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When Miami forward Earl Timberlake made a floater over Jesse Edwards in the first half, head coach Jim Boeheim yelled at the sophomore center.

“Jesse, Up!”

Boeheim wanted Edwards to use his 7-foot length to alter shots in the middle of the zone, something he hadn’t done much in his limited appearances throughout the first portion of the season. If Edwards wanted more playing time, and if the Orange wanted to compete with bigger teams in the frontcourt, they’d need something — anything — from their backup center position.

One week after Boeheim said Edwards didn’t do enough to rebound against North Carolina, Edwards’ improved defense and rebounding flashed for Syracuse on Tuesday. For at least one game, Edwards filled the production hole at backup center on this Syracuse roster. He logged a career-high 23 minutes off the bench as Syracuse (8-4, 2-3 Atlantic Coast) bounced back from two consecutive conference losses to beat Miami (6-7, 2-5), 83-57, in the Carrier Dome.

He showed potential Tuesday night that could have major ramifications for the Orange’s frontcourt going forward. With each practice and game missed by Bourama Sidibe, the return of the Orange’s senior center seems less and less likely to happen soon, if at all this season. Marek Dolezaj has struggled to guard the center position and has failed to collect enough rebounds against conference teams they’ve played. Dolezaj can’t play 40 minutes every night.

“With Marek getting in foul trouble, Jesse was monstrous for us,” Boeheim said. “He did a great job in the middle. He’s still got a long way to go, but he rebounded it. Was a presence out there.”

Boeheim has tried both Frank Anselem and John Bol Ajak in the backup center role since Sidibe was injured in the opening minutes of the season-opener against Bryant. But Anselem and Ajak aren’t ready, Boeheim said, thus leaving Edwards as the option the team’s been trying to develop in practice. Although unsuccessful in games prior, Edwards showed what he can provide for the Orange in small spurts. Now, he has to repeat it, Boeheim said.

Jesse Edwards’ six rebounds were second highest on SU only to Quincy Guerrier against Miami. Courtesy of Dennis Nett, Syracuse.com

“We’ll hope that he’ll be good the next game,” Boeheim said. “You just don’t know. We’ll see what we can get out of him, and hope that he keeps improving and can be a factor in games.”

The Orange’s backup center still needs to improve his defensive positioning and footwork to avoid fouls, Boeheim said postgame. Edwards had four fouls on Tuesday.

But his ability to run the pick and roll with Joe Girard III or fellow point guard Kadary Richmond helped make him useful on offense. Edwards’ willingness to give Dolezaj a rest while scooping key rebounds raises the floor of the Orange’s roster — which appeared to be falling through the floor when the defense allowed 64 second-half points to Pittsburgh on Saturday.

When the Orange were in the midst of their 23-3 run midway through the first half, the Orange picked up an easy two on an Edwards’ dunk, the result of an inbound assist from Richmond. Edwards also made it to the free-throw line on two separate occasions, making two of his four free throws.

Miami jumped on Syracuse with a quick 11-2 lead, and SU was failing to match up with the high-low combo of Anthony Walker and Nysier Brooks. Walker scored multiple baskets from the free-throw line area, and Brooks hauled in multiple rebounds over Dolezaj early on. Edwards came in and wasn’t overmatched, as he’d been in parts of his freshman year and early sophomore year.

Even though the Hurricanes rank 18th in height nationally, the Orange were able to win the rebounding battle in part because of Edwards — whose six rebounds were second-highest on SU only to Quincy Guerrier.

Assistant coach Allen Griffin has worked with Edwards to try to improve his conditioning in recent weeks so that the freshman could play extended minutes. Given the multiple pauses and limited playing time, Boeheim said it’s hard to stay in game shape.

“This was by far the best that he’s played here, and he’s a young player,” Boeheim said.

A few possessions after Boeheim shouted from the bench, when Timberlake rose up for another floater in the lane, Edwards didn’t watch it float over his head this time. He blocked the Miami forward that spurned a Buddy Boeheim 3-pointer at the other end.

“We’re going to need him to do that moving forward if we want to be successful,” Girard said. “He’s a big reason why we won tonight.”

Published on January 20, 2021 at 12:22 am

Contact Anthony: amdabbun@syr.edu | @AnthonyDabbundo