Posted this is a different thread last year. Still holds.
1. Coleman - Generational talent. Immediate impact from the moment he stepped on the court as a freshman. Considered "disappointing pro" though he averaged 16.5 and 9 (which proves what kind of player he actually was).
2. Pearl - Put Cuse on the map nationally. Impact on Big East and SU can't be overstated.
3. Douglas - Finished career as NCAA all-time assist leader and all time SU scoring leader.
4. Anthony - Hardware; tourney MOP as a freshman.
5. Bing - Before my time, but HOF carries signifcant weight.
6. Owens - No clue how anyone can dog him. One of most complete players in Syracuse history. 13/7/3 as a freshman with team that included Douglas, Thompson and Coleman. All-American and Big East POY as a junior with 23/11.6/3.3 and shot close to 40% from deep. Baller.
7. Seikaly - Developed from raw project to dominant big man. Owned Duane Schintzius and JR Reid ni '87 tournament with two huge (and crucial) performances. Finished career as 2nd all time rebounder and 4th leading scorer for the Orange.
8. Wallace - Huge commit when Syracuse was coming off of NCAA probation. Carried Cuse to 1997 NCAA finals. Pass to Cippola and game winner against UGA serve as two all time iconic Cuse moments. 22 and 9 as a senior ranks as one of best single years for player in Cuse history. "Starred" as Lonnie alongside former Cuse great, Jim Brown, in Spike Lee's immortal "He Got Game."
9. GMac - Six 3s in first half of National Champ game gave Cuse big breathing room to work with. Owned NYC in 2006 with greatest BE Title run in history (FOH with Kemba Walker). Two Time BE First Team player. Underrated. Onions.
10. Moten - Can't leave off all time BE Scoring Leader.
Best players of the JB era is a really, really difficult task. If I had to do it, I'd go with a list that looks a lot like this one above. It's heavily weighted with late 80s guys and I'd put Sherm really high b/c JB's best teams are PG driven and we haven't had a better PG than Sherm (even though Pearl was the 'better' player, IMO). For me it's:
1 -- DC (I think it's really hard for people 30 years later to remember just how unbelievably talented he was.
2 -- Melo (Won a title and I always felt he was an incredibly smart player. Truly understood how to kill you inside and out)
3 -- Sherm (true PG, engine that made those best teams go).
4 -- Pearl (defined the swagger that was SU hoops for a long time. put program on the map and a true legend in hoops/NYC bball)
5 -- Bing (never saw him play but obviously a stud and I think there is a slight gap between those top 3 and the rest of the guys we're discussing)
6 -- Owens (numbers are unreal and he was a better pure athlete than Wallace, IMO)
7 -- Wallace (Title run was huge, came at a key time and was just so productive. Made the game look so easy and had phenomenal numbers)
8 -- Thompson (really productive player who was exciting to watch)
9 -- Moten (tough to rank b/c he wasn't overly athletic, but a pure scorer, which is really valuable)
10 -- Warrick (Hard to leave Ronny off but Hak was a BE POY who got better every year and had a better peak than Seikaly. Also won a title.)
HM: Seikaly, GMac, Dave Johnson -- to be fair, never really saw Louie and Bouie or Santifer/Leo Rautins. I also really like some guys like MCW, Waiters, and Ennis but they played in a watered down era and didn't stick around long enough for us to see their true ceilings. Liked Autry a lot but a little disappointing before a phenomenal senior season.
As for teams the past 20 years (just to get more current or recent players involved):
1 -- Melo
2 -- Warrick
3 -- GMac (I think people underestimate just how heavy a load he carried after the loss of Edelin and the struggles of the Watkins/DNic/Roberts recruiting class. The numbers aren't super exciting but dude hit so many big shots and we won so many games with him)
4 -- Wes Johnson (BE POY -- 16.5 with and 8.5 with two blocks and two steals a game on a dominant team. Nasty)
5 -- Shump (Stud scorer and not a bad rebounder or defender in the zone. Disappointing end to his career)
6 -- Etan Thomas (Excellent defender who put up three really, really solid offensive seasons on teams that were pretty solid)
7 -- Johnny Flynn (One of those guys you would have loved to have for one more year but really productive for two years and was really the guy who created all the offense for that team)
8 -- Waiters (no one other than Melo created his own offense as efficiently as Dion, IMO, and he was a good defensive player too. 12 ppg in 24 mpg is pretty ridiculous)
9 -- MCW (tough to rank b/c the shooting was so ugly, but dude was a nightmare for opponents in the zone (3 steals/game), passed the ball exceptionally well and led a final four run with four big 3s against Cal, a huge game vs. IU and then a double-double against Marquette. People also forget there was ZERO offense on that team outside of CJ Fair. Grant as a frosh and Rak didn't play and/or struggled and Southerland and Triche were OK, not great)
10 -- CJ Fair (really, really, really good complimentary player. Struggled a bit as the main guy.)
Honorable mentions: Tyler Ennis (disappointing end to a season that was pretty amazing really. 14-4 in the ACC and Ennis was a huge part. Would have loved to have him for more time).
Gbinije (Feel like he could be ranked higher and had to play out of position as a PG, but he was a nice player who put together a huge season to lead us to the final four),
J-Hart (just struggled offensively and his defense was a bit under-utilized in the zone),
Fab (really nice year and would rank highly on the list if he came back as a junior but that with all his other issues made him tough to rank),
Grant (would be there if he had one more year),
Lydon (would be there with one more year), Nichols (loved his senior season but really struggled for three years when they desperately could have used him),
RJ, Scoop, KJ (wish he had been more effective inside the 3-point line his final two years),
Devendorf (White may have been only better shooter than I can remember),
Andrew White (Really impressive season but hard to look at 19-15 or whatever and feel like he had more of an impact than the guys above),
Todd Burgan, Billy Edelin (what could have been?), Rak (Just got nothing until that phenomenal senior year)
All Under-Rated team (Last 20 years)
1. Andy Rautins (I'd sign up for four years of him right now -- loved how aggressively he played the top of the zone)
2. Josh Pace (I could actually make an argument for him on the previous list. Super versatile and super efficient.)
3. RJ (Excellent junior/senior seasons and really surprisingly good sophomore year)
4. Damone Brown (improved every year, great senior season)
5. Scoop (drove people crazy at times but put up good numbers on teams that won a TON of games)
6. Allen Griffin (did whatever was asked and battled back from a tough junior year)
7. Kueth Duany (excellent complimentary piece -- big role on title team)
