Syracuse Orange guard Judah Mintz (3) on defense. The Syracuse basketball team takes on Indian PA. in an exhibition game played at the JMA Wireless Dome OCT. 25, 2022. Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com
We Syracuse Orange men’s basketball fans were presented with a same dilemma around this time last year: what would Judah Mintz do?
After spending just two seasons with the Orange, Mintz was expected to play a bigger role, especially on offense. He improved in many areas but may have fallen short in others. Though we’ve been here before, what is the superstar guard’s current draft stock? Will Mintz leave or come back to Syracuse as he did the previous season, and what effect will that have on the program going forward?
We’re here once more to dissect Mintz’s future. “Should I stay or should I go?” is how The Clash would phrase it.
In the months preceding the 2023 NBA Draft, mock forecasts generally pegged Mintz as a mid-to-late second-round pick. A week or two prior to his announcement that he will be rejoining the Orange for his sophomore campaign, mock drafts had Mintz ranked as high as 41st and as low as 55th.
In April of this year, Mintz’s name seems to be less common on a few of the more significant mock drafts:
Mintz hasn’t been spotted in the most recent mocks at all, and you have to go back at least a little to see him in the draft conversation (writer’s note: after some research, the most optimistic draft projection for Mintz came from Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report, who had him going to the Orlando Magic on February 24th, 45th overall).
So, what took place?
It is mostly a result of the on-court product. According to the data, this year’s higher usage resulted in a few noteworthy statistical upticks:
It is important to note that, despite occasionally being frustrating, Mintz stepped up to the plate in spite of the loss of Jesse Edwards (14.5 PPG in 2022-23) and Joe Girard (16.4 PPG in 2022-23), as well as a roster that played much better this year but had obvious problems with depth and spacing toward the end of the campaign.
In 2023–24, Mintz led the Orange in PPG, APG, SPG, and FTA with his expanded position. That year, he was selected to the All-ACC second team. In the ACC, he took second place in scoring, second in steals, and fourth in assists. Mintz’s strengths—such as his deft rim-spotting, playmaking, and hands-on playmaking—were strengthened to some extent.
