Lost in the debacle at Duke on Monday night was Syracuse Orange center William Kyle making a name for himself against 2026 NBA lottery pick Cameron Boozer.
Kyle wasn’t able to shut down the likely National Player of the Year, but his tenacity and athleticism continues to make him new fans.
Kyle came into this season after a lost year at UCLA and while he’s not going to be drafted, he’s the type of athlete that NBA teams are going to take a long look at this spring. The 6’9 Kyle lacks the size to play center and the offensive game to play the 4 at the next level, but even among elite athletes he literally jumps off the screen to those who know ball.
Kyle was listed 78th on [The Athletic’s Draft Board](https://www.nba.com/news/the-athletic-2026-nba-draft-top-100-prospects) but his ability to rise (literally) to the occasion against players like Boozer and Patrick Ngongba. As NBA teams look for players to fill the back end of their bench, they look for players with a particular set of skills. For Kyle, it’s been about his ability to be a rim protector on defense and a rim attacker on the other end.
As the season winds down and players move into workouts, Kyle will need to show improvement in his all-around game. Against Duke he showed some strides with that coast to coast play above and this read on offense.
Someone will have to bank on their staff’s ability to correct his free throw form, but there aren’t many players coming out of college who can do things like this and that’s why Kyle’s going to get a longer look than his 9 points and 7.5 rebounds per game might otherwise suggest.
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* [Syracuse Men's Basketball](/syracuse-basketball-mens-orange-autry)