picks, a second-rounder plus a pair of two- and three-year starters at the guard positions.
However, Friday was Cooney's debut to the SU hoops world and I got a chance to talk with him and assistant coach Gerry McNamara -- the coach who closely worked with him throughout the offseason -- about the upcoming year.
Right away, Cooney is expected to help fill the voids of SU's four key losses, including guard Dion Waiters (12.6 points per game), forward Kris Joseph (13.4 ppg) and guard Scoop Jardine. Last season, all three of those players were the Orange's 3-point shooting threats -- all averaged close to three 3-point attempts per game.
Coming out of high school, the Wilmington, DE native was ranked the 64th-best player in the Class of 2011 according to ESPN Recruiting Services. ESPN called Cooney, "one of the elite shooters in the country," who's shot is, "crisp with a high release."
Its still unclear if Boeheim will use Cooney as a starter or as a spark off the bench. Its seems the latter will be the case, as SU's backcourt features three-year starter Brandon Triche and former McDonald's All-American Michael Carter Williams, who's already been rated one of the top 50 players in the country by CBS Sports.
Syracuse begins regular season play, Nov. 9, on the deck of the U.S.S. Midway in San Diego, CA. The Orange will play the San Diego St. Aztecs in the "Battle on the Midway," a game scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET.