Happy Father’s Day!
In honor of the day, I wanted to recognize the father/son combinations
that have played and/or coached for Syracuse basketball. This fall, Jim and Buddy Boeheim will become
the seventh such combination for the Orange.
Below are the father/son combination in chronological order.
The Baysingers (Reaves ‘Ribs’ and Reaves Jr). The Baysingers were the first father/son
combination in Syracuse basketball history.
Ribs was a solid reserve on the 1921-1922 team playing both center and
guard, and starting a handful of games.
He would play only his sophomore year.
He was a star on the football field at both guard and end, as well as an
outfielder on the baseball team for three years. Reaves Jr was a reserve center on the Syracuse
basketball team for one season. He was a gifted football player like his
father, and played quarterback for the football team in 1944. Reaves Jr would enroll in the Naval Academy
as a result of World War II, and would end up a star quarterback for the Navy
football team.
The Suprunowicz (Dick and Bill). Dick was a defensive
stalwart on the Syracuse basketball team for three seasons, helping guide the
Orangemen to their first NIT appearance in 1950. Dick would score 526 points in his career
with 6.7 ppg. Bill was a reserve guard
on the basketball team for three seasons, from 1972 to 1974. He would score 30
points in 20 games.
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| Vinnie Cohen |
The Cohens (Vinnie and Vinnie Jr). Vinnie Cohen was the best Syracuse basketball
player of the 1950’s, a star forward for three seasons. He would lead the Orangemen to their first
NCAA berth in 1957, taking the team to the Elite Eight. Cohen would be the first Orangemen to score
20+ ppg, with 24.2 ppg, and had a career average of 19.7 ppg. Vinne Jr. was a walk-on for the basketball
team for two seasons, scoring six points in nine games.
The Danforths (Roy and Mike). Roy was the Syracuse head
coach from 1969 to 1976, with a 148-70 record. He led the team to its first
Final Four in 1975, along with 3 other NCAA berths, and 2 NIT berths. He brought an entertaining style of
basketball to Manley Field House, and helped build a winning program, before
heading off to be the basketball coach at Tulane. Mike
was a reserve on the 1975-1976 team playing in seven games and scoring two
points. He would transfer to Tulane when
his father became the coach there.
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| Leo Rautins |
The Rautins (Leo and Andy).
The Rautins were probably the best father/son combination at Syracuse University. Leo was a versatile forward for the Orangemen
from 1981 to 1983, scoring 1,031 points. He was an exceptionally skill passer
for a forward, averaging 12.1 ppg, 6.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists. He would be drafted
in the first round of the 1983 NBA draft.
Leo had three triple doubles at Syracuse. Andy was a prolific three point shooting
guard for the Orange from 2006 to 2010, and was an exceptional passing shooting
guard. He would score 1,121 points,
averaging 8.8 ppg, 2.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists. Andy was drafted in the 2nd round
of the 2010 NBA draft. Andy is the only
son on this list to outscore his father.
The Autrys (Adrian ‘Red’ and Adrian Jr). Red was a star starting point guard for
Syracuse for four seasons, averaging 12.7 ppg and 5.2 assists. He helped guide the Orangemen to a Big East
Tournament Championship (1991), a Big East Regular Season Championship (1992),
and three NCAA tournaments. He has been
an assistant coach for Syracuse since the 2011-2012 season, and in March of
2017 was named the Associate Head Coach.
His son Adrian Jr has been a walk-on player the past three seasons, and
has scored 10 points in 19 career games.
Red is the first father to coach basketball
to his son at Syracuse.
The Boeheims (Jim and Buddy). Jim is the 2nd winningest coach of
all-time in men’s Division I basketball, with a record of 1027-371. He has led the Orange to one National
Championship, five Final Fours, and 33 NCAA tournaments. He was also a solid guard for the Orangemen
for three seasons in the 1960s, scoring 745 career points with a 9.8 ppg
average. Buddy is a freshman for the upcoming
season, and has a reputation as being a terrific perimeter shooter.
Jim Boeheim has ties to many of the other individuals on
this list. He was the head coach for
Vinnie Cohen Jr, Leo & Andy Rautins,
Red Autry & Adrian Autry Jr. He was an
assistant coach under Roy Danforth, and for Mike Danforth and Bill Suprunowicz.
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