Syracuse Orange men's basketball

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Syracuse Orange
Syracuse Orange athletic logo

University Syracuse University
Conference Big East
Location Syracuse, NY
Head Coach Jim Boeheim (32nd year)
Arena Carrier Dome
(Capacity: 33,000)
Nickname Orange
Colors Blue and Orange

             

Uniforms
 
Home jersey
Home jersey
 
Home shorts
Home
 
Away jersey
Away jersey
 
Away shorts
Away
NCAA Pre-Tournament Era Champions
1918, 1926
NCAA Tournament Champions
2003
NCAA Tournament Final Four
1975, 1987, 1996, 2003
Conference Tournament Champions
1981, 1988, 1992, 2005, 2006
Conference Regular Season Champions
1980, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 2000, 2003

The Syracuse Orange men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball program of Syracuse University. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and the team competes in the Big East Conference.

Contents

[edit] Syracuse Basketball History

Syracuse first fielded a basketball team in 1899 and enjoyed early success, being recognized as national champions in 1918 and 1926. The 1926 squad was coached by legendary coach Lew Andreas and featured Basketball Hall of Famer Vic Hanson.

The school made National Invitation Tournament ("NIT") appearances in 1946 and 1950 and made its first NCAA Basketball Tournament appearance in 1957.

The modern era of Syracuse basketball began with the arrival of future Hall of Famer Dave Bing. As a sophomore in 1964, Bing led the team to an NIT appearance and as a senior in 1966, he led the team to its second NCAA Tournament appearance, where it reached the regional final. Bing's backcourt partner on these teams was future Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim.

Syracuse remained competitive after Bing's departure, with NIT appearances in 1967, 1971 and 1972. Under coach Roy Danforth, in 1973, the team began a string of consecutive NCAA appearances highlighted by a Final Four appearance in 1975. The 1975 squad featured guards Jim Lee and Rudy Hackett and was affectionately known as "Roy's Runts." Following the 1976 season, Danforth was hired away by Tulane University and the University turned to young assistant Jim Boeheim to assume the helm. Boeheim extended the string of NCAA appearances to nine, with bids in each of his first four seasons, a period in which his teams won 100 games. These teams featured star forward Louis Orr and center Roosevelt Bouie and were sometimes referred to as the "Louie and Bouie Show."

Syracuse was a founding member of the Big East Conference in 1979, along with Georgetown University, St. John's University and Providence College. Syracuse and Georgetown were each ranked in the top ten in 1980, and a new and major rivalry blossomed when Georgetown snapped the Orangemen's 57 game home winning streak in the final men's basketball game played at Manley Field House. Over the next ten seasons, these two schools met eight times in the Big East Tournament, four times in the finals, and met numerous times on national television during the regular season.

Syracuse won the Big East Tournament in 1981, but was passed over by the NCAA Tournament. The team, featuring Danny Schayes and Leo Rautins, finished runner-up in the NIT. The team returned to the NIT in 1982, before beginning another extended streak of NCAA appearances in 1983.

Buoyed by the visibility provided by the Big East and by rising attendances at the Carrier Dome, the Orangemen continued to increase in national prominence. Heralded high school phenomenon Dwayne "Pearl" Washington joined the Orangemen in 1983, and led the school to NCAA appearances in 1984, 1985, and 1986, before leaving school early for the NBA Draft.

Despite the early loss of Washington, Syracuse returned to the NCAA's in 1987, with a team featuring Rony Seikaly, Sherman Douglas and freshman Derrick Coleman, reaching the Final Four before losing, 73-74, in the final to Indiana on a last-second jump shot by Keith Smart. Led by Coleman, Douglas, Seikaly, Stephen Thompson and Billy Owens, the school extended its string of NCAA appearances to 10 seasons before that string was broken in 1993, due to NCAA sanctions resulting from an incident involving a booster.

Led by guard Lawrence Moten and forward/center John Wallace, the school returned to the NCAA's in 1994 and 1995. In 1996, Wallace led the team to its third Final Four appearance, where it played impressively before losing, 67-76, in the final to a heavily-favored Kentucky team that included nine future NBA players. (Kentucky head coach Rick Pitino had been an assistant coach to Boeheim in 1976, 1977.)

The 1997 squad won 19 games but was bypassed by the NCAA Tournament and appeared in the NIT. The 1998, 1999 and 2000 squads featuring guard Jason Hart and center Etan Thomas all earned NCAA bids. In 2000, the University also named its All-Century Team, recognizing its greatest players of the 20th century and the school's first 100 years of basketball. The team made a fourth consecutive NCAA appearance in 2001, but returned to the NIT in 2002, despite a having a 20-win season.

Although unranked in the preseason polls for the 2002-03 season, led by freshmen Carmelo Anthony and Gerry McNamara and sophomore Hakim Warrick, the Orangemen won their first NCAA Tournament Championship with a 81-78 defeat of the University of Kansas in the final. Anthony was named NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Anthony left for the NBA Draft after the school year, but McNamara and Warrick stayed on, leading the team to NCAA bids in 2004 and 2005. In 2006, McNamara would lead the Orangemen to an extremely unexpected Big East Championship victory, making the 9th-seeded Orangemen the lowest seed to ever win the championship and only the 3rd school to repeat as Big East tournament champions, but was immediately defeated in the opening round of the tournament by Texas A&M, 66-58.

To date, the Syracuse men's basketball program has made 31 NCAA Tournament appearances, including 4 Final Four appearances and one NCAA Tournament Championship. The program has also made 11 NIT appearances and won 2 early (pre-tournament era) national championships. The program has produced 2 Hall of Fame players, Vic Hanson and Dave Bing, and one Hall of Fame coach, Jim Boeheim.

On March 8, 2008, Syracuse became the first school in Big East history to win 300 regular season games.

[edit] 2006-07 season

Syracuse began its 2006-07 season looking for leadership after the graduation of four-year starter Gerry McNamara. Even without McNamara, the Orange had experience across the front line including seniors Demetris Nichols, Darryl Watkins and Terrence Roberts, while junior Josh Wright and sophomore Eric Devendorf rounded out the lineup. Other key players off the bench included sharp-shooting Andy Rautins, highly touted freshman Paul Harris, Mike Jones, Arinze Onuaku and senior Matt Gorman, the only holdover from the 2003 National Championship team.

Before the season even started, the Orange was hit with the injury bug, as Onuaku had season ending knee surgery. The Orange started ranked No. 17 in the AP Top 25 Poll, and won their first seven games, although they struggled through the early part of their schedule.

Injuries struck once again, as Watkins broke his nose against Northeastern, and Roberts hurt his knee versus Drexel. Meanwhile, Devendorf missed time because of the death of a friend from his hometown in Michigan. This played into their early season struggles, as Syracuse lost three games to Oklahoma State, Wichita State and Drexel.[1]

Devendorf was replaced in the lineup by Rautins, and while Harris showed flashes of his talent on defense and rebounding, he struggled with his shot and saw his playing time decrease.[2]

Syracuse started its Big East schedule with a loss to Pittsburgh, but wins at Marquette and versus Villanova and a narrow escape against Cincinnati. The win against the Bearcats would prove to be the calm before the storm, as Syracuse then lost to St. Johns, blew a 14 point lead at Louisville, and gave up 103 points in a loss to Notre Dame in the Carrier Dome. Seemingly a lock for the NCAA Tournament at the beginning of the season, the Orange was now a bubble-team. After winning against DePaul and then losing at Connecticut, Nichols scored a career-high 37 points in a two-point win against St. Johns.

With the team's record at 16-8 overall and 5-5 in the Big East conference, Boeheim made several adjustments in the Syracuse lineup. He sent the struggling Wright to the bench and moved Devendorf to the starting point guard position and Rautins to shooting guard.

The move paid dividends, as Rautins went on a shooting tear and helped the Orange to win five of their remaining six regular season games. One of those wins was against No. 10 Georgetown at the Carrier Dome, which many assumed stamped Syracuse's ticket to the NCAA Tournament. At season's end, Syracuse posted a 21-8 record and 10-6 in Big East play.

In the Big East Tournament, Syracuse seemed to put the cherry on the top of their NCAA bid, beating Connecticut soundly in the first round before getting knocked out by Notre Dame in the second round. However, on Selection Sunday, Syracuse fans were stunned when the Orange was not selected to the NCAA Tournament.[3]

It was the first time that a team with 10 wins in the Big East Conference was not invited to the NCAA tournament. Selection Committee Chairman Gary Walters said some of the factors in not inviting Syracuse included playing an uneven in-conference schedule, and having a weak non-conference schedule.(3)

Syracuse headed to the National Invitation Tournament for the first time since the 2001-02 season. It defeated South Alabama and San Diego State before losing to Clemson in the quarterfinals of the NIT.

At season's end, Nichols was selected as a First Team All Big East performer, while Devendorf received All Big East Honorable Mention. [4] Harris was named to the Big East All Rookie team. [5]

[edit] 2007-08 season

Syracuse will see many new faces on its squad next year as it brings in one of the top recruiting classes in the nation, headlined by Jonny Flynn, a high school teammate of Harris and Donte Greene, a Baltimore, Maryland product who grew up in the same area as Carmelo Anthony.[6] Both were McDonald's All Americans. Also joining the fold are Philadelphia products Rick Jackson and Antonio Jardine, transfer Kristof Ongenaet, and center Sean Williams from the Notre Dame Preparatory School.[7] The six will try to fill the void left by Nichols, Roberts and Watkins.


[edit] Season-by-season results

Season Overall
Wins
Overall
Losses
Pct. Conf.
Wins
Conf.
Losses
Pct. Conference
Finish
Conference
Tournament
Postseason Head Coach Team
Accomplishment
1900-01 2 2 .500 -- -- -- -- -- None No Coach
1901-02 3 3 .500 -- -- -- -- -- None No Coach
1902-03 1 8 .111 -- -- -- -- -- None No Coach
1903-04 11 8 .579 -- -- -- -- -- None John A. R. Scott
1904-05 14 7 .667 -- -- -- -- -- None John A. R. Scott
1905-06 9 3 .750 -- -- -- -- -- None John A. R. Scott
1906-07 4 3 .571 -- -- -- -- -- None John A. R. Scott
1907-08 10 3 .769 -- -- -- -- -- None John A. R. Scott
1908-09 7 8 .467 -- -- -- -- -- None John A. R. Scott
1909-10 3 11 .214 -- -- -- -- -- None John A. R. Scott
1910-11 6 11 .353 -- -- -- -- -- None John A. R. Scott
1911-12 11 3 .786 -- -- -- -- -- None Edmund Dollard
1912-13 8 3 .727 -- -- -- -- -- None Edmund Dollard
1913-14 12 0 1.000 -- -- -- -- -- None Edmund Dollard
1914-15 10 1 .909 -- -- -- -- -- None Edmund Dollard
1915-16 9 3 .750 -- -- -- -- -- None Edmund Dollard
1916-17 13 3 .813 -- -- -- -- -- None Edmund Dollard
1917-18 16 1 .941 -- -- -- -- -- None Edmund Dollard National Champions
1918-19 13 3 .813 -- -- -- -- -- None Edmund Dollard
1919-20 15 3 .833 -- -- -- -- -- None Edmund Dollard
1920-21 12 9 .571 -- -- -- -- -- None Edmund Dollard
1921-22 16 8 .941 -- -- -- -- -- None Edmund Dollard
1922-23 8 12 .400 -- -- -- -- -- None Edmund Dollard
1923-24 8 10 .444 -- -- -- -- -- None Edmund Dollard
1924-25 15 2 .882 -- -- -- -- -- None Lewis Andreas
1925-26 19 1 .950 -- -- -- -- -- None Lewis Andreas National Champions
1926-27 15 4 .789 -- -- -- -- -- None Lewis Andreas
1927-28 10 6 .625 -- -- -- -- -- None Lewis Andreas
1928-29 11 4 .733 -- -- -- -- -- None Lewis Andreas
1929-30 18 2 .900 -- -- -- -- -- None Lewis Andreas
1930-31 16 4 .800 -- -- -- -- -- None Lewis Andreas
1931-32 13 8 .619 -- -- -- -- -- None Lewis Andreas
1932-33 14 2 .875 -- -- -- -- -- None Lewis Andreas
1933-34 15 2 .882 -- -- -- -- -- None Lewis Andreas
1934-35 15 2 .882 -- -- -- -- -- None Lewis Andreas
1935-36 12 5 .706 -- -- -- -- -- None Lewis Andreas
1936-37 13 4 .765 -- -- -- -- -- None Lewis Andreas
1937-38 14 5 .737 -- -- -- -- -- None Lewis Andreas
1938-39 15 4 .789 -- -- -- -- -- None Lewis Andreas
1939-40 10 8 .556 -- -- -- -- -- None Lewis Andreas
1940-41 14 5 .737 -- -- -- -- -- None Lewis Andreas
1941-42 15 6 .714 -- -- -- -- -- None Lewis Andreas
1942-43 8 10 .444 -- -- -- -- -- None Lewis Andreas
1943-44 Did not play - Team suspended
1944-45 7 12 .368 -- -- -- -- -- None Lewis Andreas
1945-46 23 4 .852 -- -- -- -- -- NIT Lewis Andreas
1946-47 19 6 .760 -- -- -- -- -- NCAA District II Lewis Andreas
1947-48 11 13 .458 -- -- -- -- -- None Lewis Andreas
1948-49 18 7 .720 -- -- -- -- -- None Lewis Andreas
1949-50 18 9 .667 -- -- -- -- -- NIT Lewis Andreas
1950-51 19 9 .679 -- -- -- -- -- None Marc Guley
1951-52 14 6 .700 -- -- -- -- -- None Marc Guley
1952-53 7 11 .389 -- -- -- -- -- None Marc Guley
1953-54 10 9 .526 -- -- -- -- -- None Marc Guley
1954-55 10 11 .476 -- -- -- -- -- None Marc Guley
1955-56 14 8 .636 -- -- -- -- -- None Marc Guley
1956-57 18 7 .720 -- -- -- -- -- NCAA Marc Guley
1957-58 11 10 .524 -- -- -- -- -- None Marc Guley
1958-59 14 9 .609 -- -- -- -- -- None Marc Guley
1959-60 13 8 .619 -- -- -- -- -- None Marc Guley
1960-61 4 19 .174 -- -- -- -- -- None Marc Guley
1961-62 2 22 .083 -- -- -- -- -- None Marc Guley
1962-63 8 13 .381 -- -- -- -- -- None Fred Lewis
1963-64 17 8 .680 -- -- -- -- -- NIT Fred Lewis
1964-65 13 10 .565 -- -- -- -- -- None Fred Lewis
1965-66 22 6 .786 -- -- -- -- -- NCAA Fred Lewis
1966-67 20 6 .769 -- -- -- -- -- NIT Fred Lewis
1967-68 11 14 .440 -- -- -- -- -- None Fred Lewis
1968-69 9 16 .360 -- -- -- -- -- None Roy Danforth
1969-70 12 12 .500 -- -- -- -- -- None Roy Danforth
1970-71 19 7 .731 -- -- -- -- -- NIT Roy Danforth
1971-72 22 6 .786 -- -- -- -- -- NIT Roy Danforth
1972-73 24 5 .828 -- -- -- -- -- NCAA Roy Danforth
1973-74 19 7 .731 -- -- -- -- -- NCAA Roy Danforth
1974-75 23 9 .719 -- -- -- -- -- NCAA Roy Danforth
1975-76 20 9 .690 -- -- -- -- -- NCAA Roy Danforth
1976-77 26 4 .867 -- -- -- -- -- NCAA Jim Boeheim
1977-78 22 6 .786 -- -- -- -- -- NCAA Jim Boeheim
1978-79 26 4 .867 -- -- -- -- -- NCAA Jim Boeheim
1979-80 26 4 .867 5 1 .833 T-1st (Big East) Lost in finals NCAA Jim Boeheim
1980-81 22 12 .647 6 8 .429 6th Conference Champions NIT Jim Boeheim
1981-82 16 13 .552 7 7 .500 5th Lost in quarter-finals NIT Jim Boeheim
1982-83 21 10 .677 9 7 .563 5th Lost in semi-finals NCAA Jim Boeheim
1983-84 23 9 .719 12 4 .750 2nd Lost in finals NCAA Jim Boeheim
1984-85 22 9 .710 9 7 .563 3rd Lost in semi-finals NCAA Jim Boeheim
1985-86 26 6 .813 14 2 .875 1st Lost in finals NCAA Jim Boeheim
1986-87 31 7 .816 12 4 .750 1st Lost in finals NCAA Jim Boeheim
1987-88 26 9 .743 11 5 .688 2nd Conference Champion NCAA Jim Boeheim
1988-89 30 8 .789 10 6 .625 3rd Lost in finals NCAA Jim Boeheim
1989-90 26 7 .788 12 4 .750 1st Lost in finals NCAA Jim Boeheim
1990-91 26 6 .813 12 4 .750 1st Lost in quarter-finals NCAA Jim Boeheim
1991-92 22 10 .688 10 8 .556 5th Conference Champion NCAA Jim Boeheim
1992-93 20 9 .690 10 8 .556 3rd Lost in finals None Jim Boeheim
1993-94 23 7 .767 13 5 .722 2nd Lost in quarter-finals NCAA Jim Boeheim
1994-95 20 10 .667 12 6 .667 3rd Lost in quarter-finals NCAA Jim Boeheim
1995-96 29 9 .763 12 6 .667 2nd (Big East 7) Lost in semi-finals NCAA Jim Boeheim
1996-97 19 13 .594 9 9 .500 4th (Big East 7) Lost in quarter-finals NIT Jim Boeheim
1997-98 26 9 .743 12 6 .667 1st (Big East 7) Lost in finals NCAA Jim Boeheim
1998-99 21 12 .636 10 8 .556 4th Lost in semi-finals NCAA Jim Boeheim
1999-00 26 6 .813 13 3 .813 1st Lost in quarter-finals NCAA Jim Boeheim
2000-01 25 9 .813 10 6 .625 T-2nd (West) Lost in semi-finals NCAA Jim Boeheim
2001-02 23 13 .639 9 7 .563 T-3rd (West) Lost in 1st Round NIT Jim Boeheim
2002-03 30 5 .857 11 6 .647 T-1st (West) Lost in semi-finals NCAA Jim Boeheim National Champions
2003-04 23 8 .742 13 3 .813 T-3rd (West) Lost in quarter-finals NCAA Jim Boeheim
2004-05 27 7 .794 11 6 .647 T-3rd (West) Conference Champion NCAA Jim Boeheim
2005-06 23 12 .657 7 9 .438 T-9th Conference Champion NCAA Jim Boeheim
2006-07 24 11 .686 10 6 .625 T-5th Lost in quarter-finals NIT Jim Boeheim
2007-08 19 12 .682 9 9 .556 9th Lost in quarter-finals NIT Jim Boeheim
108
Seasons
1723 794 .685 300 170 .638 7 Big East titles
(Regular season)
5 Big East
tournament titles
31 NCAA bids (t-7th)
11 NIT bids
4 Final Fours 3 National
Championships

[edit] Basketball retired uniforms

Like many sports teams, Syracuse University retires jersey/uniform numbers as a way to honor its athletes. Historically, Syracuse University has restricted the men's basketball team from wearing retired numbers. A perfect example is Carmelo Anthony, who wore #22 in high school. However, since the number was already retired at Syracuse, Anthony chose #15 as an alternate upon his arrival. Similarly, Gerry McNamara wore #31 in high school, also retired by Syracuse University (McNamara chose #3 instead).

#4 Rony Seikaly


#8 Vic Hanson


#19 Wilmeth Sidat-Singh


#20 Sherman Douglas


#22 Dave Bing


#30 Billy Owens


#31 Dwayne "Pearl" Washington


#44 Derrick Coleman


[edit] External links