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Scholarship reductions the punishment Syracuse will feel most

Scholarship reductions the punishment Syracuse will feel most

The most damaging part of the NCAA's punishment of Syracuse isn't the suspension of Jim Boeheim, the elimination of more than 100 of his wins or the meaningless postseason ban during a year when the Orange weren't going to make the NCAA tournament anyway.

Taking away so many scholarships is the wound that will actually bleed.

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The NCAA will reduce the number of scholarships Syracuse can use by three for four consecutive seasons beginning either for the 2015-16 year or the year after depending on the school's preference. That means Syracuse will have a maximum of 10 scholarship players on its roster each of those seasons.

At a time when Dayton may win the Atlantic 10 with just six scholarship players and Duke is on track for a No. 1 seed with only eight, it's clear that Syracuse certainly has a chance to remain relevant despite those scholarship reductions. Nonetheless, the penalty reduces the staff's margin for error while recruiting and makes the Orange vulnerable to injuries and more reliant on young players who might otherwise sit a year or two.

UCLA's 2014-15 season is a perfect example of the potential impact of only having 10 scholarship players even if the Bruins weren't forced into that position by NCAA sanctions.

One of their 10 scholarship players (highly touted freshman Jonah Bolden) was ruled academically ineligible before the season. Another (reserve Wanaah Bail) became academically ineligible in December. Throw in that freshman Gyorgy Golomon is a project who might have redshirted in other years and sophomore Noah Allen is not a Pac-12 level talent, and the Bruins have mostly utilized a six-man rotation en route to a 12-loss regular season.

Those are the types of issues Syracuse will inevitably run into as it tries to remain competitive in the powerful ACC. Making matters worse, the NCAA sanctions also mandate that only two of Syracuse's four coaches will be allowed to recruit off campus for a two-year period, meaning the Orange will get to scout less players than their peers and theoretically be more prone to misevaluations.

Considering NCAA's allegations against Syracuse include everything from academic misconduct, to extra benefits, to failure to follow drug testing policy, to impermissible booster activity, Syracuse doesn't have much right to complain about the sanctions. Boeheim has run a loose program without fear of consequence and now he's paying a steep price.

The self-imposed postseason ban the school implemented last month? A sham of a penalty that will keep a Syracuse team with only four top 100 victories out of the NIT.

Boeheim's nine-game suspension at the start of conference play next season? A symbolic punishment that will stain the hall of fame coach's reputation yet may not damage Syracuse's won-loss record all that much.

Vacating more than 100 of Boeheim's wins? Yawn. All this toothless penalty does is create more work for the school's record keepers, especially since the NCAA conveniently stripped the Orange of wins dating back to May 2003 — one month after Syracuse's lone national championship.

But the scholarship reduction is the one that hurts. Twelve lost scholarships over the course of four years is a penalty that will sting Syracuse for a while.

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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!