One of the by products of getting older is witnessing the continual change over a long period of time and when you take time to pause and reflect you realize just how different things have become. I went to my first Syracuse basketball game in the fall of 1973. Jimmy B was just an assistant coach under Danforth at the time. I was up from Connecticut visiting my brother who was in his 2nd year at Cuse. The formation of the Big East hadn't even happened yet but it was the first time I had seen a college basketball game and... I WAS HOOKED!! 1979 rolled around and the Big East formed. I graduated from college in 79 and many of my friends had attended schools in the Big East... Uconn, Providence, Boston College etc. We made a yearly pilgrimage down to NYC to go to the Big East Tournament and we saw some incredible players and some incredible games. The competition between all of us was intense and if you didn't know your basketball you were going to get crushed by the others in our group. It was all great fun and camaraderie and is remembered as some of the most fun I've ever had.
Back in those days most players stayed 4 years. Pearl only stayed 3 and I remember how heartbroken I was when he announced he was entering the draft. Rafael Addison left that year too, (1986) and I recall feeling like the entire program was going to crumble. Billy Owens didn't seem to stay long enough either and it always seemed like he had some unfinished business at Syracuse when he left.
But, as the years marched forward the game changed even more w/ 3 point shots , Syracuse tending more and more toward being all zone all the time. And the stay of the great ones became even shorter. I don't recall the first time I heard the phrase "One and done". But that phrase changed college basketball for everyone.
Looking back on all of it I suppose I have a special appreciation for the "program kids" who come to Cuse, work their butts off and end up being key players for the program. Guys like Rick Jackson, Arinze, Scoop, Moten and others who stayed 4 years and were around long enough to really develop an attachment to. The video of the young kid who is crying to his mom because Scoop isn't going to be on the team any more comes to mind. Scoop wasn't the best we ever had but you knew what you were getting with him and his infectious smile and easy manner were hard not to like.
There have been so many. Too many to list here. And they were all special in their own unique way. I suppose my only regret is that we don't get to have some of them around long enough to form the kind of bonds we did with the talented kids back in the day. Of all the sports I watch, it's Syracuse Basketball that I'm the most passionate about and it is the one sport that I feel the most connection with the players. So here we are on the precipice of another season which will be filled with twists and turns, triumphs and tragedies, thrills and disappointments. I can't wait and there is nothing more fun in sports than watching a Syracuse Basketball game.
Let's Go ORANGE...
