SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Siena's coaching staff challenged Francis Folefac to guard MAAC Player of the Year Kevair Kennedy in the biggest game of his life last March. He passed that challenge, and earned the challenge of guarding Cam Boozer in the NCAA Tournament.
Now, following Gerry McNamara's move to Syracuse, Folefac joined him. The 6-foot-7 forward has a new mandate from his coaches.
"Expanding my skill set," Folefac said on Syracuse men's basketball media day on October 9. "Always finding things to improve on as a player and just understanding different positions on the floor and being able to know what to do from those positions."
When Folefac committed to Siena from Mt. Zion Prep in Maryland, he was seen as a bruising, 6-foot-7 power forward who won with brute strength on post-ups. He initially came off the bench for the Saints, but replaced Tasman Goodrick in the starting lineup when he went down with injury.
In expanded minutes, Folefac showed off a versatile game. It started with the toughness that he provided on the glass and his ability to score off post-ups, but it evolved throughout the season. Siena put more and more faith in him to guard multiple positions and to be an offensive hub. Against zone defenses, Siena had no issues putting Folefac in the center of the zone and asking him to playmake. He had 14 assists in three games against Merrimack, and seven assists in a loss to Saint Peter's.
He made himself indispensable. Now, he looks to do the same for Syracuse. His versatility on btoh ends is the key.
"Just trying to be more versatile," Folefac said. "Last year, I played anywhere from the 5 to the 4. This year, just being able to play 1-through-5 and guard 1-through-5 as I've done before."
"I feel like no matter the position, no matter the person, whoever I'm asked to guard," he continued. "I feel like I'm at a place where I can defensively put a halt and stop people's momentum and just hold guys to below their averages."
Coming to Syracuse though, despite a coaching staff that "has a great deal of confidence in him," according to McNamara at the MAAC Tournament, was not automatic. He visited Georgia Tech early in the offseason as he wanted to explore his options.
"(Syracuse) was my first visit," Folefac said. "I fell in love with it, but I still wanted something else to compare it to. By the time I committed, I knew this was where I wanted to be. The coaching staff believed in me and I believed in them and what they were doing and building"
It became a no-brainer.
He provides a different look to Sadiq White at the four spot with his ground-and-pound physicallity and playmaking, but also a strong face-up game. When Amarri Monroe committed to the Orange in August though, it added another barrier to playing time.
Folefac says that practicing against Monroe — "a competitor" — has helped him and the rest of the team get better.
In Syracuse's first two exhibition games, Folefac has not been a factor. He's struggled to establish himself physically, even against Siena, the program that he transferred from — albeit the Saints have some physical frontcourt pieces themselves. If he's not going to be physical, he's going to be tough to put in the game consistently. Especially for a team that is going to bring length and switchability up and down the roster.
Like the others, Folefac says that the biggest difference for the Orange from Siena is size.
"We have a lot of guys with size," Folefac said. "Wingspan, just all different physical attributes that can impact the game."
