Each week over the summer, The Juice Online will be counting down the top 15 players in Syracuse basketball history. Pearl Washington is No. 3 on our list.
WHY HE’S NO. 3: Washington is perhaps most remembered for his halfcourt heave to beat Boston College in 1984, his freshman year. After he hit the buzzer beater Washington kept running all the way to the locker room. By the time he left Syracuse, he was a three-time First Team All Big East selection. His junior year was his best year, as he averaged 17.3 points and 7.8 assists per game, while being named an AP All American. But his career ended on a bad note, as the second-seeded Orangemen were upset by David Robinson and No. 7 Navy. Washington decided to forgo his final year of eligibility and go to the NBA, the first player in the Jim Boeheim era to leave school early.
» Billy Owens ranks No. 4 on our countdown
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AFTER SYRACUSE: Washington was selected with the 13th overall pick by the New Jersey nets in 1986. But he fizzled quickly in the pros, and lasted just three years in the NBA. In 194 games, he averaged 8.6 ppg and 3.8 apg while shooting just 18 percent from downtown. He later coached the girls basketball program at Jefferson high school in Brooklyn, NY.
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