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BLAST FROM THE PAST: Saniaa Wilson’s paint presence enhances SU’s forward depth

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n the ever-changing landscape of basketball — where shooting and versatility are valued more than ever — Syracuse forward Saniaa Wilson embraces a rare old-fashioned back-to-the-basket presence.

Felisha Legette-Jack, who played for SU from 1985-89 before taking over as its head coach in 2022, became one of the best players in program history by dominating down low. But with how basketball has evolved, current players rarely embrace that style of play.

“(Wilson is) the only one on the team that kind of reminds me of myself,” Legette-Jack said at a media availability on Feb. 21. “She’s a back-to-the-basket post player that loves contact and she loves to go through the contact.”

As a junior, Wilson’s interior dominance has helped lead Syracuse to its best regular season since 2015-16. Her 56.5% field goal percentage ranks in the 97th percentile of Division I while her 1.8 offensive rebounds and 0.5 blocks per game rank in the 86th and 80th percentiles, respectively, per HerHoopStats. Wilson’s presence near the rim enhances SU’s versatile four-player forward rotation.

Despite only averaging a career-high 5.0 points per game, Wilson’s bulldozing post ability can take over games. Against Ohio on Dec. 9, she scored a career-high 18 points on 5-for-5 shooting from the field while making eight of her 10 free throws. But in most cases, Wilson understands she has to do the dirty work down low.

“If I’m just (in) there to play defense and get rebounds, I’m going to be the best (person) to do it,” Wilson said. “If my job is to be an offensive presence and get (offensive) boards and keep plays alive, that’s what I got to do.”

Yet growing up in Rochester, New York, Wilson said she was expected to do everything on the court. In elementary school, Wilson’s long-time teammate Marianna Freeman said she stood nearly 5-foot-10, making her the tallest player on every team she played for. Her unprecedented size instantly gravitated her toward basketball.

Bridgert Overby | Presentation Director

Wilson said she initially hated the sport but soon learned to love it when she found the right team as a third grader. With her combination of skill and size, Wilson — starting in elementary school — played against older players.

“I’ve always played in the grade above me because I was just too big for my grade,” Wilson said. “Nobody actually believed I was in the grade I was in and it’s almost like we kind of had to prove it to people like, okay, she is just that good. She’s just young.”

In seventh grade, Wilson joined Bishop Kearney High School’s varsity team. In her six years of playing varsity, eight of Wilson’s high school teammates went on to play college basketball. But from the start, she was the team’s focal point.

Bishop Kearney head coach Kevan Sheppard said Wilson was nearly the same size she is now (6-foot) as a seventh grader. Wilson’s teammates constantly pushed her as she led the team in scoring and rebounding as a middle schooler.

“They didn’t take it easy on her because she was younger because she was also bigger than a lot of them,” Sheppard said. “But they knew that’s what was going to make her better. She’s never been afraid to jump in the mix with people who have bigger names or fanfare. She’s a competitor.”

As Wilson continued to develop, so did her on-court responsibilities. While her touches on the block increased, so did opposing teams’ defensive pressure. It forced Wilson to develop her distributing and outside shooting skills.

When Wilson commanded the ball offensively, it created a predicament for opposing teams. They could collapse on Wilson, letting her dish to open 3-point shooters. Or they could close out on shooters, letting Wilson torment them down low. With Wilson’s game continuously enhancing, she ignited Bishop Kearney’s run of three straight Section V championships.

“Her post presence alone, it draws a lot of the defense,” Freeman said. “Essentially, if we didn’t have her, we more than likely wouldn’t have won those (sectional championships).”

But once Wilson arrived at the University at Buffalo as a freshman in 2021, something was different. She was no longer the tallest, most dominant player on the court. In her first year at the D-I level, Wilson only appeared in 14 games, averaging 10.9 minutes per game when she did play.

As a back-to-the-basket power forward, Wilson brings a new element tp the Orange’s tournament roster. Nick Luttrell | Staff Photographer

When Legette-Jack left Buffalo to become Syracuse’s head coach ahead of the 2022-23 season, Wilson was one of four Buffalo players to follow her to SU.

In her first season with the Orange, Wilson was part of a three-player forward rotation alongside Dariauna Lewis and Kyra Wood. Wilson mainly came off the bench, averaging 12.1 minutes per game across 27 contests.

“The more you move up from high school, you go to college, you’re no longer the biggest player on the court,” Sheppard said. “So, having a couple of years under her belt, to play against people that was her size and longer, allowed for her to hone her game a little more.”

Though Lewis graduated, Syracuse drastically improved its forward rotation for 2023-24 by adding freshman Alyssa Latham and Michigan transfer Izabel Varejão to its tandem of Wilson and Wood.

Latham and Varejão’s additions created a “dream scenario,” Wilson said. The new-look rotation allowed her to focus on excelling down low while her teammates added different elements. Wood takes defenders off the dribble and crashes the glass, Varejão’s shooting creates spacing and Latham adds versatility.

“We all have a certain role that we play and that we stick to,” Wood said. “We can lean on another person if another role is needed … Saniaa can go out there and (play) big bully ball for us.”

In Syracuse’s 73-72 comeback win over then-No. 15 Louisville on Feb. 11, Legette-Jack opted to start Wilson and Wood. Just under two minutes into the third quarter with SU trailing 45-37, Wilson was taken out of the game. She didn’t return until early in the fourth quarter when Latham picked up her third foul.

Legette-Jack originally paired Wilson with Varejão in the frontcourt, but after Syracuse’s deficit ballooned to 63-54 with 6:45 remaining in the game, Latham replaced Varejão, giving the Orange more athleticism.

A Dyaisha Fair 3 cut SU’s deficit down to 63-57, but she air-balled a step-back contested 3 over two defenders on the ensuing offensive possession after a missed Louisville 3. But because Wilson established inside positioning against U-of-L’s Olivia Cochran, she corralled the miss with one hand directly under the basket.

Along the baseline and with her back to the basket, Wilson leaped and adjusted her body in mid-air before nailing the shot while getting fouled.

“The way that (Wilson’s) game is, it’s hard to guard because a lot of post players can’t guard it, they don’t have the fundamentals to do it,” Latham said.

Though she missed the ensuing free throw, Wilson notched two blocks down the stretch, helping the Orange finish the game on a 9-4 run to narrowly defeat the Cardinals.

Playing up to 28 minutes in one game and as few as two in another, Wilson’s playing time greatly depends on Syracuse’s matchup and the flow of the game. But, no matter the scenario, her powerful play style gives Legette-Jack a key piece against a packed Atlantic Coast Conference.

“She’s able to understand her power,” Legette-Jack said. “And she understands that in order for us to have success, you gotta have somebody to have a back to the basket. She chose herself.”

Photograph taken by Joe Zhao | Asst. Photo Editor

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