Flashback to All Time Scorers

Syracuse has had a long and storied varsity basketball history going back to the 1900-1901 season.  The leading scorer in the first season was Bill Lowe, a junior center out of  Buffalo, New York.

Billy Gabor

The game evolved a lot since those days. If Syracuse had a record book in existence after the 1949-1950 season, these were the top 5 all time scorers at Syracuse:

1.  Billy Gabor, 1344 points 1943-1948

2.  Ed Stickel, 1096 points 1946-1949

3.  Royce Newell, 951 points 1946-1949

4.  Jack Kiley, 790 points 1949-1950*

5.  Vic Hanson, 762 points 1925-1927  

Kiley was still active after the 1949-1950 season and would finish his career with 1,193 points, second most at that time.  Hanson averaged 14.1 ppg in an era where that made him one of the most dominant players in the country, and it took Gabor roughly 20 years to break his school record.

If we move forward to the end of the 1979-1980 season, these are the top 5 all-time scorers:

1.  Dave Bing 1,883 points 1964-1966

2.  Roosevelt Bouie, 1,560 points 1977-1980

3.  Dennis DuVal, 1,504 points 1972-1974

4T.  Rudy Hackett, 1,496 points 1973-1975

4T.  Dale Shackleford, 1,496 points 1976-1979

Eventually Sherman Douglas would break Bing's all-time record in 1989, and Derrick Coleman would break Douglas' record the following year in 1990. Lawrence Moten would set the all-time school record in 1995 with 2,334 points.

The top 5 today:

1.  Lawrence Moten, 2,334 points, 1992-1995

2.  Derrick Coleman, 2,143 points, 1987-1990

3.  John Wallace, 2,119 points, 1993-1996

4.  Gerry McNamara, 2,099 points, 2003-2006

5.  Hakim Warrick, 2,073 points, 2002-2005

Syracuse Three Year Scoring Leaders

Tyus Battle finished his Syracuse career this year as the #16 all-time scorer in school history.  Most scorers with 1,000+ points accomplished the feat in four seasons, but Battle did it in three.

There are only two three-year players ahead of Battle on the all-time scoring list. The top 10 scorers for three-year players are:

Dave Bing

1. Dave Bing 1,883 points (24.8 ppg)

2. Billy Owens 1.840 points (17.9 ppg)

3. Tyus Battle 1,647 points (16.0 ppg)

4. Dennis DuVal 1,504 (18.6 ppg)

5. Rudy Hackett 1,496 (17.2 ppg)

6. Pearl Washington 1,490 (15.7 ppg)

7. Bill Smith 1,451 (20.7 ppg)

8. Greg Kohls 1,360 (19.2 ppg)

9. Mike Lee 1,351 (16.3 ppg)

10. Vinnie Cohen 1,337 (19.7 ppg)

Obviously, there are some four-year players who would have made this list based on just their first three years.

Owens, Battle and the Pearl are the only ones on the list who left after their junior year. The others are players who played when freshman were not eligible.

Lawrence Moten, Syracuse's all-time leading scorer, had 1,745 points after his first three seasons.  He would have ranked 3rd on this list.

Sherman Douglas scored 1,914 point in his last three seasons at Syracuse, the most for any player over three consecutive seasons.  Stephen Thompson scored 1,764 in his final three seasons.

The 1986-1987 Orangemen versus the 2002-2003 Orangemen

It is difficult to compare teams from different eras, as the game of basketball changes in terms of style, rules and size of the players. And yet, it can be an interesting exercise to go through.

The 1986-1987 Orangemen and the 2002-2003 Orangemen both played their National Championship games in New Orleans, with the final results differing. As Syracuse fans vividly know, 2003 was the lone NCAA National Championship, while 1987 was a heart breaking loss on a Keith Smart shot.

The two teams had a lot of similarities.  Both teams improved as the season went along, and were playing their best basketball during the NCAA tournament.  Both teams were of course coached by Jim Boeheim.  Both teams had leads in the NCAA Championship game, and struggled to make their free throws during the last minute. In both cases the star freshman forward (Derrick Coleman and Carmelo Anthony) missed the front end of a one-and-one that could have sealed the win.  In both cases a senior forward (Howard Triche and Kueth Duany) missed the front end of a one-and-one that could have also sealed the win.  The most clear difference in the championship game is that in 2003 Hakim Warrick blocked Michael Lee’s 3 point shot attempt, whereas Howard Triche could not cover Keith Smart’s 2 point shot. 

The two teams, however, were different in many ways. The 1987 team started the season ranked #15 in the country, and would rise to #5. They were 5-6 versus AP Top 20 teams, including three losses to Georgetown (including two classics).  They won the Big East Regular Season title, and lost in the BET Championship to the Hoyas.

The 2003 team started the year unranked and did not crack the top 25 until January 19^th; they would actually drop out of the top 25 again, and then return for the rest of the season on January 26^th.  The team was 7-2 versus AP Top 25 teams, and beat Georgetown three times. They would not win the Big East regular season title nor make it to the BET Championship game. 

The 1987 team had balanced scoring with five different players averaging 10+ points a game. Those five players also all scored 20 or more points in at least one game, and three of them (Triche, Sherman Douglas and Rony Seikaly) scored 30+ points in a game.  There were a lot of options for who would lead the team in scoring on a given night.

The 2003 team had four players scoring 10+ points a game.  Five different players did score 20 or more points in a game, but make no mistake about it, that Anthony was the alpha dog on scoring, and led the team in scoring most nights.

The 1987 team had more collegiate experience.  The starting five consisted of two seniors, a junior, a sophomore and a freshman.  2003 had one senior, two sophomores and two freshmen.

The 1987 Orangemen played both zone and man-to-man, along with a mix of full court press.  Zone defense was typically used in inbound situations in the half court, whereas man-to-man was used in normal routines.  Syracuse was comfortable pressing a lot utilizing Seikaly as the last line of defense if the press was broken.  The three point shot had just been introduced in 1987, and college teams in general were not geared towards preventing it.  Syracuse did play Providence, a Rick Pitino team that lived-and-died by the three point shot, and the Orangemen did beat them three times.  They did have problems with Steve Alford in the NCAA Championship with Alford hitting 7 of 10 attempts, though a few of those were on fast breaks where he pulled up and took the shot from the arc as the defender back pedaled.

In 2003 Syracuse was playing its vaunted zone defense almost exclusively, and the team played it very well by the season’s end.  Gerry McNamara was very good at picking off passes in the lane, and Duany made an intimidating guard at 6’5” at the top.  The back of the Syracuse zone was tall and long limbed with 6’8” Anthony, 6’8” Warrick and 7’0” Craig Forth.  Jeremy McNeil would offer a change of pace on defense, and was the shot blocking expert in the back line.  The three point shot had been well established by 2003, and the Orangemen were very good at closing out on perimeter shooters.

Offensively the 1987 Orangemen played an up tempo game, and loved to push the pace of the game.  Despite being up tempo, they did a decent job of not being too careless with the ball.  Sherman Douglas had a 2.4 assist to turnover ratio, and his backcourt mate Greg Monroe was even better at 2.9.

The Orangemen loved to score from the inside, relying on Seikaly and Coleman to pound the ball home.  Douglas was the master of the alley oop pass and he would lob the ball over defenses allowing the very athletic Seikaly, Coleman and Stephen Thompson to dunk the ball home.   Monroe was the only real three point threat, and he became very adept at it hitting 44% of his attempts.  Monroe basically camped out on the three point arc, and Douglas would drive and kick the ball back out to him.  Douglas was extremely good at driving the lane and putting up the soft floater, or dish off to the big mean down low.  The team was fortunate to have two pure point guards in Douglas and Monroe.

The 2003 Orangemen ran all of their offense through Carmelo Anthony.  Melo was the most gifted offensive freshman that Syracuse has ever had.  He had good ball handling skills, excellent moves to the hoop with a short jumper and a decent three point shot.  Billy Edelin became more integral into the team as the post season progressed, but the offense was run by Gerry McNamara.  GMac was not a true point guard, but he ran the offense well. He was a sniper with a reputation for making the clutch shots.  Warrick wasn’t a main threat on offense, but he got enough touches to become effective as the third option.  Duany was decent all around, and offered a very good third three point shooting options, behind GMac and Melo.  The team had a decent perimeter attack, and an alpha dog to run the offense through.

Both teams had an Achilles heal with their free throw shooting.  The best free throw shooter on each team was the point guard, which helped in close games.  Douglas hit 74% of his shots, while McNamara hit a blistering 91%.  For 1987, Monroe and Triche were okay, Coleman and Seikaly were marginal, and Thompson and Derek Brower, both from the bench were awful.

For 2003, Anthony was okay from the free throw, while Duany, Warrick and Edelin were marginal.  Forth, Josh Pace and Jeremy McNeil were terrible.

How would the two teams match up? 

Point Guard:  6’ Sherman Douglas versus 6’2” Gerry McNamara. Douglas is definitely the better point guard; we are talking about perhaps the best point guard in Syracuse history, and that’s no disrespect to McNamara.  Douglas was quicker, and would likely be able to drive past GMac.  GMac is clearly the better shooter, and the height advantage over Douglas would help him. The 1987 team, because they played a lot of man defense, may have put Monroe on McNamara.  That could backfire, however, because that meant that 6’ Douglas had to guard 6’5” Duany who was adept at hitting the three.  Stephen Thompson could come off the bench and help shutdown McNamara or Duany, but Thompson wasn’t an integral part of the offense in 1987.  Overall, edge to 1987.

Shooting Guard: 6’3” Greg Monroe versus 6’5” Kueth Duany.  Both were seniors.  Monroe was by far the better shooter and the better ball handler. He was very comfortable at running the offense when needed.  Duany would be the better defender and rebounder, and while Monroe was the better shooter, Duany was not a slouch.  If Billy Edelin came into the game and moved to the point, then Douglas would have had to guard him, and Edelin at 6’4”, who specialized in backing defenders into the paint, may have had a good time against Douglas.  In that scenario, Monroe would have been guarding McNamara.  Tough to call.  I would call it Even.

Small Forward:  6’5” Howard Triche versus 6’8” Carmelo Anthony.  Triche was a senior and a solid all around player, but there is no comparison here. Anthony, one of the greatest freshman players of all time, is significantly better than Triche.  Syracuse would likely have had Derrick Coleman guard Anthony in man defense, and that would have been very interesting.  Coleman was a decent shot blocker and at 6’11”, with a very long reach, Coleman would’ve been a tough matchup for Anthony.  I do think the offensive expertise of Anthony would have won out, but Coleman would have made him work for it.  The 1987 team likely would have had Triche attack the side of the zone that Anthony was on, and that would have pulled Anthony a little further out from the hoop, but not much.  Overall edge, 2003 by a lot.

Power Forward: 6’11” Derrick Coleman versus 6’8” Hakim Warrick.  Coleman was a raw offensive player in 1987, with very good hands and the ability to make the short jumper.  His greatest ability was to crash the boards for rebounds, and run the court.  Warrick was coming into his own by the end of the 2003 season, and had that explosive first step to the hoop.  Warrick would have had a tough time matching Coleman on defense, as Coleman’s height and reach would give him an advantage.  Warrick would have had Triche to beat defensively, and Warrick’s speed and size would have helped him a lot there, especially since Warrick played above the rim.  Overall edge, 1987.

Center: 6’10” Rony Seikaly versus 7’0” Craig Forth and 6’8” Jeremy McNeil.  Forth and McNeil split time at center, so that would give the 2003 Orangemen 10 fouls to use, and two big bodies to keep fresh against Seikaly.  Seikaly was definitely better than either Forth or McNeil. He was much more athletic, could run the court very well, and by the end of 1987 had developed a short jumper and some nice post moves.  Forth likely would have been the tougher assignment for Seikaly as he took up more space, and would make it tough for Seikaly to get to the hoop, whereas McNeil could be pulled out of position on the block attempts.  Seikaly handled centers much better than Forth/McNeil in the 1987 NCAA season run.  Forth and McNeil would offer very little offensive against Seikaly.  They both were limited offensively to begin with, and Seikaly was a premier shot blocker in his era.  The offensive liability of 2003 centers would allow Seikaly to cheat and defend against other 2003 players going to the hoop. Overall edge, 1987 by a lot.

Bench:  The 1987 team really went two players deep. Stephen Thompson was the backup shooting guard and small forwards, and specialized in defense and running out for passes on the fast break, as well as putting back loose balls for easy dunks and layups.  Derek Brower was the reserve big man, and he was a load in the middle. Not much of an offensive threat, but solid defensively.  The 2003 team had Josh Pace, the aforementioned Edelin, and McNeil. Pace would offer a good change of pace for the 2003 team, something that the 1987 team really did not have.  At 6’5” he would have a disadvantage against the tall 1987 front line, and Triche may have been able to take him on.  Overall edge goes to 2003.

Coaching: The 2003 Jim Boeheim was likely a better coach than the 1987 Boeheim.  Boeheim had 10 years of experience in 1987, whereas he had 26 in 2003.  Overall edge goes to 2003.

The big questions would be the following:

·         Could the 1987 team run the ball as much as they would want, or would the 2003 team be able to prevent it? If the 1987 team were able to run the ball, could the 2003 team keep up with them?

·         Could the 1987 team slow down Melo?  If they couldn’t, would they be able to contain the rest of the team enough so that Melo didn’t matter?

·         Could the 2003 team slow down Seikaly?

·         Could the 1987 team guard the three point shooting of the 2003 team?

·         Could the 2003 team handle the full court pressure of the 1987 team? 

In the end, I think the 2003 team would win the game.  I think the 2003 team could handle the full court pressure. Melo would be able to help bring the ball up court, and with him and Duany helping in that area, they would be able to move the ball over the press defense.

The 1987 team would have a tough time covering Duany or Edelin, whomever was playing the other guard position to McNamara.  I don’t think the 1987 team is going to stop Melo; they may slow him down but not enough.  The question would be how much could Seikaly help Coleman on defense.  If he could rotate over, he could have been very effective at stopping Melo.  Seikaly would probably have a big day offensively and defensively, but he would get quite a workout against Forth/McNeil, and lest we forget, Warrick and Anthony could collapse on defense and help double team.

Douglas would be very tough to stop on the penetration, and he would get his points and his assists.  Douglas was able to master the alley oop in the NBA, so he would get the pass off against anyone. 

f the game was close, I would not want to be either squad trying to protect the lead.  I am not one of those fans who believe that Syracuse won the 2003 title only because of Melo. It was a complete team effort throughout the playoffs. But in this hypothetical matchup of 1987 versus 2003, I think he does bring matchup problems, especially with Warrick at the other forward position.  And in the end I think 2002-2003 beats 1986-1987.

Well Traveled

Former Syracuse star forward Hakim Warrick was traded from the New Orleans Hornets to the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday per the Post Standard. He had been traded to New Orleans in the off season, and played only one game with them before moving on to Charlotte. This will be Warrick's 6th team in his 8th NBA season, starting in 2006. He has played for Memphis, Milwaukee, Chicago, Phoenix, New Orleans and now Charlotte.

 

That is not unusual for NBA players to move around, and particularly not unusual for former Orangemen.  Of the 41 Syracuse basketball players who have played in the NBA, only ten played their entire career for one team, and those were mostly very short careers: Billy Gabor, Donte Greene, Jack Kiley, Andy Rautins, Frank Reddout, Bill Smith, Bob Shaddock, Lou Spicer, Kris Joseph and Dion Waiters.  Joseph and Waiters are of course in their rookie seasons, so who knows what their future holds.  Shaddock has the distinction of the shortest NBA career for an SU alum with 2 games, though Kris Joseph currently has just one game in his very young career. 

 

Many of the players had short careers of two or three seasons, where they played for two or three teams, hoping to catch on, but never quite getting there.

 

Others such as Carmelo Anthony made a big switch in free agency, or Dave Bing who wound down his Hall of Fame career with Detroit in two short stays in Washington and Boston.

 

Damone Brown went four for four; four different teams in a four season career with stints in Philadelphia, Toronto, New Jersey and Washington.

 

Marty Byrnes showed Brown up by sneaking in five teams in four seasons: Phoenix, New Orleans, the Lakers, Dallas and Indiana.  Byrnes also has the distinction of the only former Orangeman to win an NBA Championship (in 1980 with the Lakers).

 

John Wallace also made five stops in seven seasons, with the Knicks, Toronto, Detroit, Phoenix and Miami. Wallace liked the Knicks so much he had two tours there.

 

Sherman Douglas had a good career over 12 seasons. He also covered five franchises during his NBA tour, with Miami, Boston, Milwaukee, New Jersey and the Clippers.

 

Billy Owens looked destined for stardom until knee injuries derailed his career. He would play for 6 teams over a 10 year career from 1992- 2001 that included Golden State, Miami, Sacramento, Seattle, Philadelphia and Detroit.

 

Danny Schayes seemed to play for everyone in the NBA. He had the longest career in the NBA for any Syracuse Orangeman with 18 seasons and 1,138 games. Schayes was never a great player, but he was a 7 foot player who could shoot well, make his free throws, handle the ball, and get some rebounds. That made him an ideal back up center, and teams were always in the need for guys like him. Schayes would play from 1982 to 1999 and would call the following seven franchises 'home':  Utah, Denver, Milwaukee, Lakers, Phoenix, Miami and Orlando.

 

So that brings us to the conclusion. Which former Orangemen played for the most franchises in his NBA career?  That would be Jason Hart who squeezed in 9 teams in a 9 year career from 2001 to 2010. Hart would play for Milwaukee, San Antonio, Charlotte, Sacramento, the Clippers, Utah, Denver, Minnesota, and finally for New Orleans.  Though he played nine seasons, he would play in only 341 games. His best season by far was 2004-2005 where he had career highs in all categories averaging 9.5 points and 5.0 assists per game.

15-0

The 2010-2011 version of the Syracuse Orange have entered a very elite group of Syracuse teams that started out 15-0. This year’s team is only the fifth squad to accomplish that feat in the 111 year history of Syracuse basketball.

It will be interesting to see how good this squad becomes. They were definitely an overrated team early in the year (to quote a Hall of Fame coach we all are quite familiar with!), and they managed to stay unbeaten in spite of themselves. The team started to gel, and now has impressive runaway wins over Michigan State, and Big East foes Providence and Notre Dame.

This years squad is definitely a versatile group of players, with a deeper than usual bench filling in for different roles. Now that James Southerland has the confidence in his perimeter shot and has shown some spots of inspired defense, the missing pieces of the squad are starting to get filled in. I would still like to see Scoop Jardine pass the ball more often and be a little more careful with it, despite his nine assists the last game. Better defense from Dion Waiters would be great (though he is improving), and a good 20 minute effort in some game, any game, by Fab Melo would really inspire me. The fact that Kris Joseph is hitting his 3's is very encouraging for the long term progress of this team.

But they team is playing shutdown defense like they did last year, and quickly converting to their transition game for easy baskets. And the team is crashing the board very well, something that has not always been a trademark of Syracuse teams. I think the top squads like Pitt and UConn will give the Orange a real test because they are so familiar with our zone defense and don’t typically get rattled, but I do like how this team is playing.

15-0 is very tough, as evidenced by the exclusive five member club. Last year’s team, which I think was much better than this year’s team, only went 13-0 before losing their first game. And I thought last year’s team had an excellent chance of winning the National Championship before the Arinze Onuaku injury finally came to hurt them in the Butler game.

So, how have the other four 15-0 teams finished?

The 1999-2000 squad was the last team to start 15-0, and they started off the season 19-0, a school record for most wins to start a season. This wasn’t the best team in Syracuse history, but like this year’s squad, was an outstanding defensive team. Etan Thomas, two time Big East Defensive Player of the Year, anchored the middle of the defense. Add in Jason Hart to harass the opposing guards and Ryan Blackwell to guard the post players, and it was a tough team to score on. The team would end up 26-6, winning the Big East regular season championship, and losing in the Sweet Sixteen.

1986-1987 team unexpectedly started 15-0 behind an unknown point guard named Sherman Douglas. The team had lost Pearl Washington, Rafael Addison, and Wendell Alexis from the year before, so expectations were not high. This team finished 31-7, as the Big East regular season champions. Douglas, along with Rony Seikaly, Derek Coleman, Howard Triche and Greg Monroe would make an impressive run through the NCAA tournament, only to lose to in the National Championship game to the Indiana Hoosiers.

The 1925-1926 team was led by the Three Musketeers: All-American junior Vic Hanson, and his classmates Charlie Lee and Gotch Carr would start out 15-0. They would lose their first (and only game) on February 24th at Penn State 37-31. A few weeks later they would play the Nittany Lions again, easily beating them 29-12 to revenge the victory. The squad was awarded the National Championship by the Helms Foundation for their 19-1 season.

The 1917-1918 team was the first one to start out 15-0, and they went to 16-0 behind All-Americans Joe Schwarzer and Bob Marcus. The team was a dominant defensive presence, and would enter the last game of the season undefeated. In a very physical game, Penn would beat the Orangemen 17-16. Penn would score only 2 points from the floor, the rest from the free throw line, as Penn’s Sweeney went 15-16 from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Syracuse’s Schwarzer, normally an excellent free throw shooter was only 5 of 13. The Orangemen were still awarded the National Championship by the Helms Foundation for their outstanding 16-1 record.

All five of these teams were outstanding defensive teams with strong rebounders and excellent guard play. Let’s see how far the 2010-2011 edition can go.

Boeheim and Johnson Earn Top League Recognitions

Congratulations to Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim and forward Wesley Johnson, both who earned significant Big East Awards yesterday.

Jim Boeheim won his fourth Big East Coach of the Year award. He won his first in 1984, twenty six years ago. This is a well earned award this year, as the Orange were not ranked in the preseason top 25, and predicted to finish 6th in the Big East. Instead, the Orange, with no players recruited in the top 50 of their class, rose to #1 in the national rankings, and won the Big East title outright with a two game lead. There were some other coaches with outstanding efforts this year, but this selection was really a no-brainer.

Wesley Johnson was more of the surprise as Player of the Year. Many Syracuse fans, myself included, had assumed that since Scottie Reynolds had been the front runner most the season and was the only unanimous player on the All Big East First Team, that he was going to win the award. That is one advantage of having coaches vote, as opposed to sportswriters. The coaches are less impressed by statistics, and more impressed by what they have seen on the court. That does not mean they always get it right, in my opinion. But this year I think they did. As I had mentioned the other day, Johnson’s team focus, at the expense of his own statistics was a major key in the Orange having an outstanding regular season.

I do have to agree with other fans and bloggers, including Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician, that I thought Andy Rautins was the MVP of this team. Though we do have to keep in mind that Player of the Year is not the same as Most Valuable Player. There is a subtle difference.

Johnson is the fourth Syracuse player to win the Big East Player of the Year. Derrick Coleman was the first in 1990 guiding the Orangemen to a 26-7 record, 12-4 in the Big East. D.C. averaged 17.9 ppg, 12.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists a game that year, and shot 55% from the floor.

Billy Owens gave the Orangemen back-to-back Player of the Year recognitions earning the award in 1991. Owens carried the Orangemen most of the season to a 26-6 record, 12-4 in the Big East including the Big East Regular Season Championship. He averaged 23.2 ppg, 11.6 rpg and 3.5 rpg. If not for a terrible post season by the team (0-2), Owens’s season may have been remembered as one of the greatest individual seasons ever for an Orangeman.

Syracuse would have to wait another 14 years before an Orangeman won the Player of the Year. Hakim Warrick earned the recognition in 2005 leading the Orangemen to 27-7 overall, 11-5 in the Big East. Warrick averaged 21.4 ppg, 8.6 rpg, and 1.5 assists on 54.8% shooting.

Johnson’s resume isn’t done yet for this year. But he has helped lead the Orangemen to a 28-3 overall record, 15-3 in conference and a Big East Regular Season Title. He is averaging 15.3 pp, 8.5 assists and 2.4 assists while shooting 38% from three point range and 79% from the free throw line. His scoring numbers are not overly impressive, but he is on one of the most balanced scoring successful teams in league history with seven players averaging 8.3 ppg or more.

At first glance it seems hard to believe that Carmelo Anthony did not win the award in 2003. He averaged 22.2 ppg, 10.0 rpg, and 2.2 apg, while leading the Orangemen to a 30-5 record, 13-3 in the Big East for a share of the division title, and oh yeah, a National Championship. Of course, the National Championship wasn’t relevant at the time the award came out, and Troy Bell had an outstanding season for Boston College which also won its division in the Big East.

I always thought Sherman Douglas should have won the award in 1989 when the Orangemen went 30-8 overall and 10-6 in league play. Douglas averaged 18.2 ppg, 8.6 apg and had 2.5 rpg. He was what ran Syracuse’s high powered offense. Georgetown did win the Big East Regular Season that year, and that does count for something, but at the time (and even now), I don’t see how the Hoyas’ Charles Smith was the better player or had the better season. A couple of guys named Mutombo and Mourning also contributed to the success of that team.

Pearl Washington should have won the award in 1986. He lead the Orangemen to a 26-6 overall mark, 14-2 in Big East play and won the Big East Regular Season title. I know St. John’s Walter Berry had an impressive year, but Washington was the most exciting player in the league, led the Orangemen to the best record, averaged 17.3 ppg and 7.8 apg, outstanding numbers for a point guard.

The other great single season for an Orangeman in the past twenty years was John Wallace in 1995-1996. Wallace carried the Orangemen all season with 22.2 ppg and 8.7 rpg, leading the Orangemen to a 29-9 record, 12-6 in the Big East, and to the National Championship game. But the Orangemen were not a great team during the regular season, merely very good, and UConn was dominant with the great Ray Allen, who would win the award. Sometimes, its just a matter of who your competition is.

Syracuse Basketball Videos

Normally I ignore the promotional requests I get as I do this blog and my website OrangeHoops for fun and for the fans. However, I did receive a request from a development company Thought Equity Motion to showcase their efforts with the NCAA on NCAA Vault.

They are currently focusing on NCAA Sweet Sixteen video links, and they have the entire games available for free. You can also choose to search for specific plays in each game. The site is fairly interesting. Browse around on it and enjoy.

I was working on putting together a page of video clips from YouTube and other sources, so the timing on this request was good. So if you want to get psyched for tomorrow's Louisville game, take a look at the 2003 National Championship game in its entirety, or just watch the last 90 seconds.

For those of you who long for yesteryear, how about Sherman Douglas hiking the ball to Stephen Thompson in the blowout of Indiana? Or Pearl Washington draining a half court shot to beat Boston College at the buzzer? And of course, highlights from last year's marathon 6 Overtime game.

Just whatever you do, don't call Gerry McNamara overrated.

High Schools of Note to the Syracuse Landscape

You sometimes hear that a college has a “pipeline” with a particular high school, a school where they seem to get a lot of their top talent from. I do not think those situations are as prominent as some may suggest, at least not in the past few decades, though there are clearly situations where a school as obtained two or three good players in a short period of time from one high school.

I’ve started working recently on my OrangeHoops website, putting together a listing of all the high schools and prep schools that Syracuse players have attended. It’s by no means a complete list, and admittedly, since I am short of all the data, there could be some significant contributing schools that I am missing. Nevertheless, I do have some opinions on which schools have helped Syracuse basketball the most over its 110 year history.

Top of mind will be Jamesville-Dewitt High School, who already sent Danny Schayes and Andy Rautins to the Orangemen. With Brandon Triche joining the Orange this year, it will be interesting to see how he does; if he has an outstanding collegiate career, J-D will definitely move up my list. I think it is interesting that the three most significant Orangemen basketball players from J-D are all related to notable Syracuse basketball players. Danny was the son of NBA Legend Dolph Schayes of the Syracuse Nationals, Andy of course the son of Leo Rautins, and Brandon the nephew of former Syracuse captain Howard Triche.

Now when ranking the impact the schools have had on Syracuse, it is both a combination of the greatness of the players and how many players. Towson Catholic gave Syracuse Carmelo Anthony and Donte Greene, but that is only two players, both who only played one year at Syracuse. Admittedly, two of the best freshman seasons on the hill ever, but not enough to make the top 5.

Dunbar High School (Baltimore) gave us some players in the 1980s & 90s, Masten Park (Buffalo) basically formed the team in the early 1900s, Christian Brothers Academy (CBA) has sprinkled in some players over the years, and Lansingburg (Troy, NY) gave the Orange some solid players in the 1920s. Tiny Norwich was a big impact on the Orange in the first quarter century, and the Manlius Military Academy had its moments before it closed down.

However, these are my top five:

Binghamton Central (Binghamton, NY). Binghamton gave Syracuse a four sport letterman in Joe Vavra in the 1930s; he would be more successful in boxing than in the other sports, but nevertheless was a valuable member of the basketball team. It was when Bullet Billy Gabor stepped on the court in 1942 that Binghamton Central became important; Gabor was the first thousand point man for Syracuse. In the 1950s two more BC guys came, Ted Parke, and Jon Cincebox. Cincebox is from a statistical perspective the best rebounder Syracuse has ever had (based on rebounds per game).

Springarn High School (Washington, DC). This is the exception to the rule, but what an exception. Only three players to Syracuse, but when two of them are Dave Bing and Sherman Douglas, arguably the two best guards Syracuse has ever had, it’s tough to overlook the school. Add in Gerry McFadden who transferred to Syracuse in the late 1960s, and you have three starters from this D.C. school.

The top three schools are miles ahead of the rest, and were difficult to sort through. At number three I have Mont Pleasant High School (Schenectady, NY). This school was indeed a pipeline for the Orangemen, starting in the 1930s and going into the late 1950s. John Gorecki, Paul Podbielski, Don MacNaughton, Stan Kruse, Chris Koray, Roy Peters, Dick Suprunowicz, Bill Manikis, Jack Larnad, Larry Loudis, Bruce Kollath, and Chaundu Carey all came from Mont Pleasant. While this school was not producing superstar players for the Orange, it was producing solid everyday players, the type of players who start for two or three seasons, or do the dirty work of a sixth or seventh man.

Number two is Central High School, of Syracuse, now long closed. In the 1920s Central was the pipeline for Syracuse University, and was one of the best basketball programs in New York State. Central did not have a basketball team until shortly before 1920. Syracuse basketball players George Noakes and Herman Brickman, though both alumni of Central, likely played basketball for the Syracuse YMCA rather than at Central. But basketball was becoming a popular sport, and individuals such as Dave Brodsky championed to have the programs at their high schools.

That would lead to players such as Brodsky, Gordon Mahley and Phil Rakov playing together in high school, and then together for the Orangemen. More importantly, a young man named Vic Hanson also played basketball with them at Central. Hanson, of course, would lead Syracuse to the 1927 Helms Foundation National Championship, along with earning himself recognition in the College Basketball Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame.

Brodsky, upon graduation at Syracuse, would go back to Central and coach the basketball team for several years. He would win several district championships and some state championships while there. All which would lead to Brodsky as being recognized as the “father of Syracuse high school basketball”. Along the way, talented players such as Ken Beagle, Ronnie Phillips, George Armstrong and Warren Stevens would play for him. Later players such as Adam Markowski, the wonderfully talented Manny Breland, and crew legend Bill Sanford would attend Central.

Which brings us to the top high school for Syracuse basketball. Surprisingly, it is not a Syracuse area high school, though it is a New York school. Brooklyn Boys & Girls School (formerly Brooklyn Boys) has been the source of more impact players than any other high school for Syracuse basketball. In the mid 1910’s, Syracuse saw the arrival of Charley Dolley and John Barsha. Dolley was a great shooter, and developed a reputation at Syracuse for his game winning shots. Barsha was an outstanding defensive player, and a critical part of the 1918 Syracuse Helms Foundation National Champions. Barsha would also earn All-American status in football. Fellow gridiron star Herm Sawyer would also play hoops.

In the 1950’s Brooklyn Boys & Girls would send the talented Vinnie Cohen to the Hill. Cohen would lead Syracuse to its first NCAA berth, and a final position in the Elite eight, along with being the first Syracuse player to average twenty points a game in a season. The 1960s saw Sam Penceal arrive with his strong defensive play (good enough to shut down the multi-talented Bill Bradley). Later in the decade, Vaughn Harper brought his tremendous leaping ability and rebounding skills to the Orangemen. And last, but certainly not least, in 1983 Boy & Girls sent the much publicized Pearl Washington to the Dome, where the Pearl electrified the crowds, and helped make 30k-plus crowds a true ‘happening’ in the Carrier Dome.

Who knows? Perhaps the success of Jonny Flynn and Paul Harris will revitalize the Buffalo connection. Or Kris Joseph will help the Baltimore/D.C. pipeline, or the Canadian express line. But the schools above, definitely helped sculpt the landscape of Syracuse basketball.

Syracuse All Decade Team 2000-2009

By now most Syracuse fans are aware that Jonny Flynn is going to bypass his final two years of college eligibility to go for the money and fame of the NBA. I am not going to comment in length on Flynn’s decision. As a fan I wish he would stay; next year’s team with Flynn would clearly be better than next year’s team without him. I think Flynn also has a lot of room to improve at the college game; he played the point position very well down the stretch this season, but I would like to have seen him play that way for a season and raise his game another notch. However, he is staring at the opportunity to earn millions, he is reportedly getting props by the likes of LeBron James (per the Axeman), and the NBA is the opportunity to play against the best. And the only reason Flynn came to college was to go to the NBA, so when that opportunity is there, I cannot blame him for taking it.

Flynn leaves Syracuse as probably the third best point guard in the Jim Boeheim era. The top two are clearly Pearl Washington and Sherman Douglas, in some order. Flynn comes in ahead of guys like Red Autry, Gerry McNamara, Jason Hart , Lazarus Sims and Eddie Moss.

Anyways, the decade from 2000-2009 has ended, and I have been compiling ‘All Decade’ Teams for every decade of Syracuse basketball, along with a player of the decade for each decade. [Note: for purposes of determining best player of a decade, I restrict consideration to only their activity during that decade. I realize this is unfair to the players who cross over two decades, but such as it is].

Most decades have been easy. The 1900s had Art Powell, the 1910s Joe Schwarzer, the 1920s Vic Hanson, the 1930s Ed Sonderman, the 1940s Billy Gabor, the 1950s Vinnie Cohen, and the 1960s Dave Bing.

The choices got more difficult starting with the 1970s. I narrowed it down to Rudy Hackett, Roosevelt Bouie, Louis Orr, and Dennis DuVal. DuVal was an electrifying and outstanding player, and Hackett led Syracuse to its first Final Four, but both of their impact was dwarfed by the dominance of the Bouie ‘N Louie era. So the choice came down to Louis Orr and Roosevelt Bouie. Considering the defensive dominance of Bouie that allowed a young Jim Boeheim to anchor a team around, I had to go with Roosevelt Bouie for the 1970s.

The 1980s was the best decade of Syracuse basketball, and as such there were some dominant players to select from. The top three were clearly Pearl Washington, Derrick Coleman and Sherman Douglas. Coleman was the best player of the three, but his senior season was in the 1990s, and so we’re comparing his first three seasons to the three years of Washington and four of Douglas. I think the point guard duo have an edge as a result. It then comes down to Washington and Douglas. I think Douglas was the better point guard, and the guy I want running my team. But the Pearl was an outstanding point guard himself, and a one-man press breaking machine. Honestly, I would not argue with anyone who chose opposite to me on this, but in the end I took the Pearl because of his impact on the program.

The 1990s had three outstanding players: Billy Owens, Lawrence Moten and John Wallace. Owens was the best player of the three, but Syracuse had only two seasons of him in the 1990s, and Owens has to be downgraded somewhat for his failure to win a Big East game or NCAA tournament game his last season at Syracuse. I mean, that’s half the seasons he had in the 1990s. Moten and Wallace were both four year men. Moten was the better four year player; he was a much better player than Wallace was as a freshman and sophomore. And I had written a while back that Moten’s significance in the 90s cannot be understated… he came to the program at the time of the probation period, and helped Syracuse be a winner despite the NCAA penalties, and the program kept going as a result. Moten is one of my all time favorite Syracuse players, but I gave John Wallace the nod as the top player of the 90s. He was a better player as a junior and senior than Moten was those two years, and Wallace carried the team to the NCAA Championship game his senior season.

As tough as I found the last three decades to be for selections, I found this past decade (2000-2009) to be the toughest. One of the difficulties is the presence of Carmelo Anthony, who played only one year, but clearly had the best single season of the decade and led Syracuse to its first NCAA Tournament Championship. Then you have Hak & Mac attack with Hakim Warrick and Gerry McNamara, and the ironman Jonny Flynn.

First, I will be quite clear that I have a tough time naming any player the greatest career player, or player of a decade, when his contribution to the school was only one season. That pretty much makes it very difficult for me to select Anthony. Yes, Anthony had the best single season, and he did win a National Championship. But Hakim Warrick and Gerry McNamara both also won a National Championship, in which both were significant impact players (remember ‘the block’ and ‘six threes’?).

Consider that Warrick scored over 2000 points during the decade, was the team’s leading rebounder for the decade, played in three NCAA tournaments, won a Big East Championship his senior season, and was named the Big East Player of the Year his Senior year, and all Big East first team two times.

Gerry McNamara led the school in scoring and assists for the decade, played in four NCAA tournaments (the only Orangeman to do that in the 2000s), won two Big East tournaments (including perhaps the gutsiest four series effort by a player in the history of that tournament). GMac was of course a fan favorite.

And recently we have all had the pleasure of watching Jonny Flynn and his ironman efforts on the court, and his own heroic Big East tournament efforts this season.

Gerry McNamara came away with the most hardware for the decade, but the other three were better players. Flynn was fun to watch the last two years, but Warrick and Anthony were better. So it comes down to Anthony and Warrick. Warrick was Anthony’s wingman in 2003. But as I mentioned earlier, Anthony only played one year, and he won a National Title (but so did Warrick). Anthony never won a Big East title, and he was never the Big East Player of the Year (I know that politics played into that, but nevertheless it is a fact). If Warrick had played two years and Anthony one, I could go with Anthony. But Warrick played four years; Anthony only one. Warrick had impact on 40% of the decade, Anthony only 10%. Warrick played in 3 NCAA tournaments, Anthony one. Warrick won a Big East Title, Anthony none. Warrick was on the Big East First team 2x, Anthony only once. Warrick was the Big East Player of the Year, Anthony never won that distinction.

We could play the ‘yeah, but’ game with Anthony. If Anthony had stayed four years, he likely would’ve bettered all of Warrick’s accomplishments. But Anthony made a choice to leave Syracuse and go pro; Warrick chose to stay four years. I am not going to make a decision based on what could have happened, but instead on what actually did happen. And based on that, I choose Mr. Warrick.

As for the All Decade team, that a bit easier. I came down to a backcourt of Jonny Flynn and Gerry McNamara, and a front court of Carmelo Anthony, Hakim Warrick and Arinze Onuaku. I would have a three man bench, and this bench would help the Orange shoot the lights out: Preston Shumpert, Eric Devendorf, and Demetris Nichols. Of course, the coach of the decade would be the only coach this decade, Jim Boehim.

Agree or disagree with the Player of the Decade decision? I’ve set up a ranking on Rankopedia for you to make your own vote. And if you want to comment on any of the previous decade selections, feel free to leave me a comment.

It’s a long time until next fall, but I’ll be here every week or so with more comments on the Orange of past and present.

Best Backcourts Ever

Syracuse has an overabundance of talent at the guard position entering the 2008-2009 season. The starting backcourt at the end of the 2006-2007 season has returned from a season off due to injury (Eric Devendorf and Andy Rautins), and the backcourt from last season returns (Jonny Flynn, Paul Harris and Scoop Jardine). Jardine appears to be heading for a medical redshirt for this season, which will remove some of the clutter, and Harris will likely play his natural small forward position. A remaining backcourt of Flynn, Devendorf and Rautins is still an impressive trio.

How will this year’s backcourt compare to those of Syracuse’s past? The Orange have a long history of outstanding backcourts, and outstanding individuals in those backcourts. Back in October 2006, I had addressed my top five front courts of all time for Syracuse, but I must admit I held off on the backcourts because I found it quite challenging. As a general rule I tried to avoid considering a backcourt with one or two players from another season, but of course, rules are made to be broken. And if three players rotated through the backcourt, I counted them all. That having been said, here is my top 10 Syracuse backcourts, in reverse order:

At number 10 I have the 1978-1979 triumvirate of Hal Cohen, Marty Headd and Eddie Moss. This trio played together for two seasons, but I chose their first season together as their best effort. Eddie Moss was a good playmaker and a great defensive player, Cohen a solid playmaker with a nice jump shot and Headd a tremendous mid range jump shooter. This tri did not do a ton of scoring, but still had decent numbers with Cohen at 8.1 ppg, Headd 12.4 and Moss 6.6 ppg. But they did not need to score much when the front court was loaded with Roosevelt Bouie, Louis Orr, Dale Shackleford and Danny Schayes. This team would go to a 26-4 record.

At number 9 is the 1973-1974 duo of Dennis DuVal and Jimmy Lee. This team ran a ‘showtime’ style offense at coach Roy Danforth’s request, with DuVal putting the ‘flash’ on things, averaging 20.6 points a game with 3.4 assists. Lee was the perfect compliment, a clutch perimeter shooter with 13.7 ppg along with 4.1 assists; Lee was deadly at the free throw line making 81.3% of his charity shots. I would have ranked this duo higher, but Syracuse finished at 19-7, and the sum of the parts of the whole team did not seem to match that of the individuals.

At number 8 is the 1993-1994 backcourts of Adrian Autry and Lawrence Moten. This was one of my favorite backcourts to watch with the big (6’4”) steady Autry at the point, and the smooth all-around terrific play of ‘Poetry in ‘ Moten at the two guard. Both Autry and Moten could score (16.7 ppg and 20.5 ppg respectively), and both were decent rebounders. Moten’s perimeter shooting suffered that year, though he led the team in 3 point shots made, and Autry hit 37% of this perimeter shots. There was nothing dynamic about this duo, just good solid basketball, and they both racked up a few 30 point games that year.

Number 7 is the 1985-1986 backcourt of Pearl Washington and Rafael Addison. Jim Boeheim had moved the underrated Addison from forward to the backcourt to get Howard Triche into the starting lineup, giving Syracuse tremendous talent in the backcourt. The Pearl was spectacular in what would be his last season on the hill, scoring 17.3 ppg and averaging 7.8 assists, and continuing to prove that he one man press breaker. Addison had a solid season with 15 ppg, 4.2 assists, and 5.6 rebounds, but was hampered by a leg injury during the second half of the season, affecting both his and the team’s play.

Number 6 is the 1965-1966 backcourt of Dave Bing, Jim Boeheim and Sam Penceal. Coach Fred Lewis employed a three guard offense most the season with Bing playing more the small forward than guard position. However, this backcourt makes the list purely on his talent along. Penceal was an outstanding defensive player who was called up to stop the opposing team’s leading scorer (he did an outstanding job on Bill Bradley one year). Boeheim was a stead guard averaging 14.6 ppg, and making almost 57% of his shots. But Bing was the star, averaging a school record 28.4 ppg, along with 6.6 assists and 10.8 rebounds. This Syracuse squad was the first NCAA team to average 100 ppg for the regular season (their average dropped below that in the post season), as the Orangemen went on to a 22-6 record.

At number 5 was the 1971-1972 backcourt of Dennis DuVal and Greg Kohls. This was probably the most spectacular scoring backcourt of Syracuse history, with the flashy DuVal averaging 15.8 points a game driving to the hoop, and Kohls launching shots from all locations long and far, averaging an amazing 26.7 points a game (keeping in mind, there was no three point basket). Kohls was one of the greatest free throw shooters in Syracuse history, hitting 86.4% of his attempts that year (and he knew how to draw the foul getting 257 attempts). This was ‘Roys Runts’ where Syracuse had four starters 6’1” or shorter, and a center at 6’5”. Yet, they were able to go 22-6 in part to a scrappy team persona, and in part to this tremendous backcourt.

At number 4 was the 1930-1931 Reindeer Five backcourt of Ev Katz and Dan Fogarty. The duo played together for three seasons, and this was their third and final year. Katz was one of the leading scorers on the team, averaging nearly 10 points a game, and was tremendous as the one handed set shot. Fogarty was the best defensive player on the team and was counted upon to shut down the leading scorer of the other team, regardless of the position he played. Both were extremely fast players, and the Orangemen would go 16-4 that year (after going 11-4 and 18-2 in their first two years together).

Number 3 is the 1933-1934 backcourt of Elmer ‘Elky’ Maister and Ronnie Phillips. Maister and Phillips were considered by many to be the best backcourt in Syracuse for the first half of the century. The duo started together for three years, with Maister being the team’s defensive specialist and Phillips the team’s deadeye shooter. Phillips would lead the team in scoring their senior year at 8 ½ points a game, as the Orangemen would go 15-2, 12-0 at home.

At number 2 is the 2002-2003 trio of Gerry McNamara, Kueth Duany and Billy Edelin. McNamara was the surprise point guard because Edelin was suspended for the first semester. This trio provided coach Boeheim with a perfect compliment of tools. McNamara turned out to be very adept at the point, and was as clutch a three point shooter as ever that season, on his way to 13.3 ppg. McNamara was also the schools best free throw shooter ever, icing games down the stretch with his 90.9% charity shooting. Duany was the perfect zone defender with a long lanky 6’4” body and great athleticism, plus the experience of being a 23 year old senior. Duany also was a decent three point shooter and rebounder, providing valuable contributions in both areas. Edelin was a big point guard (6’4”) able to pass over the zone, and to dribble penetrate down to the low post for the easy layup or dish off for nice pass. The trio helped Syracuse to the National Championship that season, each with their clutch performances along the way.

The top backcourt of all time would have to be the 1986-1987 duo of Sherman Douglas and Greg Monroe. Monroe had come to Syracuse as a point guard, but spent his first three seasons as a backup to the Pearl. Douglas backed up the Pearl his freshman year. Both got the chance to start this season with the Pearl and Addison gone, and they did not disappoint. Douglas picked up where Washington left off, running the Syracuse offense on high octane, and introducing the alley-oop pass as a staple play in the Syracuse playbook. Douglas could seem to make an assist pass from anywhere on the court, and down the stretch he had no problems stepping up and being ‘the guy’ to take the crucial shots. Monroe provided the steady hand in the backcourt, providing more playmaking, and outstanding three point shooting. Monroe developed the technique of camping outside the three point line and waiting for Douglas to kick back a pass to him for an open three (which Monroe hit 43.9% of during the season). The duo would help the Orangemen win the Big East Regular Season title, and would help the team to within a basket of winning the 1987 National Championship.

2000 Point Club

How difficult is it to score 2,000 career points in collegiate basketball? Statistically speaking, it's very difficult. Of the nearly 700 athletes who have played basketball for the Syracuse Orangemen, only six have accomplished it, or about 0.9%.

Those six are familiar to all Syracuse fans: Lawrence Moten, Derrick Coleman, John Wallace, Gerry McNamara, Hakim Warrick and Sherman Douglas.

There are a combination of factors that are needed to reach 2,000 career points.

First, you have to play enough games. Dave Bing averaged 24.8 points a game for his career, yet he only played in 76 games. Teams only played about 25 games a year in Bing’s era, and more importantly, freshman could not play, so he had only three years of eligibility.

I think there are 5 players at Syracuse who didn’t play four years of varsity basketball, and I think would have scored 2,000 points with the extra season(s). Bing only needed 117 points from a freshman season, and barring injury, he clearly would have scored that many.

Billy Owens skipped his senior season, where he needed only 160 points to scored 2,000. Again, barring injury, Owens would have easily broken that barrier.

Pearl Washington needed 516 more points, when he skipped his senior season. He was the ‘go to’ guy on offense, and scored 554 points his junior season, so its only natural to assume that barring any minor injuries, he would’ve progressed and gotten to 2,000 points.

Carmelo Anthony, if he could have stayed through his junior season, likely would have reached 2,000 points during that season. He scored 778 points his freshman season, and barring injury, seems a lock to have done it. Of course, Melo was never going to stay for three seasons. Two possibly (the championship nixed that), but three was never going to happen.

Donte’ Greene, like Anthony, easily would have scored 2000+ points if he had stayed. In Greene’s case, four years may have been necessary. But with 620 points his freshman year, barring injury, he would have accomplished the feat. Then again, Greene was never staying four seasons, and anything more than two was very unlikely.

The extra season would not have helped all the guys barred from playing their freshman year. Dennis DuVal averaged 18.6 points a game for his career, and needed ‘only’ 496 points in a freshman season to get to 2,000. But considering DuVal only had 442 points his sophomore season, its logical to assume he would not have gotten the necessary points. Vinnie Cohen and Bill Smith, also big time scorers, also would never have scored enough points as a freshman to reach that level.

The second factor important to reaching 2,000 points is to be a prominent scorer early in your career. The number of games alone won’t get you there. Ask Craig Forth, who started all of the 136 games of his career, and did not even break 1,000 points (643 total to be exact). Even dominant scorers like Stephen Thompson, Rony Seikaly, and Erich Santifer played in several games, but they did not put up big enough numbers early in their career to catch up to the level at the end.

Now here’s the thing I find most interesting about the six players who did all score 2,000 points. They are grouped into pairs of three, where each pair spent the majority of their careers together (three seasons overlapping in each case): Douglas and Coleman, Moten and Wallace, and Warrick and McNamara.

Douglas and Coleman took Jim Boeheim to his first national championship game, and gave Syracuse three exciting years as one of the top teams in the country. They came within a basket of winning the national championship in 1987, and would go 87-24 during their three seasons together. Their Big East action would see them go 33-15, with the Big East regular season title in 1987, and the Big East Tournament title in 1988. Considering that Stephen Thompson, Rony Seikaly, and Billy Owens all came close to 2,000 points, and this era clearly had the best collection of Syracuse players ever.

Moten and Wallace played together from 1993-1995. This era started with Syracuse being banned from post season play for recruiting violations, and this duo helped keep the Syracuse program from dying, and actually resurrected it back to prominence (Wallace would lead the Orange to the championship game the year after Moten left). The Orangemen went 63-26 during their time together, 35-19 in Big East play.

The final duo was McNamara and Warrick. Of course, this duo was highly recognizable for their significant contributions in the 2003 National Championship game. GMac had his 6 three point shots in the first half to give Syracuse a big first half lead, and Hak sealed the deal with the block that will remain in Orange Fans memories forever. The duo would go 80-20 in their career, 45-11 in Big East action, including a Big East Championship in 2005. Of course, they had Melo in 2003, and he was the key player on the championship team. However, as I have always contended, Melo alone did not win that team. Having a couple of players talented enough to score 2,000 career points on that same roster was another key component.

Of the current team, there are three players on track for 2,000 career points. Eric Devendorf is over half way there with two more years to go. Jonny Flynn only needs to duplicate his freshman effort each season for four years to get to the mark. Paul Harris would need to step up his pace, but with 808 points after two years, he would have to average 596 points for two seasons… not unreasonable. Of course, getting all these seasons from these players may be unlikely. But you never know. And it does seem that the members of the 2000 club come in pairs.

OrangeHoops and The Hall of Fame

A Hall of Fame should honor the greatest of the greatest. Simply meeting a set of statistical criteria should not ‘earn’ an individual into their sport’s Hall of Fame, nor failure to reach those statistics deny them entry. Statistics should not be ignored; they are valuable and they do tell a great story when interpreted properly. But they are only one important part of the picture. Greatness is about how a player dominated a game, what he/she accomplished, and what impact they had on their game.

I would like to comment on the baseball Hall of Fame, as an example, if only because it is the Hall I am most familiar with. Bill James, the guru of all baseball sabermaticians, has written extensively about his opinions on that Hall of Fame. He believes, correctly, that Hall of Fames are ‘self-defining’. They are defined by the people enshrined in them. If Phil Rizzuto is in the Hall of Fame, then he IS a Hall of Famer. Others with similar characteristics, accomplishments, become candidates for the Hall of Fame.

What I believe happens over time is the Hall of Fame starts to water down its candidacy, as the borderline players are added, they then become the new standard for what is acceptable. People then err when comparing that player to another player, and the process keeps going down. And that is a shame.

I think the simple litmus test for deciding if a player should even be considered in the Hall of Fame is are they universally considered a great player. These are guys like Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Walter Johnson, Henry Aaron, Roger Clemens. When these people played, fans, teammates and opponents were aware these were great players.

Don Sutton was a very good pitcher for many years. He was consistently good for a long time, and ended up with a couple statistical landmark accomplishments: 300 wins and 3000 strikeouts. But I do not think Sutton should be in the Hall of Fame. And that is not meant to be a slight to be excluded. If the Hall of Fame was truly about the greatest of the greatest, you should be slighted. It is an honor to be elected; it is not a disgrace to not be there.

I was a huge Steve Garvey fan in the 1970s and 80s. He was consistently one of the best players in the National League, always getting his 200 hits and 100 rbis while hitting .300. He made the All-Star team every year, led his team to the playoffs almost every year where he always played well. He won several Gold Gloves, and he was a very popular fan. And as much as I am a Garvey fan, I do not think he belongs in the Hall of Fame. He was a very good player.

Nolan Ryan, who has been my favorite player since he came to prominence in the early 1970s is an interesting case. His career won-loss record belies him. But here is a man that I think if you ask any player who faced him, any fan who watched him play, they would say he is a Hall of Famer. He was dominating, unhittable (7 no-hitters), and revered. He does have 324 wins, he does have his 5714 strikeouts, the numerous complete games (222) and shutouts (61). I think he is one of those players that is clearly considered great and I would put him in the Hall of Fame. But, I can buy an argument that he may not belong. And that’s where I think the line should be drawn for the Hall of Fame; that high of a standard.

So how do you keep a Hall of Fame from getting away from the truly great? Again, I’ll steal a page from Bill James. James suggests that you limit the number of inductees into the Hall of Fame to a small fixed number of recipients, say two each year. Voters can consider any player that qualifies to vote for, and they can vote for as many as they want, and the top two get in. And if you are not one of the two best eligible for a given year, then you don’t get in that year. Each year, more players will become eligible as they have retired five years before. If you can never fall into that top 2, you don’t get in. Seems rather simple. If baseball’s Hall of Fame had used that standard since 1934, there would still be roughly 150 players in the Hall of Fame… which seems large, but actually is significantly smaller than the current Hall of Fame (280 inductees as of 2007).

Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician wrote about greatness a while back in his blog; in his context he was talking about Hall of Fames and about retiring basketball uniforms. Following his lead, I have considered creating an OrangeHoops.Org Hall of Fame. And here will be my guidelines, and I’ll explain the criteria.

Player must have last played for the Syracuse Orangemen 15+ years ago. Why this lengthy time frame? I think time provides perspective for which we can truly evaluate a player and his contributions. Carmelo Anthony had an outstanding season with Syracuse in 2002-2003, possibly the best single season a player ever had at Syracuse (I would dispute that it definitively was the best single season ever). One strong contributing factor for Anthony’s greatness is that Syracuse won the national championship that lone year. And he gets a lot of credit for it; and he should. As should his teammates. But what if Syracuse wins a national championship in 2008? Is Anthony as special now? How about if they win back to back in 2008-2009 behind Jonny Flynn? What do you think of Anthony then? So I think he need some time to go by to really evaluate a player. Does he stand the test of time?

One Induction a Year. Only one individual can be inducted into the OrangeHoops Hall Of Fame each year. This helps restrict us to only great players, and we are taking only one great player a year. If there are two great players, one will have to wait until next year. If third great player comes along next year and prevents the second player from getting in again, then perhaps that second player was not as great as originally thought.

No Induction Required. There is no requirement that any individual be inducted into the OrangeHoops Hall of Fame any given year. If there are no worthy candidates, then none will be named.

Anyone associated with the program is eligible. The OrangeHoops Hall of Fame will not be restricted to players. Coaches would be eligible as would assistants, trainers, athletic directors, etc.

Coaches can be inducted year after they retire. A coach can be inducted into the OrangeHoops Hall of Fame the year after he retires. I think a coach that would be considered worthy for induction (aka Jim Boeheim) would have a long resume that could clearly be evaluated with the proper context immediately. Players have 1-4 seasons to prove themselves, and so time is needed to understand them. A great coach, on the other hand, would have 10 to 30 seasons, and I think a clear picture of the individual is already understood.

Inductions will occur in September. It’s the off season for basketball, and school has just restarted, so I know fans are eager for the upcoming basketball season. It just seems like the right time each year to make the announcement.

So I’ve set my rules for the OrangeHoops Hall of Fame. Who will be my inductees? I’ve decided I want to set up a charter class, and 5 seemed like a reasonable number, and it is symbolic of the number of players on a basketball court. I would have liked to have incorporated the magic #44 into it, but 44 players was too many, and I was at a loss of how else to incorporate it. Given the 15 year rule, players who finished their Syracuse career 1992 or earlier are eligible.

The 5 Initial Inductees into the OrangeHoops Hall of Fame are (in alphabetical order):

Dave Bing, Guard, 1964-1966
Derrick Coleman, Forward, 1987-1990
Sherman Douglas, Guard, 1986-1989
Vic Hanson, Forward, 1925-1927
Dwayne ‘Pearl’ Washington, Guard, 1984-1986

I feel these five represent the best of Syracuse University basketball. Their accomplishments are fairly well known. I’ve put the link for each to their information on OrangeHoops.org. I also think that given the time period in discussion these are the definitive top five.

As Freshman Rebounders Go

Anyone who has watched Syracuse freshman Paul Harris play this season quickly realized that he is a terrific rebounder. Despite starting only one game this year, he is second on the team in rebounds with 229, and had a masterful 15 in the loss to Notre Dame the other night. Harris came to Syracuse with extremely high fan expectations (far too high in my opinion at the time), and it is rumored he would have gone straight to the NBA if new rules had not prohibited it.

The new rule probably is fortunate for Harris. While he shows sparks of defensive brilliance, and outstanding rebounding, he has often seemed totally lost in the offensive scheme and has demonstrated little shooting ability 10 feet and out. He has shown he is an explosive scorer near the hoop, and there is a lot of promise in this young man, and it appears we are fortunate to have him gracing the Orange uniforms. A few years in college basketball should help him adjust and develop his offensive game.

How good has Harris’ freshman year been? He hasn’t been a starter, so his stats may look askew. He has only 7.2 rebounds per game. I say only, because that’s still an impressive number as a freshman. Only five Syracuse freshman have ever exceeded that mark and they were all starters:

Carmelo Anthony 10.0 rpg
Dale Shackleford 8.8 rpg
Derrick Coleman 8.8 rpg
Roosevelt Bouie 8.1 rpg
John Wallace 7.6 rpg

In terms of total rebounds, Harris is still fifth behind the following: Anthony 349, Coleman 333, Billy Owens 263, Shackleford 256 and Bouie 242.

Harris’ stats are deflated because he has not been a starter nor played starter minutes. I figured I would check all Syracuse freshman since 1982-83 (the first season I have minutes played information), and see which freshman had the best rebound per minute. I multiplied the number by 35, since a start player would play about that many minutes per game if given the opportunity, and that makes the numbers more intuitive I think (it doesn’t change the results). I also restricted the list to freshman who played at least 300 minutes. Harris has 229 rebounds in 693 minutes of playing time. That works out to 11.57 rebounds per 35 minutes played, which is by far the best number any Syracuse freshman has had (at least since 82-83, and freshman couldn’t play prior to 73-74 anyhow). The top seven Syracuse freshman rebounders per 35 minutes played is as follows:

Paul Harris 11.57 (229 total rebounds)
Derrick Coleman 10.02 (333)
Hakim Warrick 9.66 (168)
Wendell Alexis 9.61 (134)
Carmelo Anthony 9.60 (349)
Etan Thomas 9.01 (105)
John Wallace 8.96 (221)
Rony Seikaly 8.94 (198)

Coleman was always a terrific rebounder, and if you remember had 19 rebounds in the national championship game against Indiana. Alexis was somewhat of a surprise to me, though I do remember how often he and Rafael Addison used to come into games their freshman year and help out the Orangemen. Alexis sat behind Tony Bruin and Andy Rautins’ dad Leo, so it was tough getting his playing time. Carmelo didn’t have any upperclassmen in his way, so he got all the playing time he needed.

In fact, if you look at the top five Orangemen in terms of rebounds per 35 minutes played, regardless of class, Harris would be #4 on this list. Mr. Derrick Coleman, the NCAA’s all time leading rebounder, holds the top three positions with 12.04, 11.95, 11.86. Harris would be fourth with his 11.57, and then Rony Seikaly comes in fifth at 10.81, and Owens sixth at 10.69.

Of course, it is important to remember that when you extrapolate statistics, you are making assumptions that may not hold true. Averaging 21.7 minutes per game, Harris can expended a lot of energy in short bursts, and that could help to inflate his rebounds per minute. If he were to play 35 minutes per game, he could likely tire and be less effective per minute, though still getting more total rebounds.

Just to look into the ‘what if’ scenario a little further, I figured out what Harris’ scoring would be if he played 35 minutes a game (same caution holds as mentioned above). He would have 14.2 points per 35 minutes played, which would be good for 8th on the all time Syracuse freshman list. The top five freshman in scoring per 35 minutes played are:

Carmelo Anthony 21.4
Lawrence Moten 18.9
Sherman Douglas 16.6
Rafael Addison 16.0
Eric Devendorf 15.8

The surprise on that list was Douglas. For those of us old enough to remember the General, he came out of no where his sophomore season to lead the Orangemen to the national championship game. Yet, if we had looked at the numbers the year before, you could see was quite productive in his minutes played, limited because of the great Pearl Washington ahead of him.

I will be curious to see how Paul Harris develops and grows the next couple of years, especially with the graduation of Syracuse’s front line: Demetris Nichols, Darryl Watkins and Terrence Roberts. He’ll have ample opportunity to get his playing time next year and show what he can really do on a regular basis.

For now, we can just sit back and watch him provide his rebounding spark against the opposition in the upcoming NCAA tournament.

Perfection

The Syracuse Orange are off to a fast start, currently at 5-0. How far can they go before they get their first loss for the season? They have thirty scheduled regular season games, with the first Big East game being the 15th game, January 4th vs Pittsburgh.

Realistically, the Orange are not going to go the season undefeated. That would require them to go 39-0 (thirty regular season, three Big East, and six NCAA games). No NCAA team has gone undefeated since the Indiana Hoosier in 1976. UNLV was the last school to enter the NCAA tournament undefeated, going 34-0 in 1991 before losing in the national semi-finals. A team could go undefeated, but this Syracuse squad isn’t that team.

So, how far can the Orange go undefeated this season? Wichita State (game 8) and Oklahoma State (game 9) are the likeliest teams to beat the Orange prior to Big East play. Any team could do it; upsets occur, which is another reason why going 39-0 isn’t going to happen.

In the history of Syracuse basketball, 15 different squads have started off their season 10-0 or better:

The 1999-2000 squad started off the season 19-0, a school record for most wins to start a season; they are also the last team to start out 10-0 or better. This wasn’t the best team in Syracuse history, but definitely one of the best defensive teams the Hill has ever seen. Etan Thomas, two time Big East Defensive Player of the Year, anchored the middle of the defense. Jason Hart was a defensive dynamo at the point, and Ryan Blackwell was a solid defender of the big forwards. The team would end up 26-6, winning the Big East regular season championship, and losing in the Sweet Sixteen.

The 1997-1998 team started off 11-0 led by senior Todd Burgan, and finished 26-9.

1995-1996 started 11-0, and finished 29-9. Led by senior John Wallace, the team would lose to the Kentucky Wildcats in the National Championship game.

From the 1985-1986 season to the 1991-1992 season, the Orangemen had six seasons out of seven where they started out 10-0 or better. An amazing run.

1991-1992 started 10-0 led by Dave Johnson and Lawrence Moten, finished 22-10, and were the Big East Tournament Champions.

1990-1991 started 13-0 led by Billy Owens, finished 26-6 as the Big East regular season champions, before bowing out very quickly in the Big East Tournament and NCAA Tournament.

1989-1990 started 10-0 with Stevie Thompson, Derek Coleman and Owens, finished 26-7.

1988-1989 started 13-0 with Sherman Douglas, Thompson, Coleman and Owens, finished 30-8.

1986-1987 started 15-0, finished 31-7, as the Big East regular season champions. Led by Sherman Douglas, Rony Seikaly, and Derek Coleman, they would make an impressive run through the NCAA tournament, only to lose to in the National Championship game to the Indiana Hoosiers.

The 1985-1986 squad behind the Pearl started 13-0, finished 26-6 as the Big East regular season champions.

The 1982-1983 squad with the senior tri-captains of Leo Rautins, Tony Bruin and Erich Santifer started 11-0, finished 21-10.

The 1979-1980 edition of the Bouie N’ Louie Show started 14-0, and finished 26-4.

Then we have to go back 54 years to find the last Orangemen team to start out so well, and a special squad it would be.

The 1925-1926 team behind junior All-American Vic Hanson, and fellow classmates Charlie Lee and Gotch Carr would start out 15-0. They would lose their first (and only game) on February 24th at Penn State 37-31. A few weeks later they would play the Nittany Lions again, easily beating them 29-12 to revenge the victory. The squad was awarded the National Championship by the Helms Foundation for their 19-1 season.

The 1924-1925 squad, also lead by Hanson, Lee & Carr, started off 11-0, and finished 14-2, their only two losses by a combined 5 points.

The 1917-1918 team started off 16-0 behind All-Americans Joe Schwarzer and Bob Marcus. The team was a dominant defensive presence, and would enter the last game of the season undefeated. In a very physical game, Penn would beat the Orangemen 17-16. All of Penn’s points but two were from the free throw line, as Penn’s Sweeney went 15-16 from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Syracuse’s Schwarzer, normally an excellent free throw shooter, went 5-13 from the charity stripe. The Orangemen were still awarded the National Championship for their outstanding 16-1 record.

Which brings us to the first Syracuse team to start the season 10-0. The 1913-1914 squad was led by All-American Lew Castle at center. Fellow senior Dutch Notman was a good scoring forward to compliment Castle. Sophomore Elmer Keib and freshman Wilbur Crisp would join the starting the lineup; both would eventually be significant scorers for Syracuse, and in this particular season they would be excellent supporting cast. And junior Dick Seymour, returned at guard to run the offense and lead the defensive efforts. They had a schedule that would make Dick Vitale scream, as they played 10 of their 12 games at home.

The Orangemen would win their first two games handily, before playing Pittsburgh. And luck would shine the Orangemen’s way that day. As time was expiring, Pitt was leading 28-27. Pitt’s Coach Flint would attempt to substitute a player with sixteen seconds left in the game, without calling a timeout (which they could not do having used up all their time outs). This resulted in a technical foul and a free throw for the Orangemen. Castle would miss the free throw! But a Pitt player had stepped into the free throw lane for a violation, so Castle got another opportunity. This time he did not miss, and the game ended in a tie. In the overtime period, the Orangemen would dominate the play, outscoring the Panthers 8-1 to win the game.

Two games later the Orangemen would travel to Hamilton NY to play the Colgate Maroons. The game was tied 26-26 at the end of regulation. The teams played an overtime period, and neither team scored, leaving the score at 26-26. In the second overtime period, the two teams traded baskets making it 28-28. Syracuse then was fouled and made a free throw to lead 29-28. As time was expiring, there was frantic action under the Syracuse basket, and a Maroon player put up a shot and made the basket. However, the Hamilton based official ruled that time had expired before the shot was taken, and Syracuse won.

The Orangemen would not have another serious challenge that season. On March 11, 1914, they would beat the Dartmouth Green 29-18 to finish the season 12-0, thus completing the first (and only) undefeated season in Syracuse basketball history. They did not win the National Championship, as there was no post season action, and Wisconsin’s 15-0 squad was deemed to be a better team.

So perfection is possible, but not probable. You need talent, decent scheduling, and some good luck. And until the team loses, you can always dream. So let’s see how far Paul Harris, Eric Devendorf, Terrence Roberts, Mookie Watkins and Demetris Nichols can take us this year.