Boeheim’s Army returns for its fourth season, and will try to defend its Northeast Regional Championship in The Basketball Tournament on Saturday, July 21 in Brooklyn (TV: ESPN3). As we get closer to the start of The Tournament, let’s take a look at the best moment from each player’s Syracuse career.
This is Part I. Part II will run later in the week.
John Gillon: Syracuse fans have two memories to choose from during Gillon’s graduate transfer year. With the Orange badly needing a road win for its NCAA Tournament resume in the 2017 season, Gillon poured in 43 points and nine assists to lead Syracuse to a 100-93 overtime win. To even get to overtime, Gillon drained a 3-pointer with .1 seconds left to stun the crowd at PNC arena. Three weeks later, Gillon was at it again, hitting a buzzer-beating banked 3-pointer to defeat then-No. 10 Duke for a 78-75 win.
Arinze Onuaku: Many remember Syracuse’s surprising 87-71 win over then-No. 4 UNC in the 2K Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden as Wes Johnson’s coming out party, and rightfully so. But Onuaku had a big hand in that game as well, scoring 13 of his 15 points in the second half to go with seven rebounds. Syracuse opened the second half on a 22-1 run, with Onuaku scoring six points during that stretch.
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Kris Joseph: Joseph left as Syracuse’s winningest player in program history, with 119 victories in four years. One of his biggest games came in the 2012 season in a 64-61 overtime victory against arch-rival Georgetown in Jim Boeheim’s 880th career victory. Joseph buried a 3-pointer with 26 seconds left, sealing the win for the Orange as part of a career-high 29 points.
Demetris Nichols: Nichols, known as a sharpshooter through his Syracuse career, lived up to that reputation in a 76-74 win over St. John’s in the 2007 season. For the second time in college, he topped the 30-point mark, pouring in 37 points (a record for a Big East game) to go with 10 rebounds. Nichols scored 26 points in the second half and drained seven 3-pointers, also a career-high.
Check back later this week as we look back at the best moments from the SU careers of Eric Devendorf, Dashonte Riley, James Southerland, Brandon Triche and Hakim Warrick.
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