My Lifetime Syracuse Basketball Team by Position
Central New Yorkers have been flat-out spoiled with all the great players and games and Jim Boeheim and his staff for years since the mid to late 1970’s. From the Big East to the ACC, Manley Field House and the Carrier Dome have hosted epic battles and the amazing players A-Z we will remember forever.
With that, here is my lifetime Syracuse hoops team by position. The criteria is simple. Impact on the program, success and winning, quality of the player, clutch play, awards and accolades, big moments, dominance in the era and, of course, a little personal preference. Keep in mind that I was born in 1979 and became a real fan around 1986-87, the year Syracuse almost won it all (damn you Keith Smart) and I cried as the team was the runner-up to Indiana in New Orleans. Therefore, you will not find Pearl Washington or Roosevelt Bouie or Dave Bing on my team. Finally, this is by position as mentioned, as it should be. For an all-time team or a lifetime team, you can’t just take five guards. It’s point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward and center. Let’s go.
PG– Sherman Douglas. My favorite player in school history followed Pearl Washington, the most impactful player in SU hoops history and arguably most beloved who dazzled the country and helped launch the Big East. How about those shoes to fill? But fill them Sherm did, leading Syracuse to the NCAA title game in 1987 and running the offense on the break and in the halfcourt. “The General” set the all-time assist mark at SU and there has been no better point guard or guard period in a ‘Cuse uniform throwing the alley-oop. Douglas was dominant his senior year, averaging over 18 a game and netting nearly 9 assists a game while shooting 55% from the floor. How good was Sherman as a passer? He was 1st in assists and assists per game every year from 1986-1989 (three seasons) in the Big East and led the country in dimes with 326 in 1988-89. Sherman is also 1st all-time in Big East assists and 7th all-time in college basketball history in that category. Douglas’ #20 hangs in the rafters at the Dome, right where it belongs.
SG– Gerry McNamara. Sure, G-Mac played a ton of point guard with the suspension and eventual departure of Billy Edelin and the horrendous Josh Wright situation, but he came to SU to shoot and play the 2, his natural position, and shoot he did. Arguably the most clutch player in school history, Gerry scored 43 points against BYU in the 2004 NCAA Tournament with 9 3’s, plus, the year before, scored 6 3-pointers in the title game in the first half against Kansas, helping Syracuse to the championship. After that, the Scranton native willed Syracuse to victories with one play and shot after another in the 2006 Big East Tournament, winning the whole thing. Go through the Syracuse record books. G-Mac is everywhere.
SF- Carmelo Anthony. Credit role players and McNamara and everything else, but we all know the 2002-03 title season doesn’t happen without Carmelo Anthony. Melo dominated from the get-go at Madison Square Garden in a loss to Memphis. The team that season won at Michigan State, was undefeated at home and beat four Big 12 teams in the NCAA Tournament to win it all. T.J. Ford from Texas won Player of the Year, but it should have gone to Anthony in a landslide. In the National Semifinal against Ford’s Longhorns, Anthony went for 33 points and 14 rebounds (highlights here: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3nvtzw). Before that, he carried Syracuse against Oklahoma State after being down big. Title game? A ho-hum 20 points and 10 rebounds against multiple NBA players and Kansas in the 81-78 win. Carmelo did more in one year than most have done in four. And for this, you could argue that he is the greatest player in school history simply because he was the main reason the school has its championship.
PF- Derrick Coleman. What I would do to watch one more game with Derrick Coleman in a Syracuse uniform. Coleman was a pioneer of sorts for today’s basketball, long, lean, inside and outside game. He could shoot the mid-range jumper, dunk at the rim and everything in-between with ballhandling skills. Coleman was taken #1 overall by the Nets in 1990 and for good reason after a glorious career on The Hill. Big East All-Freshman, NCAA All-Region and All-Tourney, 4x All-Big East, 1989-1990 Big East Player of the Year. DC was an unstoppable force and thrived with 30,000 packed in the Dome against all the big rivals. Go look at college basketball and the NBA today. Forwards who are 6’10 and 230-250 pounds and play inside-outside are a dime a dozen. Coleman helped pave the way and still doesn’t get enough credit.
C- Etan Thomas. The ultimate protector of the 2-3 Zone. No one improved more during their career at Syracuse than Thomas, and by the time he left, he was one of the school’s all-time greats. Great hands, awesome shot blocker, strong, solid from mid-range and dynamite footwork. He was the first Syracuse player to win Big East Defensive Player of the Year and took home the honor in his junior and senior seasons. In 1999- 2000, his last campaign, he led the team in scoring and rebounding as Syracuse captured the Big East regular season championship. That team went to the Sweet 16, falling to eventual champion Michigan State. Thomas is now an author, motivational speaker and leader of the black community in fighting racism. His work is brilliant.
