How good was JB | Syracusefan.com

How good was JB

albanycuse

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As a basketball player? I know he played pro in Scranton but I've never seen him play. What kind of impact did he have on the SU teams. Can anyone who saw him play compare him to a former player who had a similar impact on a recent team.
 
I was going to say, "Good enough to feed Dave Bing," but heck, all of us could have looked good doing that. Remember though, the game was quite different back then. Still an interesting question.
 
As a basketball player? I know he played pro in Scranton but I've never seen him play. What kind of impact did he have on the SU teams. Can anyone who saw him play compare him to a former player who had a similar impact on a recent team.

He was on the same team as Dave Bing, who was one of the nation's top scorers, like 28ppg, as I recall. So JB was not the first option, not the most talented guy, but he was a solid role player, a very good player, a guy who could do everything pretty well - score, rebound, pass, ballhandle, defend. In retrospect, he was a very good candidate as a player to be a coach - solid fundamentals, worked hard for everything he accomplished on the court, good team player, a "glue" guy.

If I had to compare him to a recent player, Howard Triche comes to mind, maybe Adrian Autry, maybe Kevin Joseph. Some SG/SF who does everything well but not necessarily great. Our recent teams seem to have more specialized players, and JB was more of a jack of all trades., so I'm having trouble with recent comparisons.
 
Tony Bland? Back in the mid 60's, I'd think that JB had to be a pretty tall guard for that era.
 
Good enough that he had the option to play in the nba but knew he would not have had much of a future in the league.
 
Searched the internet for video footage out of curiosity but couldn't find any.
 
I was going to say, "Good enough to feed Dave Bing," but heck, all of us could have looked good doing that. Remember though, the game was quite different back then. Still an interesting question.

Dave Bing averaged about 100 points per game. So JB was doing something right.
 
Searched the internet for video footage out of curiosity but couldn't find any.

google "sorority girls hazing" that should get you a few hits to satisfy your curiosity. Oh, you mean video of JB playing basketball. I think the post did a few articles a month ago with some pictures.
 
He was on the same team as Dave Bing, who was one of the nation's top scorers, like 28ppg, as I recall. So JB was not the first option, not the most talented guy, but he was a solid role player, a very good player, a guy who could do everything pretty well - score, rebound, pass, ballhandle, defend. In retrospect, he was a very good candidate as a player to be a coach - solid fundamentals, worked hard for everything he accomplished on the court, good team player, a "glue" guy.

If I had to compare him to a recent player, Howard Triche comes to mind, maybe Adrian Autry, maybe Kevin Joseph. Some SG/SF who does everything well but not necessarily great. Our recent teams seem to have more specialized players, and JB was more of a jack of all trades., so I'm having trouble with recent comparisons.
I have no idea who Kevin Joseph is.
 
Saw the Bing teams 3 or 4 times. JB was a lean 6 ft 4, jack-of-all trades swing player. Of course, your eyes would be on Bing, and JB would get inside for a put-back or to take a pass. He had a mid-range game, and was not a principal ball-handler. I have to reach back to someone like Erik Santifer.
People say he was in the backcourt with Bing. I might be wrong, but I believe SU was playing more of 3 guard style.
 
Thx for the replies, I'm interested in hearing from the older posters who saw him play. Maybe All4SU or whoever else saw his game. Or even Coach Boheim tell us about your game in college : )
 
http://www.orangehoops.org/JBoeheim.htm

From "Color Him orange" by Scott Pitoniak:

"On March 11, in Raleigh, North Carolina, the Orangemen easily disposed of Davidson, 94-78 as Bing turned in a typical Bing all-around performance, with 20 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists. The victory advanced them to the East Region finals, where they would meet Duke. the Blue Devils, from nearby Durham, would have a decided home-court advantage but the Syracuse players, especially Bing, were confident they could overcome the pro-Duke crowd and a height disadvantage. That confidence was tested early, as the Orangemen shot poorly at the outset and found themselves down by as many as 16 points int he first half. Despite the worst shooting night of Bing's career- he finished 4 for 14- the Orangemen clawed back, thanks, in large part, to Boeheim's spirited play. He scored 15 points, to of them coming late in the game when he drove into the teeth of the Duke zone for a lay-up that put SU on top 74-72. But that would be the Orangemen's last gasp as the Devils, led by All-American forward Jack Marin and guards Bob Verga and Steve Vacendak went on a 19-7 run to win 91-81 and advance to the Final Four...

The ending may have been bittersweet, but Lewis looked back with pride on what Bing and his classmates had accomplished. He knew when he recruited Bing that the potential for greatness was there. But he never truly expected much from Boeheim. To see the gangly kid from the small town progress from walk-on to scholarship player to a starter averaging nearly 15 points per game was every bit as rewarding. "He was the worst leaper I ever had", Lewis reflected years later. "But by the time he graduated I thought he was the msot under-rated player in the East."

"If you play the game", Lewis continued, "you know sometimes you go against somebody who doesn't look like they can do it. You think "this will be an easy game. I'll kill this guy." And by the end of the game, he's beaten your brains out. That was Jim. He had a tremendous advantage. People looked at him and thought every step would be his last. But that last step never came."
 
I watched Boeheim and Bing play. I remember the games at the old gym. JB had a great shot. He played as the two guard with Bing. Didn't handle the ball a lot, but didn't have to, Bing was the player for that.

Of course those were the days when we still had the Syracuse Nats playing at the War Memorial also. GREAT times!

Frank
 
I watched Boeheim and Bing play. I remember the games at the old gym. JB had a great shot. He played as the two guard with Bing. Didn't handle the ball a lot, but didn't have to, Bing was the player for that.

Of course those were the days when we still had the Syracuse Nats playing at the War Memorial also. GREAT times!

Frank

I saw Bing and Boeheim play many times as I was a student at that time. Bing of course was just a star, athletic and great player but also humble and a team first guy. Boeheim was more a complementary player, very smart though and with a will to win that he obviously still has. He did not look very athletic, but he had deceptive athleticism not great but not that bad either. He always seemed to be in the right place to get his hands on the ball. Best attribute was his intelligent play. Probably why he is such a good coach.
 
You are right about JB"s intelligence, and as for athleticism he was ok. He did not look like an athlete. If someone would have told me back then that JB would be a basketball coach at SU and win more than 900 games, I would have called them crazy.
 
He did not look like an athlete.

1960s Jim Boeheim was a Greek God and I will not hear otherwise.

BoeheimThorwback4111977.jpg
 
As a youngster, I grew up watching the Nats at the War Memorial ($.50 for a seat on the stage, and then finding a vacant seat along the sides). I thought that Oscar Robertson was the most complete player I had ever seen, and then Dave Bing showed up at SU. I was one year ahead of Bing and JB and saw all of their home games in Manley during their soph and junior years. Truthfully, I don't remember much about JB. My focus was almost always on Bing and the amazing things he could do. JB was one of several very capable role players. Very few games were ever televised then, so the only option for following road games was to listen on the radio. After I graduated and left the area, there was almost no contact with the progress of the team - no TV, no internet, and too far away to receive radio broadcasts.
 

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