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The difference that metamorphosed over 26 hours was stark. Questions about Syracuse’s center depth cluttered after a loss to VCU on Wednesday, but then they evaporated one night later against Arizona State. Jesse Edwards’ foul problems from last season emerged once more against the Rams, then they disappeared against the Sun Devils.

But the 23 hours after that — the time between Edwards’ breakout game against ASU and loss to Auburn that proved it wasn’t a fluke — provided more clarity. Edwards demonstrated that he could maneuver around the basket with fluidity while staying out of foul trouble at the same time. He showed that he could do it once and then do it again one night later. They blended his two career-best stat lines, with 21 points in 35 minutes against Arizona State and 17 points in 31 minutes against Auburn, and inched them closer to becoming a trend.

They showed that maybe it won’t be Buddy Boeheim who determines how far Syracuse’s season goes. Maybe it won’t be Cole Swider, or Joe Girard III, or 3-pointers. Maybe it’ll come down to the 6-foot-11 center from the Netherlands, the developing player for two seasons who inherited a larger role in his third when fifth-year center Bourama Sidibe went down with an injury.

Maybe, it’ll be Jesse Edwards. SU just needs his burst in the Bahamas to last.

There will certainly be games that are won with the 3-point knack that Buddy has. It’s the reason why he burst onto scouts’ radars in March, why he entered the year as a Preseason All-Atlantic Coast Conference member and why he’s still the focal point of Syracuse’s offense even when his deep shots aren’t falling. But teams are figuring out how to guard him and Swider and limit their shots, head coach Jim Boeheim said. Buddy shot 5-for-21 from beyond the arc during the Battle 4 Atlantis, with teams pressuring SU’s guards and forcing them to win inside.

If Edwards becomes an interior focal point, or someone whose handle needs to be respected by opposing defense, that could open up more looks for Buddy, Swider and Girard. That could be the exact recipe Syracuse’s offense needs to get going. And maybe all the ingredients are starting to come together.

“Jesse’s showed that he can be a factor now for us this year,” Boeheim said on Friday.

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Edwards ranks 14th in the country in offensive rating, per KenPom. He now ranks 17th in 2-point percentage after sitting in first for the opening few games of the season. Sidibe has never logged back-to-back games with 30-plus minutes and 10-plus points. Former SU center Paschal Chukwu never did either.

The latest test for Edwards came against 7-foot-1 Auburn center Walker Kessler, and Edwards scored four points, grabbed one rebound and drew a foul against him — finishing the second layup through contact — by the first media timeout. He tipped in one of Buddy’s misses three minutes later. In the second half, Buddy faked a pull-up 3-pointer and instead hit Edwards flying toward the block. He elevated as if rising for a dunk, but then readjusted for a layup when Devan Cambridge came over and positioned himself to take a charge.

“They got a guy who can be a presence on the defense but also can really make some noise on the offense, which helps the perimeter shooter guys to get more space,” David Edwards, Edwards’ father, said.

Those abilities have always been in Edwards’ toolkit of possibilities, but they just took time to translate to collegiate basketball. But the worrisome part comes when Edwards gets into foul trouble, like in the VCU game. Syracuse was forced to play its small lineup against the Rams. Frank Anselem filled in at times, but Boeheim said Edwards has to get better. Jimmy Boeheim isn’t an ideal option at center compared to Edwards either, Boeheim said.

So this is what having a true center looks like. It’s not a last-resort, not a switch prompted by an early-season injury like last year or an impact where scoring comes secondary to defense like Edwards has done in the past. He’s meshed into the rest of Syracuse’s offense, and it becomes a concern when he’s not in their lineup.

Those improvements started three years ago when Edwards arrived at Syracuse and included last season when his potential flashed against teams like Miami, UNC and NCAA Tournament opponents. But they picked up this past summer when he worked with the Dutch national team and had the freedom to play power forward and shoot 3s, if he wanted to. Maurizio Buscaglia, the national team’s head coach, wanted him to play outside more, to get his hands on the ball — almost like a miniature Giannis Antetokounmpo, David said.

“For guys like Jesse and Giannis, it takes them a while to really get that full body, grow their full body,” David said.

But Syracuse doesn’t need him to have the all-around skillset of Antetokounmpo. That’s an unrealistic expectation, and one he might never reach. He doesn’t need to have the vision for facilitation like Marek Dolezaj either, or even the ability to record double-digit rebounds in six consecutive games like Sidibe did to close the 2019-20 season.

For now, the Orange just need Edwards to take his offensive burst from last week and extend it. They need him to continue blocking shots on defense and anchoring the 2-3 zone. They need him to continue improving his defense against corner shots, ones that are difficult for any center in the zone system.

They need Edwards to make it last. On Tuesday against Indiana. Against physical centers in the ACC. For the remaining 20 games, and any other postseason ones that come with it, Syracuse needs those types of performances from Edwards to become normal.

Published on November 28, 2021 at 11:39 pm