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Former Syracuse forward Robert Braswell, who emerged as an offensive spark and defensive option off the bench this past season, has reportedly transferred to Charlotte, according to Rivals.com. He entered the transfer portal on March 29 after averaging 3.8 points and 1.9 rebounds per game in his redshirt sophomore season with the Orange.

Braswell played more than 20 minutes in four of Syracuse’s final five games after reaching that threshold just once before that point — when he set career-highs with 12 points and four made 3-pointers against Pittsburgh on Jan. 6. He scored 11 and 10 points in the Orange’s two Atlantic Coast Conference tournament games, and Jim Boeheim said after the NCAA Tournament selection show that Braswell’s play “has been promising.”

It’s an option, and one that ended up being consistent, that SU didn’t have with Braswell in his first two seasons. Braswell played sparingly his freshman year in 2018-19, appearing in just 12 games, and then seven games the next campaign before shin injuries shut him down in late December.

But then an injury to Bourama Sidibe in SU’s season-opener depleted its forward depth. Marek Dolezaj played out of position at center the whole season. Quincy Guerrier served as the primary power forward option. And Braswell’s 6-foot-7 frame and presence of the 2-3 zone allowed him to earn minutes over Alan Griffin down the stretch. 

He started the season 0-for-12 from beyond the arc, but started to convert his shots as the season crept into ACC play. Boeheim said that Braswell benefitted from defenses shadowing top Syracuse shooters like Buddy Boeheim and Joe Girard III more, allowing him to find pockets of space on the wings and in the corners from open 3-pointers.

“We knew he’s a really good shooter,” Dolezaj said on March 16, ahead of SU’s NCAA Tournament game against San Diego State. “He’s been around us for three years, he knows the defense, he knows the offense.”

Braswell joins Kadary Richmond and Woody Newton as former SU players to choose transfer destinations, with Richmond committing to Seton Hall and Newton joining Oklahoma State. The Orange will also reportedly lose Griffin to the NBA Draft — as he is expected to sign with an agent — and may lose Guerrier, who plans to test the waters. Backup center John Bol Ajak also entered the transfer portal after the 2020-21 season, where Syracuse advanced to the Sweet 16 for the third time in five years.

Charlotte finished 9-16 this season, with a 5-11 record in the Conference USA — with its season ultimately ending in the conference tournament’s first round against UTSA. They’ve topped double-digit wins just once in the past four seasons, and were led by sophomore Jahmir Young’s 18.0 points per game in 2020-21.

Published on April 18, 2021 at 10:52 pm

Contact Andrew: arcrane@syr.edu | @CraneAndrew