At Syracuse’s first media availability of the season, Quentin Hillsman clasped the wooden podium with his hands and tilted his head to the right. As he surveyed his players, he could visually see the difference between this year’s roster compared to last year’s.

His eyes traveled from his old forwards last year — 6-foot-4 Amaya Finklea-Guity, 6-foot-2 Digna Strautmane and, by necessity, 5-foot-8 Raven Fox — to the newcomers who will “balance” his 3-point heavy offense: 6-foot-2 Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi and 6-foot-1 Emily Engstler.

“We have a lot of depth this year that’s going to play faster,” Hillsman said, “… I think we really opened our offense up and (are) adding presence to those two that we already had.”

No. 18 Syracuse (1-1), through three first-year players, has developed a height in its offense it didn’t have a year ago. The recruitment of Engstler and Kadiatou Sissoko provides SU long ball handlers. Djaldi-Tabdi, after redshirting her freshman season, allows the Orange to play a backup center who isn’t a converted guard. Hillsman hoped that the offense would sprout from a “culture of competition.”

Through two games, Syracuse has nearly doubled its opponents’ points in the paint total (78-42), dominated North Dakota and almost upset No. 3 Oregon. The Orange’s next opponent, No. 20 Texas A&M, will test the bigs unit this Wednesday with its four 6-foot-2-plus forwards.

“We’re definitely going to be a balanced offense, and we’re going to dare you to help,” Hillsman said. “Because if you help, we can still shoot it. … I feel good about us scoring.”

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Early season opponents have implored SU’s bigs to take advantage of one-on-one matchups. In Syracuse’s opener against North Dakota on Nov. 6, forwards took seven shots in the first quarter and converted on five of them. Against Oregon on Nov. 10, Finklea-Guity and Djaldi-Tabdi combined for 19 points, and Engstler added nine points as a guard.

With the exception of Finklea-Guity, all frontcourt members expect to efficiently shoot the deep ball, associate head coach Vonn Read said. SU’s bigs are encouraged to “freelance,” as opposed to playing as a traditional post. The coaching staff established this to create defensive matchup problems. Earlier this season, Hillsman said he’s aware that his bigs can dominate offensive mismatches. But he also said he’s apprehensive to see if the forwards can handle the defensive responsibility.

Against North Dakota, Strautmane and Djaldi-Tabdi notched four fouls each. Finklea-Guity turned the ball over four times. As SU challenged Oregon, Djaldi-Tabdi tallied five turnovers, four of which came in the first frame. Engstler also committed a technical foul in the fourth quarter, which resulted in two Ducks points in a 75-73 matchup.

Still, Hillsman isn’t concerned yet about his forwards. Last year, he didn’t have enough bigs to properly handle foul trouble. The lack of depth contributed to last season’s disappointing postseason, Hillsman said.

“Last year, we were so young in every category,” Hillsman said. “… We hit the wall. Hopefully this year we won’t be in that position because we’re deep enough.”

Hillsman is confident the first-year players will sustain their production, too. Djaldi-Tabdi spent extra practices with frontcourt coach Adeniyi Amadou last season. Engstler earned a McDonald’s All-American nod. Finklea-Guity and Strautmane are expected to improve.

Through two games, Syracuse’s bigs have been clicking on the offensive end. Their production is partially the reason the Orange is nationally ranked this season, while last year’s group was overlooked.

In the first quarter against North Dakota, backup point guard Kiara Lewis slashed to the rim with the Orange trailing. She noticed Djaldi-Tabdi lurking in the paint. The guard flung the pass inside, and Djaldi-Tabdi worked left and connected on a hook shot with her right hand. Finklea-Guity was on the sidelines, and for the first time in two seasons, SU had a post presence.

“We haven’t had to ease (the forwards) along because they’ve been doing well,” Hillsman said. “We’ve been thankful for that.”

Published on November 12, 2018 at 12:50 pm

Contact Nick: nialvare@syr.edu | @nick_a_alvarez