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.

A Breakdown of 30 Point Efforts by the Syracuse Basketball Team

There have been 193 times a Syracuse basketball player has scored 30+ points in a game. This was accomplished by 63 different players.

Dave Bing

Dave Bing accomplished the feat the most with 20 times.  Twelve players accomplished the feat 5+ times, including:  Bing (20), Greg Kohls (14), Billy Owens (10), Bill Smith (7), Preston Shumpert (7), Lawrence Moten (6), Rudy Hackett (6), Billy Gabor (5), Dennis DuVal (5), John Wallace (5), Pete Chudy (5), and Vinnie Cohen (5).

Colgate is the most common victim to a 30 point outburst from an Orange basketball player with 12. That really should not be a surprise given they also are by far the most common opponent.  Other teams with notable occurrences of 30 point efforts include:  Pitt (10), Cornell (9), Niagara (9), Canisius (7), UConn (7), LaSalle (7), Penn State (7), and St. John’s (7).  For those curious, Georgetown is on the list twice with Billy Owens doing it in 1990 and Carmelo Anthony in 2003.

The first player to do it was George Kirchgasser on November 7, 1904 against Jenner Prep. No player would accomplish it again until 1942 when Bob Shaddock scored 33 against Colgate.

The most common venue is the Orange home court where the Orange have done it an even 100 times.  Other breakdowns include:  64 times on the road, 9 times in the NCAA tournament, 8 times on a neutral court in season, 7 times in the Big East Tournament, 3 times in the NIT tournament, and 1 time each in the ACC Tournament and ECAC Tournament.

Twelve players have scored 40+ points in a game.  Bill Smith holds the school record with 47 against Lafayette in 1971.

Dave Bing holds the record for most field goals in a 30 point game with 19 against Colgate in 1965 on his way to 45 points. Allen Griffin has the first field goals with only 5 needed in a 31 point effort against St. John’s in 2001; he made 18 free throws and 3 three point shots in that game to help the cause.

Rick Dean had the best shooting night when he went 13-13 against Colgate in 1966, on his way to a 30 point night. John Wallace had the worst shooting night when he went 9-25 against Notre Dame in the Big East Tournament in 1996.  John did go 13-14 from the free throw line to help himself out.

Allen Griffin and Hakim Warrick each made 18 free throws on their way to 30 points games. Buddy Boeheim, Bob McDaniel, Carl Vernick, and George Kirchgasser had 0 free throws in their efforts (discussed earlier this week).

John Gillon, Gerry McNamara, Trevor Cooney, and James Southerland all had prolific three point shooting nights to make 9 three pointers on their way to 30+.   Gillon was the best sharpshooter in the effort going 9-10 from three and making 14-14 free throws.

Carmelo Anthony went 0-5 from three against Rutgers in 2003, though he still managed to get 30 on 10-10 free throw shooting and 10-23 from the floor.

All in the Family

The 2020-2021 Syracuse Orange basketball team will feature five players with family connections to the basketball program.

The most casual fans are aware that starting shooting guard Buddy Boeheim is the son of Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim.  Jim scored 745 points in his Syracuse career. Buddy will surpass him fairly early this season as he is currently at 708 points.

Walk-on forward Nick Giancola is Jim Boeheim's nephew, the son of his wife Juli's sister, and Buddy's cousin.  Nick played in five games last season, but has yet to score for the Orange.  

Walk-on guard Shane Feldman is the younger brother of current graduate assistant and former walk-on guard Ky Feldman.  Ky scored 10 points in his Syracuse career; Shane has yet to play.

Walk-on forward Chaz Owens is the son of all-time Syracuse great Billy Owens.  Billy Owens was the Big East Player of the Year his junior year, and had a solid NBA career. Billy scored 1,840 points in his three years at Syracuse, while Chaz has yet to play.

Finally, walk-on guard Chris Lavalle is the son of Kelly LaValle-Seubert, who was the long time administrative assistant to head coach Jim Boeheim.  Kelly passed away due to cancer in 2017, and the school named the players' lounge after her.  Lavalle played in five games last year, but failed to score in any.

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.

Where to Rank Tyus Battle?

I honestly don’t know where to rank Tyus Battle in terms of all time Syracuse players.  Fortunately, there still a majority of this season to be played out.  Right now, I think he’s been a very good player on an offensively challenged team, and that has inflated some of his statistics.

Tyus Battle

Syracuse has played a lot of close games the past three years, and therefore a lot of opportunities for game winning heroics have existed.  And to Battle’s credit, he has taken advantage of most of those opportunities and succeeded.  That’s a plus for him.  

Battle is very good at isolation offense, and that has helped Syracuse when the offense has stagnated.   He is decent in the zone defense at Syracuse; not outstanding, but definitely up to the task of playing the position well and there’s not much to criticize there.   He does have only 9 steals so far this year… which is an anomaly for him, and very low for a SU guard after 10 games.  Looking back over recent history, Brandon Triche was the last guard to average that few steals, and he played about 2/3 the minutes of Battle.

He is not a solid three point shooter, he doesn’t rebound as well as you would like a 2-guard to rebound, and he has low assist totals for a guy who plays 40 minute almost every game.  He does not play well when there is poor point guard play, indicating his is dependent on his teammates to help him out. At the same time, I’ve always thought great players elevated those around them, and I’m not sure I see any of his teammates improve because of his presence on the court.  

If you compare him to a guy like Andy Rautins, the contrasts are obvious.  Battle has an NBA style of game and athleticism, so he may get a shot at the NBA, whereas Rautins was really never going to make that league.  But as collegiate players, Rautins had a better rounded game as a senior than Battle does as a junior.  Rautins made nearly 41% of this three point shots, averaged 4.9 assists per game, 3.4 rebounds per game, and had 2 steals a game.  Rautins couldn’t beat his man off the dribble and get into the lane like Battle can.  But he definitely improved the game of those around him, and he was outstanding at playing the top of the SU Zone.  

Back in 1961-1962 a sophomore guard name Carl Vernick led the Orangmen in scoring, by far, with 16.5 ppg.  He has 5.4 rebounds a game, and had a couple of games with 30+ points.  Vernick, while the best offensive player on that team, was an okay college player.  He looked much better because he had to step up compared to his teammates. That Orangemen team was 2-22 for the season, the worst in SU history.

New SU head coach Fred Lewis came aboard and started recruiting better players.  Vernick’s numbers started to drop, and by his senior year he averaged 2.6 ppg.  Players like Dave Bing, Chuck Richards, Norm Goldsmith and Jim Boeheim were simply better than him.  

I’m not suggesting Tyus Battle is Carl Vernick.  I just wanted to use Vernick as an illustration for a basketball player’s stats being highly influenced by the context of the team he is in and the players around him.  Vernick is an extreme example.

Battle is also not a Billy Owens, Carmelo Anthony or Lawrence Moten. Those guys took teams with young or little talent, and rose them to a very successful level.  SU’s teams with Battle have been borderline NCAA teams.  Owens carried the 1990-91 Orangemen to a 26-6 overall record, a 12-4 Big East season, with 23.2 ppg, 3.5 apg, and 11.6 rpg.  That team was 26-4 going into post season play.  Dave Johnson stepped up beside Owens to help with the offense, but make no mistake about how dominating Owens was.

Battle has shown moments of being able to dominate games; the second half of the recent Georgetown game is such an example.  It was amazing how he dominated the Hoyas in the second half; it was disappointing that as a junior guard, that it required being called out by his head coach at half time in order for him to step up. 

Battle is going to end up a top 15 scorer for Syracuse by the end of this year; if he stayed around another year he would move to #2 in scoring and have a shot at #1.    I don’t think it he is one of the best 15 players ever for the Orange; at least not on what I have seen yet.

Yet, he is going to leave us with many memorable game winning plays, a career full of heroic moments.  And I’m grateful for that.  

The Best Orangeman Basketball Player In My Lifetime

Who was the best basketball player ever to play for the Syracuse Orange?  I am not referring to their entire career, but rather their peak year, how good of a player did they become while an Orangeman?  I am not talking about potentially how good they could have been, but rather what they did show to us.

I am going to restrict this to players I saw play. Dave Bing who played his last game for the Orangemen a couple of months before I was born is therefore excluded.

I do not mean which player had the greatest season ever for the Orangemen. That would clearly be Carmelo Anthony.  Anthony was the best player on the only Syracuse team to win the NCAA National Championship. 

I think John Wallace was clearly the most valuable player ever for the Orangemen. Wallace carried the Orangemen to the brink of the 1996 National Championship with no teammate named to any All Big East teams that year.

I think Lawrence Moten has the highest basketball IQ of any Orangemen I ever saw play. He was so smooth staying within the flow of the game, and would effortlessly and often quietly score 20 points.

I think Pearl Washington was the most significant player in Orangemen history. He brought recognition to Syracuse University at a National level, helping the Orange be a national power.

I can also state that my five all-time favorite Orangemen, chronologically, are Rafael Addison, Stephen Thompson, Lawrence Moten, Gerry McNamara, and Andy Rautins.

Who do I think were the five best players for the Orangemen?

Fifth:  John Wallace.  Wallace as a senior carried the Orangemen to the National Championship game, averaging 22.2 points per game (ppg), and 8.7 rebounds per game (rpg).  He shot 42% from three point range, the best on the team, even outshooting, percentage wise, the team’s three point specialist Marius Janulis (41.6% to John’s 42.1%).    He would lead the team in scoring by 9.5 ppg, and would score 30+ points five times, and led the team in scoring 30 of the 38 games played.  Wallace played strong defense, leading the team with 63 blocks, and also had 44 steals. He played exceptionally well in the NCAA tournament, leading the team in scoring all six games, including a great 30 point effort against Georgia, and a 29 point effort in the championship game. The Orangemen were only down by four points in the Championship game to a much more talented Kentucky team, when Wallace fouled out with about 2 minutes to go.

Rony Seikaly

Fourth:  Rony Seikaly.  Seikaly came to Syracuse as a raw recruit with a flabby body and poor basketball skills.  He developed into an outstanding collegiate center, with a nice turnaround jump shot, and great defensive skills. Seikaly really came into his own during the NCAA tournament his junior year.  Seikaly would have a dominating game against Florida’s highly touted Duane Schintzius, scoring 33.  Seikaly kept that playing level going as the Orangemen upset North Carolina and eventually got to the NCAA finals, before losing to Indiana.  Seikaly performed at that level most of his senior year averaging 16.3 ppg, 9.6 rpg, along with 85 blocked shots.  He shot 57% from the floor, and was great at running the court both on offense and defense.  The team was loaded with scoring talent with Sherman Douglas, Matt Roe, Stephen Thompson and Derrick Coleman in the lineup, and yet Seikaly led the team in scoring primarily with his low post moves.  The Orangemen would win the Big East Championship but lose in the NCAA tournament to Rhode Island when Douglas was off his game due to illness. Seikaly scored 27 points and had 10 rebounds in that loss.

Carmelo Anthony

Third: Carmelo Anthony.  I know I’m going to take flak from several Orange fans for this selection, as they think he was number one.  Anthony was without a doubt one of the most gifted basketball players in SU history.   As a freshman, and his only season with Syracuse, he displayed a wide array of offensive skills. He was adept at scoring from the post, driving the lane, and pulling up from perimeter, making 34% of his three point shots. He displayed an A-Type personality and was eager to be the man with the ball, and did well in that position.  He would lead the team in scoring 24 of the 35 games they played, scoring 30+ points three times. The biggest performance of his career came in the Final Four where Anthony made 12 of 19 shots for 33 points, with extremely stellar play, to dominate Texas and lead the Orangemen to the championship game.  Anthony would score 20 points, with 10 rebounds and 7 assists in the Championship game, leading all scorers, as the Orangemen won their first National Championship.

Billy Owens

Second: Billy Owens.  Owens was simply dominating his junior year at Syracuse.  Derrick Coleman and Stephen Thompson had graduated, and Owens stepped up to fill the void scoring 23.2 ppg, with 11.6 rpg and 3.5 assists per game (apg).  He shot 39% from three point range, and 51% from the floor overall.  He was offensively a dominating player inside and outside.  Defensively he led the team with 78 steals, and led the team in scoring 21 of the 32 games played. In his career he had 8 games with 30+ points, and ten games with 15+ rebounds.    He led the team to a Big East regular season title, and a 26-4 record with a #6 ranking.  There were hopes that he could carry SU to a national title like Danny Manning had done with Kansas in 1988.   Inexplicably the team crashed in the post season, losing its first round of the Big East tournament to Villanova, despite 17 points and 22 rebounds from Owens.  They would then get upset by Richmond in the first round of the NCAA despite 22 points from Owens.

Derrick Coleman

First:  Derrick Coleman.  Derrick Coleman was a tremendously gifted 6’10” forward who could dominate players inside and also score from the perimeter, in an era where big men did not do that.  Coleman was the greatest rebounder in SU and NCAA history, with a NCAA record 1,537 rebounds. He averaged 12.1 rpg his senior year, despite having to share rebounds with Billy Owens, Stephen Thompson and LeRon Ellis.  He scored 17.9 ppg, essentially splitting the scoring duties with prolific scorers Owens (18.2 ppg) and Thompson (17.8 ppg).  He shot 37% from three point range and 55% from the floor.  Coleman had 51 steals and led the team with 67 blocks.  The Orangemen would win the Big East regular season title despite having no real point guard play. They would reach a #4 ranking in the country, before losing in the Big East Finals to UConn, and then losing to Minnesota in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.  Coleman would be recognized for his stellar season by being the Big East Player of the Year, making the AP All American First team, and being drafted #1 overall in the NBA draft.

I know many want to argue Anthony over Coleman.  They are of course, different style players.  Anthony was definitely a better player as a freshman than Coleman was, though Coleman was the Big East Rookie of the Year, and he did pull down 19 rebounds in the National Championship game.  But we are not comparing a freshman Anthony to a freshman Coleman. We are comparing a freshman Anthony to a senior Coleman.

Consider that Coleman had four collegiate seasons to master his game, Anthony just one.    He was a 22 year old 6’10”, 225 lb senior when he completed his senior year.    Melo was a 6’8”, 195 lb forward, 18 years old when he completed his freshman year.

Coleman was recognized as the top player in the country and his conference.  Anthony didn’t win the Big East Player of the Year (Troy Bell did), and was not an AP First Team All-American. I know some politics come into that, but Anthony did not make enough impression to overcome those politics. 

Coleman played in an era where all talented players stayed 3-4 years in college.  Guys like Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin, Michael Jordan, Ralph Sampson, Billy Owens, Danny Manning, etc. all perfected their games in college. And Coleman had to play against players like that routinely. And he was able to succeed against them. Today, all those guys, including Coleman, would have been in the NBA after their freshman/sophomore years.

Anthony had his talented opposition to play against too. But those talented upper classmen that would have given him a battle were gone, already earning their millions in the NBA.  There are guys who develop and by their fourth year are outstanding college players, guys like our own Michael Gbinije and Rakeem Christmas.  But Coleman’s era had those guys too… plus the superstars in college. 

Freshman on average are better today than they were 20 years ago. But they aren’t better than 21-22 year NBA superstars staying in college because that was the norm. 

Anthony was a tremendous offensive threat, and fantastic at handling the ball, driving to the hoop.  Coleman could handle the ball, but that wasn’t his forte. But Coleman was much more dominating near the hoop than Anthony.  He was bigger, stronger, and had a freakish arm length.

Coleman was the better defensive player. He played center his junior year and had 127 blocks, a school record until Etan Thomas broke it 9 years later.  Anthony did his part in the zone defense, but he has never been known for his defensive prowess.

Anthony’s 2003 squad reached a peak ranking of #11, and started the year unranked. Coleman’s team got as high as #4.

Coleman’s biggest issue was that at times he was indifferent on the court, specifically against lesser opponents and earlier in this career. Anthony’s type A-personality never let him give up.  Coleman often played with a snarl, whereas Anthony always with a smile.  Coleman could be nasty on the court, whereas Anthony was more a quiet assassin and let his skills do the talking.  D.C. gave coach Jim Boeheim a lot of headaches; I doubt Melo ever game coach one.

Some will argue that Melo’s team won the championship and Coleman’s did not.  But do a flashback to both championship games the guys played in. Coleman missed a front end of a one-and-one in the final minute, and Keith Smart made a jump shot over Howard Triche resulting in the loss for Syracuse.  Anthony missed a front end of a one-and-one in the final minute, and Michael Lee’s jump shot is blocked by Hakim Warrick giving the win to Syracuse.  If Triche block’s Smart’s shot, and Lee makes his shot, the results are swapped. Do you still consider Melo better than D.C. in that scenario?  And your change in position is based on four players other than Melo and D.C. doing something?

I think if Melo stays in college for three years, definitely four, there is no comparison here.  Melo at 22 was a much better basketball player than D.C. was at 22.  But that Melo was not at Syracuse; he was in the NBA playing for Denver. And having watched both players play, Melo at 18 was not better than D.C. at 22.

It was tough to think through these selections.  Without out a doubt Derrick Coleman, Billy Owens, Carmelo Anthony, Rony Seikaly and John Wallace were great college players.  And no slight was intended to Pearl Washington, Sherman Douglas, Lawrence Moten, Wesley Johnson or Hakim Warrick.

Your thoughts?

Searching for that Big Time Scorer (30 points)

Amidst Syracuse’s scoring woes in this young season, I find myself longing for a big time scorer on the team.  The type of player who could carry the team for a night, with a 30+ point effort.  It may seem that Syracuse does not have that type of player right now, but that would only be if you have a short memory.  Trevor Cooney bombed Notre Dame for 33 points last February 2014 as he hit 9 of 12 three point shots.   Of course, we all know that Cooney can shoot; it is just that he can be very streaky and inconsistent and he is currently in the middle of a long slump.

Overall, 58 different Orangemen have scored 30+ points in agame; this has been accomplished 179 different times.

The first time was in 1904 when George Kirchgasser scored 30 against Jenners Prep.  Kirchgasser scored all 30 from the floor; he took no free throw shots in the game.  Because it was an earlier era, it isn’t recognized today as an official accomplishment.

The first official 30+ point game by an Orangemen occurred in 1943 when Bob Shaddock scored 30 over rival Colgate.

The Syracuse record for points in a game is 47 by Bill Smith.  Smith shot 17 of 23 from the floor, and made 13 free throws in a high scoring game against LaFayette.

Dave Bing scored 30 or more points in 20 different games, or roughly 26% of the varsity games he played at Syracuse.  That’s just in case you ever really wondered about the greatness of Bing.

Sharpshooting Greg Kohls is next on the list with 14 games with 30+ points.  The amazing thing about Kohls was that he barely played his sophomore season (freshman couldn’t play in his era).  He played 54 varsity games his junior and senior season as like Bing, scored 30+ in 26% of the games. Kohls was a terrific perimeter shooter; who knows how many 30+ point games he would have had if there had been a three point shot in that era.

Billy Owens is third with 10 games with 30+ points.  Owens was the first player under Jim Boeheim to average 20+ points a game. 7 of those 10 games occurred his junior season, after Derrick Coleman and Stephen Thompson had graduated.

30 point games have occurred everywhere.  94 times they have occurred at home (53% of the time).  59 occurred at the opponent’s home court.  8 occurred in a mid-season tournament, 2 in the post season NIT, 1 in the ECAC, 7 in the Big East tournament and 8 in the NCAA Tournament.

It may be surprising to see what players never accomplished the feat.  Derrick Coleman, Syracuse’s second all-time leading scorer never scored 30 points in a game.  Part of that reason was that Coleman was always surrounded by other great scorers in Sherman Douglas, Rony Seikaly, Stephen Thompson and Billy Owens.  But Douglas, Seikaly and Owens all did it.

Stephen Thompson, Syracuse’s 7^th all-time leading scorer never hit 30.  I’m sure besides playing with other great scorers, that the inability to make free throws and a three point shot kept Thompson from that mark.  Thompson was a great scorer though; I’m not sure if there was ever a better scorer in the Boeheim era.

C.J. Fair, who finished as Syracuse’s 15^th all-time leading scorer, never did it. Nor did Brandon Triche at #17 (though his uncle Howard did it), or #18 Todd Burgan, or #22 Jason Hart.

There have likewise been some surprising players who have had the unexpected big nights.

NFL Hall of Famer Jim Brown had the talent on the basketball court, as well as the gridiron and the lacrosse field. He was second on the team in scoring his sophomore season with 15 ppg, and he would score 33 against Sampson Air Force Base that winter. 

In January 1952, Bucky Roche scored 35 at Cornell.  The senior guard was second in the team in scoring with 14 ppg; but he had scored only 121 points in his career before his senior year.

In December 1962, sophomore guard Phil Schoff would score 30 points against Cornell in a big loss.  Schoff would finish the season as the teams third scorer at 10.4 ppg.  Schoff would lose his starting position his junior year with the arrival of Dave Bing, Sam Penceal and Chuck Richards, though he would remain a valuable reserve.

In December 1986, senior forward Howard Triche would score 31 points in win over Northeastern. Triche was the fifth leading scorer on the team that year, and that was the only time in his career he would lead the Orangemen in scoring for a game.

The most surprising was probably Gene Waldon.  Waldron put up 40 points against Iona in the 1983 Carrier Classic. Waldron did this in the non-three point era.  He was the fifth leading scorer on the team that year, averaging 9.2 ppg and Waldon had never been a big scorer before.

If not for Waldron, the most surprising may have been senior Allen Griffin.  Griffin would score 31 in a double overtime win against St. John’s .  He as the fourth leading scorer on the team at 10.8 ppg, and had averaged only 3 ppg his junior year.  His method of scoring 31 points was highly unusual too. Griffin only made 5 of 9 baskets that night.  However, 3 of those 5 made field goals were 3 point baskets.  And he was sent to the free throw line 22 times where he made 18 of the them.

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.

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.

2008 Orange Hoops Hall of Fame Inductee

In 2007, OrangeHoops inducted its charter class into the OrangeHoops Hall of Fame: Dave Bing, Derrick Coleman, Sherman Douglas, Vic Hanson, and Pearl Washington. A year has passed, and now it is time for the 2008 inductee. I won’t bother you with all the rules for eligibility (you can catch up on them here).

2008 does have 5 new eligible candidates: Mike Hopkins, Conrad MacRae, Glenn Sekunda, Dave Siock, and Michael Edwards. None, based on their current resumes, would warrant consideration for this year’s vote.

I think this year’s viable top candidates come down to the following seven, listed chronologically: Lew Castle, Joe Schwarzer, Billy Gabor, Vinnie Cohen, Roosevelt Bouie, Rony Seikaly and Billy Owens.

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.

Schwarzer was a two time All-American, and was captain and leading scorer of the 1917-1918 squad that went 16-1 and was retroactively named the National Champions by the Helms Foundation.

Gabor was a two time All-American, was a prolific scorer, becoming the first Syracuse player to score 1,000 points and led Syracuse to their first post-season tournament in 1945-1946 with the NIT Tournament.

Cohen was an All-American, the first Syracuse player to average 20+ points a game in a season, and led the team to the NCAA Elite Eight in 1956-1957.

Bouie was a two time All-American, a standout defensive player who led Syracuse to a 100-18 record in his four years.

Seikaly was an All-American, a standout defensive player whose outstanding play in the 1987 NCAA tournament took Syracuse to the brink of its first tournament championship.

Owens was a two time All-American, an outstanding all around player who carried Syracuse to a Big East regular season championship in 1990-1991 and three NCAA tournaments.

Strong arguments could be made for each player. However, the 2008 Orange Hoops Hall of Fame inductee is Billy Owens.

Owens came to Syracuse as an outstanding all-around player having won four basketball state championships in Pennsylvania. His unselfish play helped him easily fit into the loaded Syracuse team his freshman year, alongside stars Sherman Douglas, Derrick Coleman and Stephen Thompson. Despite deferring to the upper classmen, Owens still managed 13 points a game that season and 6.9 rebounds.

With the graduation of Douglas, Owens would take on a more prominent role with the team his sophomore season, leading the team in scoring with 18.2 points a game. Owens helped take the pressure off of freshman point guard Michael Edwards, and much of the offense was funneled through Owens, who had 4.6 assists to go with his leading scoring and 8.4 rebounds a game.

Syracuse lost both Thompson and Douglas, and Owens would be the central player for Syracuse his junior season. He would not disappoint anyone with 23.2 points a game, becoming the first player under coach Jim Boeheim to score 20+ points a game. He added 11.6 rebounds a game and 3.5 assists. Owens carried the Syracuse team for most the season, allowing classmate Dave Johnson to be open and to blossom as a scoring threat. Syracuse would finish the regular season at 26-4, ranked #6 in the country, and still impressed the NCAA committee enough to get a #2 seed in the NCAA tournament, despite a huge upset loss in the first round of the Big East tournament. Unfortunately, Owens and the Orangemen were snake bitten, as they were upset by Richmond in the first round of the tournament.

Owens would be the third pick in the 1991 NBA draft, and would play 10 seasons, though injuries his first couple of seasons would hamper him throughout his NBA career.

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.