First appearance for Chance Westry in his two years with Syracuse.
Redshirt sophomore guard Chance Westry made his Syracuse debut during Tuesday night’s blowout loss at Tennessee. With Syracuse trailing 86-61, Westry checked in with 2:46 remaining in the contest, marking the first time he’s competed in a game in almost two full years.
“Chance has been working. He’s gotten himself in better shape.” Adrian Autry said post-game. “He probably can’t go for long stretches.”
Westry transferred to Syracuse in the summer of 2023 following his freshman season at Auburn, which interrupted due to a knee injury which required arthroscopic surgery. In his first season with Syracuse, a preseason practice injury to his opposite knee required him to miss the entire 2023-24 season.
Westry was cleared for basketball activities this summer. He returned to action for the summer sessions at Syracuse, but an illness in the preseason set him back. Westry, a versatile 6-foot-6 guard, is capable of playing the point guard, shooting guard and small forward positions. A former top-40 recruit, Westry finished his night at Tennessee with an assist to Elijah Moore.
The Orange expect to be without leading scorer and starting shooting guard JJ Starling indefinitely due to a broken left hand. With Starling out, Syracuse is down a player capable of playing point guard behind Jaquan Carlos.
“We don’t have a ton of ball-handlers now,” Autry said, “that’s why being able to get Chance going is vital and going to be important for us.”