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.