36 years in a row

[Cusefan0307]

Eh, not really (except for Scoop's bizarre cliff-dive at the line and a small difference in scoring average): Syracuse Basketball 2011-2012. Throw in the fact that Scoop was the only true point of those three and he's the guy who I wanted out there the most.

For all the Monday morning criticism some of us throw at Boeheim, there's a lot to praise about his handling of the roster that season. A year after no-defense Dion was a prima donna and liability on the court, Boeheim decided not to make the same mistake by letting Carter-Williams play through his problems down the stretch. He did a pretty good job rotating the other three guards and keeping Dion motivated (something that, as predicted, hasn't always been easy in his professional career). The only head-scratcher was giving so many minutes to Joseph, whose numbers did drop significantly. It was tough to see senior star treatment given to someone who was out of shape and backed up by two kids who could've given us some production.

I guess one could come up with many different opinions regarding this. Triche contributed more per minute than Scoop if you look at win shares. I still think he should have played the point here. I still maintain he was miscast as 2 here. When he and Dion played together they were really quite productive. No doubt Scoop was the best at getting the team in offensive sets, I just think he was the least talented of the group.

I do agree that Southerland could have received more time that year, but Joseph did have some big moments for us. He basically singlehandedly beat Georgetown at the dome that year if I recall correctly. The game he played against OSU when we were eliminated, you are right, he was awful.

 

[SUFaninNJ]

Who was the last SU player in the NBA Finals? Marty Byrnes would be my guess.

EDIT: Hey looky there, I was correct. Thank you Interwebs!!

 

[orangecuse]

Well, the OP's post isn't surprising at all. Boeheim has had tremendous success over the years due to his systemic program in which he runs. It's a classic example of how the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

 

[OttoMets]

I guess one could come up with many different opinions regarding this. Triche contributed more per minute than Scoop if you look at win shares. I still think he should have played the point here. I still maintain he was miscast as 2 here. When he and Dion played together they were really quite productive. No doubt Scoop was the best at getting the team in offensive sets, I just think he was the least talented of the group.

I do agree that Southerland could have received more time that year, but Joseph did have some big moments for us. He basically singlehandedly beat Georgetown at the dome that year if I recall correctly. The game he played against OSU when we were eliminated, you are right, he was awful.

The Georgetown game was a huge bright spot.

I'll never forget one of the interviews with Joseph when he was in the summer league later that year. He said something along the lines of
'wow, it's amazing how much better I feel and play when I eat right and don't stay up all night playing video games.' Ugh. I'm all about college kids having fun and not having their status as athletes hamper their lives as college kids any more than is necessary, but that -- coupled with what I was hearing about the staff's perception of his fitness level before and during that senior year -- probably would have been a good reason not to give him like 1,200 minutes that season. Heck, Southerland was equally capable of shooting 42% from the field and not making plays for his teammates.

 

[Dave85]

The Georgetown game was a huge bright spot.

I'll never forget one of the interviews with Joseph when he was in the summer league later that year. He said something along the lines of
'wow, it's amazing how much better I feel and play when I eat right and don't stay up all night playing video games.' Ugh. I'm all about college kids having fun and not having their status as athletes hamper their lives as college kids any more than is necessary, but that -- coupled with what I was hearing about the staff's perception of his fitness level before and during that senior year -- probably would have been a good reason not to give him like 1,200 minutes that season. Heck, Southerland was equally capable of shooting 42% from the field and not making plays for his teammates.

RE: 'wow, it's amazing how much better I feel and play when I eat right and don't stay up all night playing video games.'

This really needs to be emphasized to our players.

 

[OttoMets]

RE: 'wow, it's amazing how much better I feel and play when I eat right and don't stay up all night playing video games.'

This really needs to be emphasized to our players.

I think it gets better every year. These guys work hard and make some sacrifices that a lot of kids a generation would've scoffed at.

 

[Dave85]

I think it gets better every year. These guys work hard and make some sacrifices that a lot of kids a generation would've scoffed at.

Bigger payouts if they succeed too.

 

[sufandu]

btw melo played in the western conference finals when he was in denver. DC and Pearl underachieved in the NBA everyone else played to their talent level in my opinion.

I'd add Owens to that list.

 

[JAXCUSE]

I'd add Owens to that list.

Owens' knees gave out. Believe that is why he never panned out in the League.

 

[Cheriehoop]

Owens' knees gave out. Believe that is why he never panned out in the League.

Think it may have been his back.

 

[sufandu]

Owens' knees gave out. Believe that is why he never panned out in the League.

In an article I read a while back he said he didn't work hard. He expected success to come easy. I'm sure injuries were a factor but when it comes from the horses mouth...

 

[br801]

Owens' knees gave out. Believe that is why he never panned out in the League.

He did have problems staying healthy but had a pretty decent NBA career anyway (10 years, 600 games, 29.4 mpg, 11.7ppg on 48% shooting, 6.7rpg, 2.8apg).

 

[sufandu]

He did have problems staying healthy but had a pretty decent NBA career anyway (10 years, 600 games, 29.4 mpg, 11.7ppg on 48% shooting, 6.7rpg, 2.8apg).

I didn't realize he played that long.

 

[br801]

I didn't realize he played that long.

As fans, we seem to always have great expectations for our guys when they go to the NBA. Unfortunately, most high draft picks don't end up being superstars, or even stars, in the league. But many of our players have still had very productive NBA careers, and we've recently been putting a lot promising young talent there.

NBA & ABA Players Who Attended Syracuse University | Basketball-Reference.com

 

[SWC75]

Naturally, I had to figure out their “net points”: points + rebounds + assists + steals + blocks – missed field goals – missed free throws – turnovers – fouls. I’ll rank them by total net points but also average them per 48 minutes. The youngers guys may still be playing and have a chance to ad to their totals so their rate of production is important, too.

But first I have to note when those stats were first kept track of. Some of the early players net points will be off as a result. I’ll put any player for whom complete career numbers aren’t available in any of the above stats in Italics. Here are the years when stats first became official:
1946-47: The NBL kept track of points, field goals made, (but not attempted), free throws made an attempted and fouls. The BAA kept track of both field goals and free throws made and attempted, assists and fouls.
1948-49: The NBL keeps track of assists.
1950-51: The NBA keeps track of rebounds.
1951-52: The NBA keeps track of minutes.
1967-68: The ABA keeps track of turnovers.
1973-74: The NBA keeps track of turnovers for teams but not individuals. They do start keepting track of steals and blocks.
1977-78: The NBA finally keeps track of individual turnovers.
So players prior to the Boeheim Era will have totals and averages that are a bit off because of the unavailability of certain numbers. But the majority of “net points” come from points, rebounds and missed shots and we’ve had them since the 1950-51 season. The other numbers often cancel out, so the numbers and resulting rankings aren’t going to be that deceptive.

Another factor is games played: The NBA’s schedule has lengthened over the years:
1946-47: NBL 44; BAA 60
1947-48: NBL 60; BAA 48
1948-49: NBL 64; BAA 60
1949-50: NBA 68
1952-53: NBA 70
1953-54: NBA 72
1959-60: NBA 75
1960-61: NBA 80
1966-67: NBA 81
1967-68: NBA 82 ABA 78
1969-70: ABA 84
1998-99: NBA played only 50 games because of a strike.
2011-12: NBA played only 66 games because of a strike.
This mostly effects the players from the 40’s and the 50’s, of which there are very few on the list. And the impact isn’t huge.

Carmelo Anthony 16,603NP (24.3)
Dave Bing 14,798NP (21.7)
Derrick Coleman 12,841NP (24.0)
Rony Seikaly 9,183NP (20.6)
Danny Schayes 8,177NP (17.9)
Sherman Douglas 7,807NP (17.7)
Billy Owens 6,762NP (18.4)
(If younger fans wonder why older fans have such nostalgia for the late 80’s, we had at least three of Coleman, Seikaly, Douglas and Owens for several years in a row as well as Pearl Washington and then Stevie Thompson)
Louis Orr 4,448NP (16.0)
Hakim Warrick 3,874NP (17.5)
Wesley Johnson 2,777NP (12.5)
Michael Carter-Williams 2,486NP (19.2)
Etan Thomas 2,485NP (16.8)
Dion Waiters 2,181NP (12.8)
John Wallace 1,869NP (14.6)
Jason Hart 1,500NP (13.6)
Ed Miller 1,374NP (17.9)
Rafael Addison 1,372NP (11.6)
Pearl Washington 1,236NP (14.7)
Marty Byrnes 1,143NP (12.9)
Jonny Flynn 1,120NP (14.4)
Jerami Grant 903NP (12.6)
Fred Saunders 898NP (14.9)
Billy Gabor 661NP (8.6)
Lawrence Moten 473NP (12.5)
LeRon Ellis 268NP (15.0)
Tyler Ennis 260NP (11.7)
Donte Greene 192NP (11.4)
William (Bill) Smith 151NP (14.8)
Rudy Hackett 114NP (2.8)
Chris McCullough 98NP (13.0)
Dave Johnson 75NP (7.6)
Dennis DuVal 60NP (10.8)
Arinze Onuaku 46NP (22.5)
(A.O. had 30 points and 29 rebounds in 98 minutes.)
Stevie Thompson 25NP (13.2)
Leo Rautins 24NP (6.7)
Darryl Watkins 24NP (6.8)
Damone Brown 22NP (3.0)
Frank Reddout 14NP (37.3)
(Frank played 18 minutes and scored 13 points with 9 rebounds. Why wouldn’t you play a guy who could produce such numbers more than that?)
James Southerland 10NP (16.0)
Rakeem Christmas 4NP (32.0)
Demetris Nichols 2NP (1.7)
Andy Rautins 1NP (2.0)
Kris Joseph 0NP (0.0)
Fab Melo 0NP (0.0)
Jack Kiley -2NP (-0.2)
Lou Spicer -10NP (???- minutes not available)
(Lou played in 4 games, was 0 for 7 from the field, 1 for 2 from the free throw line and committed 3 fouls for the Providence Steam Rollers of the BAA, a team that hasn’t existed for 67 years. But, hey! He played in what became the NBA? That’s more than any of us did!)