Syracuse basketball's Matthew Moyer will transfer

After an injury-riddled first two seasons, the redshirt freshman will look elsewhere to complete his college career.

It wouldn’t be a Syracuse Orange basketball offseason without some sort of (slightly) unexpected roster shuffle.

According to his Twitter feed on Monday, SU redshirt freshman Matthew Moyer will be leaving the program.

Moyer missed all of 2016-17 after injuring his foot in the offseason. He was back this year and started every game before an ankle injury vs. Pitt sidelined him in January. From that point on, Marek Dolezaj grabbed his starting forward role and never relinquished it (there was also that weird incident where Jim Boeheim said Moyer’s dad held him out of a game).

On the season, Moyer still played in 35 games, averaging 3.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per outing. His best effort was a monster 18-point, eight-rebound game against UConn at Madison Square Garden in December.

Despite the diminished role, there seemed to be no joy lost for Moyer as the season wore on and the team made a surprising run in the NCAA Tournament. You saw him in team videos repeatedly reveling in the moment with teammates as the Orange marched through big upsets this year.

Currently a student at Newhouse, one would think that he has his eyes on another top-tier communications program wherever he may transfer (though that’s not based on any first-hand knowledge).

No matter how many minutes he did or didn’t play, he did hit a clutch late free throw against TCU and was a growing contributor when healthy. You can’t begrudge a kid for wanting to go where he best has a chance to play, and with Dolezaj now seemingly entrenched, and Darius Bazely arriving this fall (plus Oshae Brissett likely back), there’s no telling how many minutes Moyer would actually be able to play in 2018-19.

Good luck to Matt, and thanks for your efforts. We wish you the best wherever you may end up next.