Sportsbook odds next season on the Syracuse Orange are going to be different as the team will not have their best player returning. Wesley Johnson, the Big East player of the year will enter the NBA Draft. Johnson was a major reason why Syracuse had a lot of success vs. the sportsbook odds this past college basketball season.
Sportsbook statistics indicated that Johnson averaged 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game for the Orange. He is expected to be a top five pick in the NBA Draft. He spent just two years at Syracuse and played only one season for the team. Johnson said that leaving for the NBA was not an easy decision. “It was a very hard decision to make,” Johnson said, “Syracuse has really embraced me. I finally had a place I could call home.” Johnson played at Iowa State for two years before transferring to Syracuse.
The Orange finished this past season at 30-5 overall. They won the Big East regular season title and made it to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament. Johnson was a major reason they made it that far. Johnson is going to make a lot of money in the NBA but he nearly decided to return to Syracuse. “I went back and forth daily,” he said, “I didn’t want to leave Syracuse. I love it here. But the NBA’s my dream.” Scouts are predicting that Johnson will go within the first five NBA picks in the draft this summer.
Syracuse was successful both straight up this past season and against the odds at the sportsbook. The Orange were 21-10 vs. the point spread and that was one of the better marks in college basketball last year. Those numbers are likely to fall next season. Syracuse will be losing Johnson in addition to Andy Rautins and Arinze Onuaku. Those three players were the top three for the Orange this past season and replacing them will not be easy. Head coach Jim Boeheim is an excellent recruiter but this was a special Syracuse team that will not be easy to match. Replacing Johnson is next to impossible so look for Syracuse to take a fall next season in the Big East Conference. The Big East is a tough conference and Syracuse doesn’t figure to be the favorites next season vs. the sportsbook odds to win the title.
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