2000-01 record: 25-9; 10-6 in Big East (t2nd in West) Final Ranking: No. 18 ESPN/USA Today; No. 17 AP Postseason: Lost to Kansas 87-58 in second round of NCAA Tournament. RETURNING LEADERS Points: Shumpert 19.5 ppg | Rebounds: Shumpert 5.9 rpg | Assists: Williams 3.4 apg | FG %: Celuck 58.1% | 3pt %: Shumpert 38.6% | FT %: Shumpert 76.3% 00-01 Stats: Syracuse | Big East

		Monday, Oct. 29 The Orange will continue to rely on Preston Schumpert, last year's Most Improved Player in the Big East. Schumpert and DeShaun Williams are the go-to guys. The Orange need improvement from Jeremy McNeil, a shot-blocking middleman with potential. Kueth Duany gives them a solid sixth man. Point guard is a huge question with little or no experience out front.

Outlook
You wonder what senior Preston Shumpert has in store for the rest of the Big East this season after nearly doubling his scoring average from his sophomore (10.3 ppg) to junior (19.5 ppg) seasons and being named the league's most improved player, as well as first team all-league.

Shumpert's return helps cushion the loss of power forward Damone Brown and point guard Allen Griffin. So does a big recruiting class, although with 6-3 point guard Billy Edelin apparently off the team this year, it's a class that doesn't seem to have a superstar -- but a bunch of solid recruits. The best of the bunch could be 6-6 Josh Pace (2,427 career points in high school), with 7-0 Craig Forth and 6-10 Mark Konecny ready to fill in for Brown in the paint. Edelin probably would have been the starter at point guard, and the rest of the perimeter is still in good hands with Shumpert, 6-3 junior DeShaun Williams (12.4 ppg) and 6-6 junior Kueth Duany (5.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg).

Down low could be the Orangemen's downfall, though. Brown is gone and the starting centers last season, 6-8 junior Jeremy McNeil (2.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg) and 7-0 senior Billy Celuck (4.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg), were no great shakes. This could be where Forth or Konecny comes in. Coach Jim Boeheim probably hopes so.

Then again, maybe Shumpert plans to double his scoring again and carry this team deep into March by himself. Well, probably not.

What we like: Shumpert is unstoppable when he gets going, and it doesn't take much to get him going. Williams and Pace also have big-time scoring potential on the perimeter, so teams will defend the Orangemen with a zone at their own peril.

What we don't like: The inside game is a mess, with the only solid scoring option from last season, Brown, gone. And without Edelin, the point guard position could be almost as problematic. Those are two key positions to have question marks.

The bottom line: It's hard to bet against the Orangemen winning 20 games -- they've done so in 23 of Boeheim's 25 years -- but with this roster, it would be hard to bet on them, too.

Key Players Returning
Player	Yr.	Pos.	Ht./Wt.	Comment
Preston Shumpert	Sr.	G	6-6/188	PTS: 19.5 | REB: 5.9 | AST: 1.6
DeShaun Williams	Jr.	G	6-3/198	PTS: 12.4 | REB: 2.9 | AST: 3.4

Key Losses
Player	Pos.	Ht./Wt.	Comment
Damone Brown	F	6-9/200	PTS: 16.4 | REB: 8.8 | AST: 1.9
Allen Griffin	G	6-1/186	PTS: 10.8 | REB: 3.3 | AST: 6.5

Syracuse Signings
Player	Pos.	Ht.	High School/College
Billy Edelin	G	6-3	Silver Spring/Oak Hill Academy (Md.)
Craig Forth	C	7-0	East Greenbush/Columbia (N.Y.)
Mark Konecny	F	6-10	Waterbury/Holy Cross (Ct.)
Josh Pace	G	6-6	Griffin/Griffin (Ga.)
Hakim Warrick	F	6-8	Wynnewood/Friends Central (Pa.)