Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

Freshman forward Benny Williams will miss the remainder of Syracuse’s season with a lower-body injury, according to SU Athletics. 

Williams sustained the injury in Syracuse’s 88-79 overtime loss to North Carolina on Monday — where he played eight minutes and recorded two fouls while going 0-for-1 from the field — and he’ll finish his freshman season averaging 1.9 points and 1.4 rebounds per game. Williams played 333 minutes, an average of 11.5 per game, and faced constant criticism from head coach Jim Boeheim for mistakes, both defensively and offensively, that he committed during those limited minutes.

He played 16 or more minutes in Syracuse’s first four games, but then his minutes gradually fell as conference play neared. After the Orange defeated Florida State on Dec. 4, 2021, Boeheim said that “Benny’s just not ready right now.” Three weeks later, after the Orange’s win against Brown, Boeheim said he wanted Williams to stop taking fadeaway jump shots on offense and instead should use his 6-foot-8 frame to his advantage and drive to the basket.

“We’re trying to work with Benny to try to get him the ball down low, but he tries to go out to the perimeter and dribble against (6-foot-4) guys,” Boeheim said on Dec. 29. “So he’s got to use his size and get closer to the basket.”

Less than a week ago, though, Williams logged his longest appearance yet against then-No. 7 Duke, when he played 30 minutes and scored 14 points. He opened with a reverse layup, cutting backdoor behind Duke’s defense, and he made four other shots the rest of the game while playing most of the second half, as Cole Swider and Jimmy Boeheim combined for just 34 minutes.

“I think he can be a good player,” Boeheim said on Saturday. “He’s got to learn how to play the system, and he’s got to play harder. He’s got to rebound, he’s got to go get the ball. He can do that, but it’s just not there this year. And that happens a lot.”

Williams joined the Orange as a five-star commit out of Bowie, Maryland, and IMG Academy, and he grew nearly a foot in high school, allowing him to expand his basketball toolbox and begin to unlock his potential. ESPN ranked him the No. 32 overall prospect in his class, and he joined Syracuse’s roster as the only freshman on scholarship — sliding into a reserve forward role behind Swider and Jimmy.

But now, his injury could leave the Orange without three of their rotation players heading into the ACC Tournament next week in Brooklyn, with thinned depth at both the guard and forward positions. Jesse Edwards suffered a season-ending wrist fracture against Boston College, and Symir Torrence missed Monday’s game against the Tar Heels after suffering a head injury against the Blue Devils. Torrence’s status, at this point, remains unclear for SU’s first tournament game on Wednesday, where it’ll face Florida State at noon.

Published on March 3, 2022 at 5:10 pm

Contact Andrew: arcrane@syr.edu | @CraneAndrew