Syracuse, N.Y. — Symir Torrence is coming home.
The Syracuse native, who played two seasons at Marquette, will transfer to Syracuse University, where he will have three seasons of eligibility left.
Torrence, a point guard, entered his name into the transfer portal on March 16. The Orange had recruited him out of Vermont Academy, when Torrence prepped there after initially playing high school ball at Syracuse Academy of Science. He is a tough, physical guard who can defend and rebound from that position.
Torrence spoke with SU coach Jim Boeheim Tuesday morning and committed to the Orange. He had heard recent rumors that Kadary Richmond might transfer from Syracuse. On Monday morning, Richmond entered the transfer portal.
“I didn’t know if it was true,” Torrence said. “I just kind of waited to see. I didn’t want to assume anything. I was just praying.”
Torrence said he had been texting with Buddy Boeheim and expressed his interest in Syracuse should Richmond leave. He was an Albany City Rocks EYBL teammate of Buddy Boeheim and Joe Girard.
“We were more than just teammates,” Torrence said. “We’re always going to be like brothers. We text each other often. They’re family in my eyes. I played with them in AAU. I played against them in high school.”
Symir Torrence played two seasons at Marquette. He said the school “was not the right fit” for him.
Torrence, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound point guard who was a four-star recruit coming out of prep school, will be eligible to play immediately once the NCAA finalizes a rule to allow one-time transfers without requiring them sit out a season.
He said he had heard from South Carolina, Wake Forest, Washington, South Florida, Albany, Siena and Massachusetts in the past couple weeks. He preferred to play for a program, he said, where he had a previous relationship with the coaching staffs.
He played sparingly at Marquette this season. He averaged 13.1 minutes, shot .311 overall (19-of-61) and .139 from the 3-point line (5-of-36). The Golden Eagles finished 13-14 in 2020-21 and parted ways with head coach Steve Wojciechowski on March 19. On March 28, Shaka Smart was announced as Marquette’s new head coach. Torrence said Smart had reached out to ask if he might reconsider a return to Marquette and had scheduled a visit with him.
But Torrence had already determined he would leave the school. Torrence described his situation at Marquette as “not the right fit.”
“I just didn’t get in games, to be honest. That’s the story,” he said. “It was kind of depressing. I knew I was coming out of the game, so I tried not to make mistakes at all. It was just me worrying about whether I was coming out of the games. That’s where my field goal percentage and my stat line went down.”
Torrence initially spoke by telephone on Tuesday from Albany, where had just finished a workout with Steve Dagostino; the Albany-based trainer worked out Elijah Hughes last spring and summer when Hughes was preparing for the NBA Draft.
“We’re doing a little bit of everything,” Torrence said. “Working on my craft — ball-handling, mostly shooting, being more of a consistent shooter, getting back to being the Symir who makes open shots and can make tough shots. Just being more of myself, really.”
Hart described Torrence as “a great defender” who “takes care of the ball.” His stats at Marquette, Hart said, do not reflect the kind of player Torrence can be.
Symir Torrence, here in 2015, played basketball at the Syracuse Academy of Science.
Torrence, 19, reclassified from the Class of 2020 to the Class of 2019 to join Marquette a year early.
“He’s played with Buddy and Joe before and was a vital part of those (EYBL) teams,” Hart said. “I think he can fill any role. He can score if needed. He carried the Vermont Academy team, scored like 30 on Brewster. He can be that guy. He was a starter to start the year at Marquette, but they brought in (Ohio State transfer) D.J. Carton, who is a high volume, high risk, high reward guy. That’s what it was.
“Symir, although those numbers don’t reflect it, is a very capable 3-point shooter with time and space. Very good, actually. He’s going to be an unbelievable defender. He’ll be great in the zone because he has length and strength. He’s tough, strong. He’ll be good because he can get by people, which Syracuse needs, and he gets by people under control. He’s kind of more like a Villanova guard – he will come to a two-foot jump stop and make a pass.”
Torrence said he was thrilled to be coming home to play in the Carrier Dome. He has a younger brother, Syair, who is a freshman wide receiver at CBA. Because he’d been away at college, Symir had never seen Syair play high school football in person.
SU coach Jim Boeheim has repeatedly said the Orange will lose players these next few weeks and gain other players. Torrence is the first player so far in 2021 that Syracuse has taken from the transfer portal.
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