Kyle Cuffe scored ten critical second-half points against Boston College. But his defensive focus, selflessness and effort has subtly helped him carve out a bench role.
Kyle Cuffe could hardly get off the bench at the beginning of the Syracuse Orange basketball season. The second year player at Syracuse who transferred in from Kansas found himself deep within the guard rotation. He appeared in just two games before JJ Starling went down with a broken left wrist.
During that time Cuffe just kept working hard. He didn’t lose heart or let his determination wane from his lack of playing time.
“Kyle is great. He’s all about the team. He’s a tough-minded guy. He didn’t get in earlier in the season but he kept coming into practice not hanging his head, kept pushing, kept getting better,” Adrian Autry said after the team’s win at Boston College.
Cuffe, described by those at Syracuse as an energy guy who brings toughness and competitiveness, has scratched and clawed to carve out minutes. A New York City guard, Cuffe’s characteristics are attributes Syracuse has lacked at times this season. Teammates say he doesn’t care about scoring. That selflessness and team-first approach help him come off the bench and focus on the defensive end. That’s what Cuffe was entrusted to do down the stretch at Boston College on Saturday while still competing on both sides of the ball.
“Kyle is tough. They’ve got three really good guards (Boston College) and I just thought he gave us a chance to defend the perimeter a little bit better,” Autry said. “And he does have the ability to make shots but he can also get past people and get into the paint.”
After a lopsided defeat to Maryland, Cuffe was compelled to send a text message to his head coach. He explained that the college basketball season is really broken into three parts: the non-conference, the conference schedule and then post-season play. Autry thought enough of the message to talk to his team about it before the final non-conference game against Bucknell. Syracuse’s early season hadn’t gone according to plan with narrow wins, tough losses to Power Four opponents on the court and tougher losses to personnel. But Cuffe’s message was impactful, so much so that his head coach informed the media following the team’s final non-conference game.
Photo by Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images
Against Boston College, Cuffe completed some critical plays late which helped get Syracuse back in front. He was inserted into the game with 10:40 remaining with the Orange trailing by seven. Along with Eddie Lampkin scoring down low and Starling’s scoring spree, Syracuse went on a 20-7 run with ten key points from Cuffe.
“He comes in, he gives us a nice spurt offensively and defensively,” Starling said. “He’s a good energy guy.”
Starling eventually took Syracuse home with tough shot-making in the lane and around the rim, finishing with 26 points. Cuffe shared in some of the ball-handling duties during that stretch when Boston College picked up full-court.
“I wanted to do anything I could to open up JJ,” Cuffe said. “Him just being off the ball more times than not is going to get us better shots because he gets downhill. He knows how to score the ball at will. Having him off the ball gives him a little more energy, a little more time to get into his shot.”
Kyle after he scored 10 points in the 2nd half to fuel the decisive run pic.twitter.com/e6YdCujDVj
— Syracuse Men’s Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) January 11, 2025
As part of Syracuse’s run, Cuffe knocked down two free throws and converted a driving layup at the rim. He also connected on two critical threes in crunch time, the first to break a 56-all tie after a defender went under a Lampkin ball screen. The second, he knocked down a corner three on an out of bounds set to put Syracuse up 62-58 with 3:51 to play.
“We’re up — we don’t necessarily need a three — we want to get rim-twos for sure but I was wide open,” Cuffe said. “So I held it just surveying to see and I took the shot. I was confident in it.”
Cuffe describes his energy as contagious, whether he’s playing on the court or giving energy to teammates from the bench. It’s what makes him effective as a strong reserve as coaches search for players who can can elevate the team off the bench without losing intensity by either continuing a run or fighting from behind. Either way, Cuffe has established himself as a reliable and consistent player for Syracuse.
“He made me play him, alright? A lot of time in today’s world players don’t get to that point. That’s why I’m proud of a guy like Kyle Cuffe because it wasn’t his way. But he made me play him by the way he approached practice. By the way he came to practice every day, the work that he put in, “Autry said. “When he got his opportunity he was ready to go.”
Sam Federman contributed with the reporting on this article