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Marek Dolezaj caught the entrance pass from Kadary Richmond, pivoted left and paused. Five minutes remained in the first half of Syracuse’s season-opener against Bryant, and Dolezaj had been thrust into the Orange’s center position after starter Bourama Sidibe exited with an injury. 

Center wasn’t a new role for Dolezaj — it was one he played sparingly last year when foul trouble plagued Sidibe. Just two minutes prior, after a similar entrance and pivot, Dolezaj kicked the ball out to Buddy Boeheim on the left wing for a 3-pointer that gave Syracuse a 34-32 lead over the Bulldogs. This time, though, he faked a pass to Boeheim, continued pivoting and banked an elbow jumper off the backboard and in, snapping a tie.

Dolezaj’s transition layup on the next possession extended that lead to four, flashing a third element of how he lifted Syracuse’s (1-0) offense in its 85-84 escape on Friday. Behind a 20-point, nine-assist and six-rebound performance, Dolezaj also served as the center of Syracuse’s 2-3 zone on the defensive end after Sidibe’s injury thinned the Orange’s rotation. Backup centers Jesse Edwards and Frank Anselem — a sophomore and freshman, respectively — weren’t ready for increased roles, Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said after the game. SU was forced to deploy combinations that at times included three guards.

If the Orange are forced to adapt without Sidible, who will undergo an MRI on Friday night, then its smaller lineup, with Dolezaj at center, could become their solution as nonconference play continues.

“(Marek’s) our best center, he knows what to do in there,” Boeheim said. “He’s our best defensive center.”

After Sidibe subbed out for the final time with 15:37 remaining in the first half, Quincy Guerrier entered back in with Richmond. Guerrier and Alan Griffin played the majority of minutes on the left and right blocks, but the pair were late on closeouts early in the first half as Bryant’s Nathanial Strokes and Chris Childs both hit 3-pointers from the corner. 

And for 10 seconds in the first half, when Dolezaj and Griffin subbed out for Joe Girard III and Anselem, Syracuse operated with Buddy, Girard and Richmond on the floor at once. Nearly all of those combinations and offensive adjustments were anchored by Dolezaj, who played 37 minutes, in the center spot.

“I don’t think about center or forward,” Dolezaj said. “Just going to play the spot and try to get stops.”

Boeheim stuck with his lineup of Girard, Buddy, Griffin, Guerrier and Dolezaj for the first 15 minutes of the second half, not making a sub until Edwards checked in for Dolezaj — though 90 seconds later, that lineup combination was back together. Across five combined minutes, Anselem and Edwards finished a combined -13.

“Our young centers were not ready for this game,” Boeheim said. “They’ve got five guards out there most of the time, or four guards, and it’s difficult for them in this game. They’ll be better against bigger teams but not in this game.”

Both Dolezaj and Sidibe bring different approaches to the center position. Sidibe, with his 6-foot-10 frame, finished 59th in the country last season with a 7.60 block percentage, according to KenPom. He ranked third in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 12.6 offensive rebounding percentage and grabbed one early in the first half against Bryant, drawing a foul.

Dolezaj, also with a 6-foot-10 frame, finished 327th (3.4) in block percentage and has relied on an ability to disrupt crosscourt passes when the offense tried to switch from one side to the other, said Richard Duris, one of Dolezaj’s Slovakia national team coaches, two weeks before the season-opener. Against Bryant, Boeheim said Dolezaj took away the lob pass.

“He knocked the ball away, he plays his position, keeps them from getting where they need to go,” Boeheim said. “So many things you don’t see.”

On offense, Dolezaj tallied a career-high nine assists and became the go-to pass for Syracuse to crack Bryant’s “tricky” defense. He was the only SU player that could navigate the middle of that zone, Boeheim said. Buddy dumped the ball into Dolezaj with under six minutes left, and he twisted his elbows before finding an open Girard at the top of the key for a 3-pointer. 

The next Orange possession, Dolezaj, again playing facilitator, lobbed a push-in for Guerrier off the glass to keep Syracuse within a basket.

“We might not have gotten to the wire unless Marek played center,” Boeheim said.

As Bryant raced up the court with just over a minute left, Dolezaj hovered in the middle of the Syracuse paint. The Orange clung to a one-point lead, and when Michael Green III turned the corner and drove in the left lane, Dolezaj took a step forward.

He forced Green’s dump-off pass to Peter Kiss on the left block, for what would’ve been an open layup, but the ball bounced off his hands and flew out of bounds.

Syracuse’s latest center — for now, and maybe for a bit — had disrupted another play.

Published on November 27, 2020 at 7:14 pm

Contact Andrew: arcrane@syr.edu | @CraneAndrew