Last week, we at The Juice Online created a 16 player bracket to determine which Syracuse players enjoyed the best NBA careers.
Remember, for this exercise, throw out what happened at Syracuse. Guys like Pearl Washington, Lawrence Moten and Leo Rautins had great SU careers, but didn’t make much of an impact at the next level.
When we left off on Tuesday, the matchups went mostly chalk, with only ninth-seeded Michael Carter-Williams knocking off No. 8 Louis Orr.
Here’s how the matchups look heading into the Elite 8:
And here’s how we played these matchups out:
#1 Carmelo Anthony vs. #9 Michael Carter-Williams
We still aren’t to the point where someone represents a challenge to Anthony. While he didn’t win Rookie of the Year like Carter-Williams did because there was some guy named LeBron in the same rookie class as Anthony, that may be the only edge Carter-Williams has on him. ANTHONY ADVANCES.
#4 Danny Schayes vs. #5 Rony Seikaly
This certainly is an appealing matchup. At this point, Schayes’ 18-year career is the longest of any Syracuse player in the NBA. And, while that puts his Win Shares total at 48.8 compared to Seikaly’s 37.3, that is more because of longevity than production.
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Seikaly just fell just nine points shy of being the fourth Syracuse player to score 10,000 points in the NBA, scoring more than 1,200 points more than Schayes in seven less seasons. Seikaly’s career averages of 14.7 points and 9.5 rebounds were more impactful than Schayes’ 7.7 points and 5.0 rebounds. SEIKALY ADVANCES.
#3 Derrick Coleman vs. #6 Sherman Douglas
Teammates on the SU hill clash in this second round matchup. And while a 3-6 matchup can be a tight one, this one isn’t all that close. Coleman scored over 4,000 more points than Douglas in his NBA career, averaging 16.5 points and 9.3 rebounds, nearly a double-double. Add on the bonus that Coleman was the No. 1 overall pick in 1990, he waltzes into the semifinals. COLEMAN ADVANCES.
#2 Dave Bing vs. #7 Billy Owens
Bing played longer, scored 11,000 more points and overall outperformed Owens in the NBA in almost every way. The Final Four is set. BING ADVANCES.
At the end of the Elite 8, only one player advanced further than expected by his seed, with Seikaly reaching the semifinals. So our Syracuse NBA bracket looks like this at the end of the day:
Check back in later this week when we play out the Final Four!
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