Each week over the summer, The Juice Online will be counting down the top 15 players in Syracuse basketball history. Dave Bing is No. 1 on our list.
WHY HE’S NO. 1: Bing was the greatest player in Syracuse history because he could do everything well. Of course, he was an outstanding scorer. In just three seasons of varsity basketball, Bing scored 1,883 points (24.8 points per game), which was the school’s top mark until Sherman Douglas came around decades later. He was also an outstanding rebounder, pulling down 10.3 a game over his career, which was even more impressive considering he was only 6-foot-3. Assists weren’t recorded until the 1965-66 season, but in that one year, he averaged 6.6 per game. During his senior year, Bing was fifth in the nation in scoring (28.4 ppg) and was a consensus All-American.
» No. 2 on our all time ranking is Derrick Coleman
» Agree with the ranking? Leave your thoughts below.
AFTER SYRACUSE: Bing was selected with the No. 2 overall pick of the 1966 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons. He would play 12 years in the NBA, mostly with the Pistons, and averaged 20.3 points and six assists per game. In 1990, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and was also named one of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players. After his basketball career, Bing became a highly successful businessman and is currently the mayor of Detroit.
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