Boeheim versus Opposing Coaches

Jim Boeheim completed his illustrious head coaching career at Syracuse when he retired March 8, 2023. He finished with 1,116 wins and 441 losses. Along the way he faced 416 different head coaches from Dana Altman to Gary Zarecky.

There were 39 head coaches he squared off against that he did not beat. None of them were more than two times.   There were 266 he faced that he never lost to. Emmett Davis has the dubious distinction of going 0-13 versus Coach Boeheim.

Jim Boeheim faced Jim Calhoun the most often with 55 games between the two of them.  Boeheim holds the slight edge of 28-27 in that series.

Coaches Boeheim Coached Most Games Against

Coach	Years	Games	W	L
Jim Calhoun	1977-12	55	28	27
John Thompson	1979-98	46	21	25
Rollie Massimino	1979-92	33	18	15
Mike Brey	2001-23	31	21	10
Lou Carnesecca	1977-92	30	18	12
P.J. Carlesimo	1983-94	29	25	4
Jim O'Brien	1982-00	28	22	6
Leonard Hamilton	1986-23	28	19	9
Rick Pitino	1986-17	26	11	15
Paul Evans	1985-94	23	16	7

Calhoun is also the coach Boeheim beat the most often, closely following by his good friend P.J. Carlesimo.  

Coaches Boeheim Won Most Against

Coach	Years	Games	W	L
Jim Calhoun	1977-12	55	28	27
P.J. Carlesimo	1983-94	29	25	4
Jim O'Brien	1982-00	28	22	6
John Thompson	1979-98	46	21	25
Mike Brey	2001-23	31	21	10
Leonard Hamilton	1986-23	28	19	9
Rollie Massimino	1979-92	33	18	15
Lou Carnesecca	1977-92	30	18	12
Paul Evans	1985-94	23	16	7
Dom Perno	1977-86	18	13	5
Jim Christian	2015-21	15	13	2
Emmett Davis	1998-10	13	13	0

Calhoun also has the distinction of being the coach that beat Boeheim the most often.   John Thompson is close behind with 25 wins.

Coaches Boeheim Lost Most Against

Coach	Years	Games	W	L
Jim Calhoun	1977-12	55	28	27
John Thompson	1979-98	46	21	25
Rollie Massimino	1979-92	33	18	15
Rick Pitino	1986-96	26	11	15
Mike Krzyzewski	1989-22	18	5	13
Jamie Dixon	2004-18	20	7	13
Jay Wright	2002-21	22	9	13
Tony Bennett	2014-23	15	3	12
Lou Carnesecca	1977-92	30	18	12
Mike Brey	2001-23	31	21	10
Leonard Hamilton	1986-23	28	19

A full list of all of Boeheim's coaching opponents can be found here.

Syracuse Senior Day - Big Senior Games

Syracuse senior center Jesse Edwards finished off his senior regular season with a flair leading the Orange to a 72-63 win over Wake Forest.  Edwards had 27 points on 11-15 shooting along with 20 rebounds, including eight offensive boards.  He also have five steals and two blocks to solidify his dominance on both end of the courts.

There have been five other big senior night moments by players in the past twenty years, though not all leading to wins.  Appropriately, two of those players had the uniforms retired last night.

Hakim Warrick, in 2005, scored 36 points leading the Orange to a 91-66 win over Providence. Hak made 12 of 17 shots that night for the easy win.

Gerry McNamara, in 2006, scored 29 points in a disappointing 92-82 loss to #4 Villanova. GMac was 5-12 from three point range and had 8 assists, but that was not enough.   He would follow that game with an outstanding Big East tournament leading the Orange to four straight wins and the Big East Championship.

Michael Gbinije in 2016 scored 34 points in a 75-66 win over North Carolina State. Silent G made 8 of 13 three point attempts as well has 6 assists and 3 blocks in the victory.

Though technically a grad student and not a senior,  in 2017 Andrew White scored 40 points on senior night hitting 8-9 three point shots in a 90-61 victory over Georgia Tech.  

Buddy Boeheim, last year, scored 30 points on senior night in a 75-72  loss to Miami.  Buddy made 5-8 from three point range, and had 2 steals, but that was not enough to overcome the Hurricanes.

ACC Road Wins 2022-2023

The Orange beat Florida State 76-67 last night in Tallahassee behind the strong second half efforts of Joe Girard, Judah Mintz, and Jesse Edwards.  This was the Orange's fifth ACC road win this season.  Winning on the road can be tough, especially in conference games.

Five road wins is a lot for the Orange in ACC play, but not the school record. They had seven road wins in their first season of the ACC back in 2013-2014. And in 2019-2020 they had six road wins. 

Here's a chart of all the road wins for the Orange in ACC play.

The Orange have two more road games this season against Clemson and Pittsburgh.  They have only three home wins so far. Part of that is the tougher competition has been at the Dome, and part is they have played eight road conference games, and only six at home. Their schedule is backloaded with home games comprising four of the last six.

Go Orange!

Baye Moussa Keita Fundraiser

 Former Orange center Baye Moussa Keita is raising money for a youth basketball camp that he is involved with in Senegal. 

Baye Moussa Keita

He is looking to raise money for the following:

• 2 x basketball backboards and installation cost
• 2 doors and installation cost
• 4 outdoor lights
• New storage unit
• 150 T-shirts
• 150 Socks
• 30 basketballs
• Bags transportation cost ($200 each x 8)
• 6 bags for prizes for top 3 girls and 3 boys Academically
• Painting

Here is the link to his GoFundMe page.

Syracuse Starters Playing Less

An anomaly for this Syracuse season is the playing time for the starters; there's nobody playing a ton of minutes every game.  Girard leads the team with 33.8 mpg. There are 14 players in the ACC with a higher usage rate.

Last season four Orange players averaged 34+ mpg: Buddy Boeheim 38.0, Cole Swider 34.5, Joe Girard 34.1, and Jimmy Boeheim 34.7.

Tyus Battle

Leaders for recent seasons:

2021-22 Buddy Boeheim 38.0

2020-21 Buddy Boeheim 36.2

2019-20 Elijah Hughes 36.7

2018-19 Tyus Battle 36.3

2017-18 Tyus Battle 39.0

2016-17 Andrew White 37.2

2015-16 Michael Gbinije 37.9

2014-15 Trevor Cooney 37.3

2013-14 CJ Fair 37.8

2012-13 Michael Carter Williams 35.2

2011-12 Kris Joseph 32.2

You have to go back to 2011-12 with Kris Joseph to find the team leader with that low a minute per game usage.

Orange Improving From Three

The Orange have rather quietly developed into a proficient three point shooting team over the last few weeks. The team has shot 44% from three point range over the past six games (44-101) with the Pitt game being the only poor effort. That stretch of games included Cornell, Pitt, Boston College, Louisville, Virginia, and  Virginia Tech.

Joe Girard

It is no surprise that Joe Girard is leading the three point charge. The senior shooting guard has made 22 of 48 three point attempts over the past six games, hitting at a 47% clip.  His 22 made shots is half of made threes for the Orange during that period.  

However, it is not only Girard who is hitting at a hot clip. The rest of the team has made 22 of its 53 attempts, for a 41.5% percent.  This includes:

• Chris Bell: 8 for 17, 47% 
• Justin Taylor: 5 for 12, 42%
• Benny Williams:  3 for 6, 50%
• Symir Torrence: 2 for 3, 67%
• Judah Mintz: 3 for 13, 23%

As you can see from that list, Mintz is the only one on that list who has struggled to make three point shots during that stretch.   Chris Bell has been very hot recently making 75% (6-8) over the past three games.

It will be interesting to see if this is an anomaly, or is this Orange team really a three point threat? 

Unfortunately with the good comes the bad. The Orange are making 44% of their threes, but only 47% of their shots inside the arc.  That is an area of the game they will have to continue to work upon.

My assumption is that opposing defenses are sagging off of the Orange perimeter, with the exception of Girard, leaving most of the players with clean looks. Fortunately the Orange are making those defenses pay for that. Eventually teams will adjust and cover the perimeter more, which should help the Orange insider, particularly Jesse Edwards and Maliq Brown.

It is nice to see this run of hot perimeter shooting. One concern about the Orange in the preseason was where their perimeter offense would come from. They knew they had Girard, but the rest were unproven underclassmen.

#CuseTixForKids III

Our friends over at Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician are again running a fundraiser to help send youth in the Bronx to the Pinstripe Bowl to see the Orange play Minnesota.  TNIAAM is working with the Bronx Knights youth football and cheerleading organization, trying to get enough funds to send 100 people to the game.

The details are on  this page at TNIAAM

Thank you.

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 Basketball Opponents Winless Against the Orange

The Orange beat Northeastern last night 76-48. This improved Syracuse's all-time record against the Huskies to 9-0, tying Lafayette for third on the list of teams winless in games against the Orange.

The University of Toronto is atop the list with 16 games against the Orange from 1912 to 1963.  The closest game in the series was 1923 when the Orange won 20-15 behind Ken Lavin's 8 points.

Hobart is second on the list with 11 games, from 1922 to 1944. The closest games were the first and last games of the series. The Orange beat Hobart 12-8 in 1922 behind forward George Noakes 8 points, in his first varsity game.  The last game of the series saw the Orange win 55-51 behind Bill Dickie's  career high 20 points.

As mentioned above, Northeastern is third with 9 games. The closest game in the series was in 2020 when the Orange won 62-56 behind Joe Girard's 21 points and Quincy Guerrier's 16 rebounds.

Tied for third on the list is Lafayette, whom the Orange played from 1957 to 2021. The first time the two teams met was the 1957 NCAA Tournament, with the Orange winning a tight game 75-71.  Syracuse forward Gary Clark had an outstanding game with 34 points and 13 rebounds. Lafayette's Stuart Murray had 30 points in the loss.

There is a three way tie for fifth on the list with Albany, Alfred, and Siena all playing 8 games with no wins.  The Orange played Alfred from 1917 to 1961, Albany from 1919 to 2021, and Siena from 1978 to 2007.  The Orange scored a school record 144 points against Siena in 1979, winning 144-92.  Eight Orange players scored in double figures that game.

Overall there are 148 teams that have played the Orange at least once and have failed to win a game.  83 of those teams have played only one game against Syracuse.

Veterans Day 2022

On this Veterans day, as I have done each year past, I would like to thank all those who have served our country, putting their lives on the line to do those tasks that need to be done. The Orange basketball team has had its share of veterans over the decades. And has been tradition at OrangeHoops, I would like to recognize those former basketball Orangemen who did serve. I acknowledge this is not a complete list; only those I know of (each year I add a few more). I imagine more Orangemen were in the service that I am omitting; if so, please post a recognition here! Also please feel free to recognize any other veterans in the comments.

In World War I, the following served:

Albert Ackley
Bradley Barnard
Ross Bibbens
Meyer Bloom
Jim Casey
Ed Cronauer
Charles Fasce
Russ Finsterwald
Loyal Greenman
Ken Harris
Ted Huntley
Bernie Kates
Ken Lavin
Nathan Malefski
Danny Martin
Harry Martin
Walter ‘Dutch’ Notman
Walter Peters
Elias Raff
Billy Rafter
Horace Ruffin
Courtland Sanney
Clifford Steele

In World War II, the following served:

Jim Ackerson
Earl Ackley
Lou Alkoff
John Baldwin (Balsavich)
John Balinsky
John Beaulieu
John Beck
Gene Berger
Milton 'Whitey' Bock
Leo Canale
Dick Casey
Larry Crandall
Wilbur Crisp
Dan DiPace
Les Dye
Bud Elford
Alton Elliott
John Emerich
Bill Estoff
Bob Felasco
Paul Ferris
Billy Gabor
Ed Glacken
Joe Glacken
Marc Guley
Mark Haller
LaVerne Hastings
Lew Hayman
Bill Hennemuth
Bill Hoeppel
Tom Huggins
George Jarvis
Ed Jontos
Walter Kiebach
Jim Konstanty
Christian Kouray
Stan Kruse (Kruszewski)

Phil Lipetz
Glenn Loucks
Guy Luciano
Saul Mariaschin
Bob Masterson
Paul McKee
Don McNaughton
Tom McTiernan
Francis Miller
Joe Minsavage
Andy Mogish
Roy Peters
Hank Piro
Paul Podbielski
Edward Pond
Robert Popp
Phil Rakov
Joe Rigan
John Schroeder
Bill Schubert
Bob Shaddock
Wilmeth Sidat-Singh
Red Stanton
Mike Stark
Chester Stearns
Bobby Stewart
Joe Sylvestri
Charles Taggart
Ray Tice
Joe Weber
Ray Willmott
Bill Wyrick

In Korea the following served:

Reaves Baysinger, Jr
John Beaulieu
Bernie Eischen
Paul McKee
Paul Podbielski
Fred Serley

Dick Suprunowicz

In Vietnam, the following served:

Reaves Baysinger, Jr
John Beaulieu
George Crofoot
Rick Dean
Sanford Salz

The following were veterans who served but were fortunate to miss a war era:

Vinnie Albanese
Art Barr
Mel Besdin
Rudy Cosentino
Roy Danforth
Ronnie Kilpatrick
George Koesters
Tom Jockle
Jack Malone
Frank Reddout
Eddie Rosen
Lou Stark
Chuck Steveskey

Five of the aforementioned players deserve special note, as they sacrificed their lives in the line of duty.

Harry Martin was killed in 1923 when his plane crashed during takeoff at Kelley Field, Texas.  He was a Lieutenant and an Army Aviator.  Martin had served in the AEF in France in World War I.

Wilmeth Sidat-Singh was a member of the Tuskegee Airman, and was killed in a training accident when his plane crashed into Lake Michigan in 1943.

Joe Minsavage was killed in World War II on June 19, 1943 when his ship was attacked and he was lost at sea.

Charles Taggart was a member of the US Navy serving aboard the USS Frederick C. Davis, and was killed when his ship was torpedoed by a German U-Boat on April 24, 1945. Taggart and 115 crew members perished.

Gene Berger was killed in 1961 during flight maneuvers. He was a Commander in the U.S. Navy and a Naval aviator, and his plane would crash into the Pacific.

Syracuse Hoops: Fathers and Sons

There have been nine father and son basketball players for Syracuse University basketball.  The most famous is undoubtedly the Boeheim family, with Jim and his two sons Buddy and Jimmy.  

It is tough to rank which duo is the best when the father may have been an all-time great, and the son a walk-on.  How do you compare that type of duo to a family where both the father and son played significantly?  From my perspective, you have to factor in the level of talent of both the father and son.

Here is how I would rank the nine father/son combinations at Syracuse:

9.  Steve and Stephen Keating. I bet many of you did not know that there is a father/son combo connection on this years team? Stephen Keating is a walk-on forward for the Orange; he has not played a game yet this early in this year.  His father Steve was a walk-on for the 1991-92 season, scoring 2 points in the only game he played.

8.  Ribs and Reaves Baysinger, Jr. This is the first father/son combo at Syracuse. Ribs played 11 games in 1921-22 scoring 6 points as a reserve guard/center.  Reaves Jr was a backup center on the 1944-45 team playing in 2 games and failing to score.  He was drafted by the Navy for World War II, and would enroll in the Naval Academy where he would be a star football player.  Ribs was the freshman athletic director at Syracuse from 1927 to 1946 and would have overseen his son's activities as a freshman.

7.  Dick and Bill Suprunowicz. Dick was a outstanding defensive guard/forward for three seasons from 1949 to 1951, scoring 526 points in 78 games.  His son Bill was a reserve guard for three seasons, scoring 30 points in 20 games.

6.  Adrian and Adrian Autry Jr.  Adrian Sr. was the starting point guard for four seasons from 1991-1994, scoring 1538 points in 121 games along with 631 assists. Adrian Jr. was a walk-on for four seasons from 2016-2019 scoring 10 points in 29 games.  Junior would play for his son, who was the assistant coach for the basketball team during that span.

5.  Vinnie and Vinnie Cohen Jr. Vinnie Sr. was the best Syracuse basketball player of the 1950s, leading the team to the Elite 8 in 1957.  Cohen scored 1337 points in 68 games, averaging 19.7 ppg. Vinnie Jr was a walk-on for two seasons 1991-1992, scoring 6 points in 9 games.

4.  Billy and Chaz Owens. Billy was one of the all-time great Syracuse basketball players.  He scored 1,840 points in 103 games over 3 seasons from 1989 to 1991. Owens averaged 17.9 ppg, as well as 8.8 rpg. His son Chaz was a walk-on for two seasons from 2021-2022 scoring 4 points in 8 games.

3. Jim and Jimmy Boeheim. Jim was a three year guard for Syracuse basketball from 1964-1966, scoring 745 points in 76 games.  His son Jimmy played one season as a graduate transfer in 2021-22 scoring 453 points in 33 games.  Jim Sr, of course, is also the legendary Hall of Fame coach of Syracuse.

2.  Jim and Buddy Boeheim.  Jim was mentioned above with his older son Jimmy. Buddy was a four year player for the Orange, and finished his career with 1,765 points in 121 games. Buddy was the second most prolific 3 point shooter in Syracuse history. Jim and Buddy would rank #1 on this list if we were to consider Jim's coaching career, but I chose to focus solely on the court action.

1.  Leo and Andy Rautins.  Leo was a three year starter from 1981 to 1983, and was consistently a triple double threat as a good passing forward.  Leo scored 1,031 points in 85 games, along with 423 assists and 535 rebounds.  His son Andy played for four seasons and was a terrific shooter, as well as a good passer.  Andy scored 1,121 points in 127 games, along with 347 assists and 327 rebounds.  Both Leo and Andy would have stints in the NBA.

Two New to the NBA

Congratulations to Cole Swider and Buddy Boeheim for playing in their first NBA games this past week and officially becoming NBA players. Both sharpshooters were considered by most to be longshots to play in the NBA, but they have now entered the NBA register.  They are the 57th and 58th Orange basketball players to play in the NBA.

Swider played at Syracuse one season after transferring from Villanova.  He would lead the Orange in three point percentage at 41% making 81 of 197 attempts, while also leading the team in rebounding with 6.8 rpg.  Swider would make his NBA debut with the Los Angeles Lakers on October 18th against the defending world champion Golden State Warriors.  Swider played in the last 1.52 of the game, pulling down a rebound, getting an assist, and missing his only three point shot attempt.

Boeheim played at Syracuse for four seasons.  He is the Orange's second all time three point shooter with 309 three point field goals.  He also finished 13th all time in points scored with 1,765, averaging 14.6 ppg.  He was named to the ACC's All Conference First Team his senior year.  Boeheim would make his NBA debut with the Detroit Pistons on October 21st against the New York Knicks. Boeheim would play the last 57 seconds of the game failing to get any shots.

Congrats to the two young men on achieving the milestone of their first game, and wishing them continued success on pursuing their NBA dreams.

OrangeHoops Hall of Fame 2022

In 2007, OrangeHoops inducted its charter class into the OrangeHoops Hall of Fame: Dave Bing, Derrick Coleman, Sherman Douglas, Vic Hanson, and Pearl Washington. The next ten years saw the addition of Billy Owens (2008), Billy Gabor (2009), Lawrence Moten (2010), Louis Orr (2011), Roosevelt Bouie (2011)  John Wallace (2012),  Rony Seikaly (2013), Vinnie Cohen (2014), Etan Thomas (2015), Joe Schwarzer (2016), Lew Andreas (2017), Carmelo Anthony (2018), Stephen Thompson (2019), Hakim Warrick (2020), and Gerry McNamara (2021).  So the list now stands at 20. Another year has passed, and now it is time for the 2022 inductee.

I established my rules for the OrangeHoops Hall of Fame back in 2007 and you can catch up on them here. 2021 does have seven new eligible candidates (using the fifteen year rule): Todd Burach, Ross DiLiegro, Matt Gorman, Mike Jones, Demetris Nichols, Terrence Roberts, Darryl Watkins

Todd Burach was a three year walk-on for the Orange. He played guard and scored 9 points in three seasons.

Ross DILiegro was a four year walk-on for the Orange. He played forward for four seasons and scored 2 points in eleven games.

Matt Gorman was a reserve forward for four seasons.  He did play in most of the games as a junior and senior, and started five games his senior year. He hit 46% of this three point shots his senior year on a limited 26 shots.

Mike Jones was a forward on the Orange for one season. He transferred after his first semester having scored 21 points in 11 games.

Demetris Nichols was a smooth shooting forward who became quite prolific at three point shooting.  Nichols was an occasional starter/key reserve his first two seasons.  He moved permanently into the starting lineup his junior year and was one of the top shooters in the Big East. Nichols would have a terrific senior year hitting 100 of 240 three point shots (41.7%), on his way to 18.9 ppg. He would earn a berth on the All Big East First Team, and have two games with 30+ points, including a career high 37 against St. John's.  He finished his career with 1,344 points, currently 36th all time.

Terrence Roberts was a solid forward who excelled at rebounding and defense. He never developed into a strong scorer, but he was adept at running the court.  He would average 8.1 rebounds per game his senior year. Like many big men at Syracuse he struggled at the free throw line making only 48% of his shots.  He finished his career with 716 rebounds, currently 24th all time at Syracuse.

Darryl 'Mookie' Watkins was a terrific shot blocking center, though he was prone to foul trouble throughout his career.  Watkins excelled on the defensive end of the court, but never developed a strong offensive game, peaking at 8.1 ppg his senior year. He did finish his career with 263 blocked shots, currently 5th all-time at Syracuse.

None of those players would crack my list of top 10 candidates.

I think this year’s viable top 10 candidates come down to the following, listed chronologically: Lew Castle, Jon Cincebox, Dennis DuVal, Jimmy Lee, Rudy Hackett, Danny Schayes, Leo Rautins, Rafael Addison, Jason Hart, and Preston Shumpert.

Castle was a two time All-American at Syracuse, and was captain and leading scorer of Syracuse’s only undefeated team, the 1913-1914 squad that went 12-0.

Cincebox was on the best rebounders in Syracuse history (in an era when rebounding numbers were admittedly high).  He helped Syracuse to the NCAA Elite Eight in 1956-1957, as the dominant big man for the Orangemen.

DuVal was a flashy point guard for Syracuse in the early 70s.  When he graduated from Syracuse he was only second to Dave Bing in career points scored.  He was a three year started and averaged 18.6 ppg.  DuVal was a third team All-American his senior year

Lee was a clutch shooter with terrific perimeter range, and outstanding free throw shooting ability. He was able to use his shooting ability to set himself up as a solid passer. Lee's 18 foot jumper with five seconds remaining led the Orangemen to beat heavily favored North Carolina, as the Orangemen eventually moved on to their first NCAA Final Four. Lee would end up making the All-Tournament team for his outstanding performances.

Hackett was a powerful forward who could run the court well. He was a great rebounder and terrific scorer near the hoop.  He led the Orangemen in scoring his senior year and helped lead Syracuse to its first Final Four in 1975.

Schayes was a skilled center with a good shooting touch, and solid overall basketball skills. He unfortunately sat behind the legendary Roosevelt Bouie his first three seasons, but he led the Orange his senior year in scoring and rebounding, earning an All Big East First Team selection.  

Rautins was a terrific ball-handling forward with a nice shooting touch, solid rebounding and scoring skills. He is most well-known for his game winning tip in basket to win the Big East Championship in triple overtime against Villanova in 1981.  Rautins also recorded two triple-doubles in Big East action.

Addison was a gangly small forward who earned a reputation for being one of the most underrated players in the country.  He possessed an excellent mid range jump shot, was decent passing the ball, and was a solid free throw shooter. He led the team in scoring his sophomore and junior seasons.  He moved to shooting guard his senior year, and his 6’7” height helped with the mismatches. Unfortunately a leg injury impacted his effectiveness the second half of the season.

Hart was a speedy defensive point guard, and a four year starter.  He was a decent ball handler, and finished his career as the number two assist man all time at Syracuse. He was much better on the defensive end, and would finish as SU's all-time leader in steals.  Hart would have a 9 year career in the NBA, mostly as a backup guard.

Shumpert was one of the best three point shooters in Syracuse history, with terrific range.  He was a streaky shooter and carried the Orangemen to many victories, seven times in his career scoring 30+ points in a game.  He would be named to the Big East First Team both his junior and senior seasons, averaging 20.7 points per game his senior year.  He was not a strong defensive player, and there were questions about his temperament, particularly related to issues with DeShaun Williams.  Shumpert is currently the 8^th all time leading scorer at SU.

All are worthy players, and tough selections to make.  I designed my selection rules to make it tough; the Hall of Fame should be the 'best of the best', and I would rather have a line of worthy players outside the Hall of Fame, than cheapen it by having lessor players included.

Ten very good candidates, and a couple of those players are among my all-time personal favorites.  The 2022 inductee is Rudy Hackett.

Hackett averaged 22.2 ppg and 12.7 rebounds per game his senior year to help lead the Orangemen to their first Final Four as a Cinderella underdog.  He and Jimmy Lee were the Orangemen's one-two punch during their improbable run in the NCAA tournament.

Hackett earned 2nd team All American recognition his senior year.  At the time his finished his career he was 2nd all-time in rebounding, having led the team all three seasons he was on the varsity,  and 2nd all-time in scoring. Hackett is currently 7th in rebounding all time at Syracuse, and 25th in scoring.

Top 10 Winningest Active Mens Basketball Coaches (Div I)

 Here's the list of the active NCAA Men's basketball coaches, ranked by career wins:

1. Jim Boeheim 1099 (though the less informed say 998)
2. Bob Huggins 916
3. Cliff Ellis 817
4. John Calipari 768
5. Bill Self 763
6. Rick Barnes 754
7. Dana Altman 710
8. Kelvin Sampson 699
9. Jim Larranaga 696
10. Rick Pitino 684

What I find interesting about this top 10 group is there are only 6 National Championships won by this group. Boeheim '03, Calipari '12, Self '08 & '22, and Pitino '96 & '13.. And only 4 of the coaches on that list have won a title.

These are Boeheim's current peers, now that the legendary Coach K, Roy Williams, and Jay Wright have all retired. 

Statistics of Note From 2021-2022

Coach Jim Boeheim proclaimed before the season that this was the best three point shooting team he ever had.  He wasn’t far off from that.  The team hit 37.7% of its three point attempts, 5^th best in school history. The team made 9.1 three point shots a game, the most in school history, breaking the record of 8.8 set in 2016-17.

This year’s team shot 73.7% from the free throw line, making 423 of 574 shots.  The 73.7% is the 8^th best free throw shooting team since 1947-1948.  That is pretty elite company. 

The team averaged only 17.4 free throw attempts per game. That is the second lowest for the team since 1948.  The record low was set the previous season with 17.0 attempts per game.

The scoring margin for the team was 2.3 points per game. That was the 103^rd best out of 122 seasons for the Orange.  Only 19 Syracuse squads have had a lower point differential average.

The 77.4 points per game the Orange scored was the best for the team since 2009-2010.  The 75.1 ppg the team allowed the opponents to score was the 15^th worst all time, and the most since 1988-89.

Despite some late game meltdowns, the 2021-2022 team was actually very good at not turning over the ball.  They averaged 10.7 turnovers a game, the third best since 1984-85 when they started keeping the team statistic.   The best was the 2013-2014 team.  The team’s assist to turnover ratio was 1.36, which is the 6^th best in school history; the 1987-88 team holds the record at 1.79.  If you look at the Field Goal to Turnover Ratio, which is an indicator of turnover rate based on pace of the game, the team again ranked 5^th with a ratio of 2.58. The 1988-1989 team leads the way with a ratio of 3.00.

Individually, Cole Swider had the 8^th best three point shooting season at 41.1% making 81 of 197 attempts. Joe Girard wasn’t far behind with 40.3%. 

Jesse Edwards 2.8 blocks per game were the most since Fab Melo averaged 2.9 in 2011-12.

Cole Swider’s 6.8 rebounds per game was the lowest for the team leader since C.J. Fair’s 6.4 in 2013-2014.

Jimmy Boeheim Earns Academic All American Status

Congratulations to Jimmy Boeheim for making First Team Academic All American. Boeheim is only the second Orange men’s basketball player to earn first team honors, and the 8^th to receive any Academic All American recognition.  

The ability for an Orange player to make Academic All American  is far rarer than making All American status based on playing accomplishments.  Consider that sixteen Orange players have made the 1^st, 2^nd, or 3^rd team AP All American, whereas only eight have made the Academic All American.

The Academic All Americans have all done well in their professional careers following college, whether it was basketball or other ventures.

Rick Dean was the first Academic All American, earning 2^nd team status his senior year.   Dean would be a decorated Vietnam veteran, an FBI agent, and then a Methodist Minister.

George Hicker was a third team Academic All American in 1968. Hicker became a successful real estate salesman and later the president of Cardinal Industrial.

Bill Smith was a second team Academic All American in 1971.  He would have a brief NBA career, before a lengthy career at Smith Barney.

Dennis DuVal was a second team Academic All American in 1973.  He would have a brief NBA career, before moving on to a career as a police officer in Syracuse. His career would culminate with him being the Syracuse Police Chief from 2001-2004.

Hal Cohen was a second team Academic All American in 1979.  He continued onto medical school following graduating from Syracuse, and would be a respected radiologist in the Syracuse area for over three decades.

Danny Schayes was the only other first team Academic All American for Syracuse, achieving that distinction in 1981.  Schayes would play 18 seasons in the NBA for seven different franchises.

Craig Forth is the only Orange player to earn the distinction twice. The first time he was third team in 2004, and then he earned it again the next year rising to the second team. Forth became a teacher, and then later the principal of Mechanicsville High School in 2016.

Jimmy Boeheim graduated from Cornell in 2021, and came to Syracuse as a graduate student for the 2021-2022 season. He would earn first team Academic All American status.

Syracuse 2021-22 Free Throw Shooting

The Syracuse men's basketball team had a good year shooting free throws making 73.7% of their attempts.  This was the 8th best free throw shooting team in Syracuse history, with the 2020-21 team holding the record at 78.2%.  They were not a prolific free throw shooting team, with only 17.39 attempts per game, the second lowest in school history. That should not be too surprising from a team that specialized in perimeter shooting.

The team had three outstanding free throw shooters in Buddy Boeheim (88.4%), Joe Girard (88.2%), and Cole Swider (86.6%).  Buddy had the rare distinction  of leading the team in free throws made as well as free throw percentage.  Only Preston Shumpert (2001-02), Gerry McNamara (2005-06), and Tyus Battle (2018-19) have accomplished that in the past twenty years. [note it was a bit more common place in the 50s-90s with 15 players accomplishing it]

In the past seven seasons, six different players have led the Orange in free throw shooting percentage:  Trevor Cooney, John Gillon, Tyus Battle (2x), Joe Girard, Alan Griffin, and Buddy Boeheim.  Meanwhile, eleven different players have led the team in free throws made the past eleven seasons.

Earlier this season, I discussed the best free throw shooting backcourts in Syracuse history.  Boeheim and Girard set the record this year at 88.3%, making 181 out of 205 free throw attempts.  They have surpassed the 2005-06 effort of 87.1% by  Gerry McNamara and Eric Devendorf.

Buddy Boeheim finished his career as the 7th best three throw shooter at SU. Joe Girard is currently #2 at 86.5%, trailing Gerry McNamara's 88.78% by a couple of percentage points. On the downside, Bourama Sidibe finished his career as the 7th worst free throw shooter, becoming one of just seven to shoot less than 50% for his career.  Sidibe did shoot 64.3% in his last season, and he fell just one made free throw short of making 50% for his career.

In the battle of Boeheim free throw shooting, Buddy wins the contest.  Buddy's 82.7% is tops.  Coach Jim Boeheim shot 69.5%, and Buddy's older brother Jimmy shot 64.4% at Syracuse (Jimmy shot 66.3% in his combined career at Cornell and Syracuse).  By the way, sister Jamie Boeheim shot 70.6% (12-17) in her career at the University of Rochester.

Should Syracuse Fans Expect the Freshmen to Score A Lot in 2022-23?

One of the big questions for 2022-2023 season is where will the Syracuse offensive production come from.  The Orange are losing three of its top four scorers with Buddy Boeheim, Cole Swider, and Jimmy Boeheim leaving.  The team is likely to have to rely on some freshman to do some scoring, assuming no big acquisitions through the transfer portal. Is it realistic to expect freshmen to score?

Since the 2012-2013 season, there have been 31 scholarship freshman on the men's basketball team.  Nine were starters (29%), and eight scored 9+ a game (26%); six scored 10+ a game (19.4%).  Those eight were:

Tyler Ennis 12.9 ppg
Chris McCullough 9.3 ppg
Malachi Richardson 13.4 ppg
Tyler Lydon 10.1 ppg
Tyus Battle 11.3 ppg
Taurean Thompson 9.3 ppg
Oshae Brissett  14.9 ppg
Joe Girard 12.4 ppg

• Of course, really scoring totals are more a function of opportunity and necessity.  Even on really bad teams someone has to score, and if there are capable scorers already in place, freshman are not going to be called upon to play and/or score.  So take those numbers for what they are; just a reflection of what did happen, not what will happen.

While looking this up, probably the most similar situation to 2022-2023 was the 2017-2018 season.  That team lost four of its top five scorers (John Gillon, Tyler Lydon, Andrew White, Taurean Thompson), and the two bench players were weak scorers (Frank Howard and Paschal Chukwu).  Five incoming freshman (Matthew Moyer, Oshae Brissett, Marek Dolezaj, Bourama Sidibe, and Howard Washington).   That team struggled like heck to score, but played terrific grinding defense.  Moyer/Dolezaj and Brissett started, and Brissett turned in one of the best freshman scoring seasons for the Orange, but the team did lack scoring with only three guys who reliably scored: Battle, Howard, and Brissett.  The only new transfer on that team was Geno Thorpe, and he didn't contribute.

2022-2023 is not as barren as 2017-2018 in regards to returning players.  Two starters are returning, not just one (Joe Girard and Jesse Edwards).  There are four returning bench players not just two, and of those Benny Williams does have a very high upside.  There is also no returning player the caliber of Tyus Battle, so temper expectations with that in mind.