Saw MCW on his way to another 30+ point day and trying to avoid work I went digging to see how this year's resurgence of Cuse NBA players stacks up against the past.
From a quick view, it looks like the high-water mark of Syracuse NBA players was exactly 20 years ago, the '93-94 season. That was DC's one All-Star season, when he averaged 20 points and 11 boards (pretty damn good).
This was also near prime age for Sherm, Billy Owens, and Rony Seikaly. Sherm averaged 13.3 points and 8.8 assists (!); Owens put up 16 and 8; and Rony was good for 16 and 11. This was also LeRon Ellis's best NBA year, though he put up about 4 points.
This year:
Carmelo: 26 ppg; 9 rpg
MCW: 17 ppg; 7 apg; 6 rpg; 2.5 spg
Waiters: 14.8 ppg
Wes Johnson: 8.8 ppg
So while not much difference at the top, the current crop is probably short one real impact player: Wes isn't at the Owens/Douglas level and probably Waiters isn't either. It will be interesting to see if the Cuse can put another guy at the level before Carmelo starts to decline - given the recent success, it sure seems likely.
From a quick view, it looks like the high-water mark of Syracuse NBA players was exactly 20 years ago, the '93-94 season. That was DC's one All-Star season, when he averaged 20 points and 11 boards (pretty damn good).
This was also near prime age for Sherm, Billy Owens, and Rony Seikaly. Sherm averaged 13.3 points and 8.8 assists (!); Owens put up 16 and 8; and Rony was good for 16 and 11. This was also LeRon Ellis's best NBA year, though he put up about 4 points.
This year:
Carmelo: 26 ppg; 9 rpg
MCW: 17 ppg; 7 apg; 6 rpg; 2.5 spg
Waiters: 14.8 ppg
Wes Johnson: 8.8 ppg
So while not much difference at the top, the current crop is probably short one real impact player: Wes isn't at the Owens/Douglas level and probably Waiters isn't either. It will be interesting to see if the Cuse can put another guy at the level before Carmelo starts to decline - given the recent success, it sure seems likely.