NCAA increases roster limits, but how many players are too many? (Mike’s Mailbox)

Syracuse, N.Y. – The impact of changes in NCAA rules dominates most of this week’s Mailbox.

From the number of players allowed on a team’s roster to NIL, I think the questions are a sign of readers attempting to keep up with college basketball’s new landscape.

In fact, the nature of the questions indicate that some readers are doing a great job of staying on top of the game’s changes.

I’m hoping my answers can help in that respect, too.

If you have questions for the Mailbox; on any subject, send them to mwaters@syracuse.com.

Q: When does 12 players become too many? Only five can play.

Kevin S.

Mike: This is a question that all college coaches are having to ask themselves this year as the NCAA increased roster limits to 15 players.

As Kevin noted, only five players can start. Most coaches play a rotation of eight or nine players. Sometimes rotations get shortened to seven.

What coaches wrestle with is how to keep the players outside the main rotation happy. Are the guys at the end of the bench going to be team players or will they show signs of discontent?

I’m of the opinion that keeping everyone happy is tough enough with 11 or 12 scholarship players. There’s no way a coach is building a roster of 15 scholarship players and keeping them all happy.

Syracuse coach Adrian Autry currently has 12 players on the Orange’s roster for the 2025-26 season. The number includes two returning players (JJ Starling and Donnie Freeman), six transfers (Nait George, William Kyle, Nate Kingz, Ibrahim Souare, Tyler Betsey and Bryce Zephir) and four incoming freshmen (Kiyan Anthony, Sadiq White, Luke Fennell and Aaron Womack).

There’s a chance that Autry could add one more player to the roster, but I wouldn’t be surprised if what we see now is what we’ll get in November.

The remaining three roster spots will probably go to players that were previously walk-ons.

Q: Unless you’re a once-in-a-generation recruit who wins it all like Carmelo did in 2003, is it becoming almost impossible for players to have their numbers retired these days? Excluding members of the 2003 championship team, it seems like everyone from Sherman Douglas to John Wallace and Dave Bing had long, illustrious careers at Syracuse. But with so many players now transferring or leaving after just a year or two, I’m not sure how many will meet that standard moving forward.

Paul B.

Mike: Paul makes an interesting point. College basketball is definitely changing. Players rarely stay at one school for four years anymore.

If you look at the players whose jerseys have been honored and are on display in the JMA Dome’s rafters, they’re all three- or four-year guys with the exception being Carmelo Anthony.

While we wait for SU officials to finally recognize Rudy Hackett and then eventually honor the likes of Stephen Thompson and Preston Shumpert, among others, it’s a fair question to wonder whether we’ll have many candidates in the future.

Does SU honor Michael Carter-Williams, a two-year player and key member of the 2013 Final Four team? What about Jonny Flynn, another two-year player? Tyus Battle? Buddy Boeheim is probably a lock down the line.

Looking forward, while player movement will continue to be a thing, there may be a reason for players to stay in college (and perhaps remain at one school for four years) and that’s NIL. Players earning money through NIL is making college a legitimate alternative to turning pro.

Who knows? Maybe Kiyan Anthony’s Syracuse jersey winds up taking a spot next to his dad’s in the future.

Q: Somebody said on sports talk radio that they can’t imagine Steph Curry playing in any other uniform. That got me thinking. What Syracuse player played the most games in the NBA exclusively for one franchise?

Bill N.

Mike: Only a handful of players have spent their entire NBA careers with just one franchise. The short list would include the likes of David Robinson, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Dirk Nowitzki.

Some of the game’s greatest players played for more than one franchise. This includes names such as Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon.

The Syracuse players with the most notable and longest NBA careers, Carmelo Anthony, Danny Schayes, Dave Bing and Rony Seikaly, all played for multiple franchises.

The Syracuse player with the longest career spent with just one NBA franchise is Billy Gabor, whose entire seven-year NBA career was with the Syracuse Nationals.

After Gabor, Donte Greene played all four of his seasons in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings. Ironically, Greene was set to play for the Brooklyn Nets, but he suffered an off-season ankle injury before signing the contract.

He never played in the NBA again.

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