Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="BillSU, post: 4124861, member: 6809"] All of these players are on the All Century Team thanks to R.L. Young @ orangehoops.org With all the discussion about Jesse and the CENTER position we should be so lucky to have centers like these again. They are out there we just don’t seem to be able to get them. I’ve highlighted some copy that we’re talking about in threads now. I watched all these guys play and IMO they were in Foul trouble a lot of the time. All, except for Bouie who went to Italy for thirteen seasons and is considered a legend, went to the NBA and had great careers [B]Roosevelt Bouie[/B] was one of the most dominating centers in Syracuse basketball, a four year starter. He was one of the first recruits of new head coach [URL='http://www.orangehoops.org/JBoeheim.htm']Jim Boeheim[/URL]. Bouie would combine with classmate [URL='http://www.orangehoops.org/LOrr.htm']Louis Orr[/URL] to form the Bouie 'N Louie show at Syracuse, an outstanding four year record of 100-18. Bouie's impact on the team was immediate his first season. His size removed the legacy of Roy's Runts from Syracuse, and allowed [URL='http://www.orangehoops.org/MByrnes.htm']Marty Byrnes[/URL] to move from the center position to his natural power forward position. Bouie was a big man, but also a very athletic player, able to run the court well, and quick to block shots. His skills fit perfectly into coach Boeheim's plans to run the ball. Bouie was a good defensive player from the start (he was a second team freshman All-American), and developed into an outstanding defensive player. He was a solid rebounder (always having his numbers reduced by the presence of teammates such as Orr, Byrnes and [URL='http://www.orangehoops.org/DSchayes.htm']Danny Schayes[/URL]), and a good shot blocker. Bouie ran the court well, and was very good at getting into position to take the high percentage shots near the hoop. He was not a good free throw shooter (though his freshman year, he had an aberration of shooting a blistering 84% from the free throw line). [B]Bouie was an aggressive defender, and was foul prone throughout his career. Even as a senior, he fouled out of several games (often costly to the Orangemen).[/B] Bouie's impact on the team was immediate his first season. His size removed the legacy of Roy's Runts from Syracuse, and allowed [URL='http://www.orangehoops.org/MByrnes.htm']Marty Byrnes[/URL] to move from the center position to his natural power forward position. Bouie was a big man, but also a very athletic player, able to run the court well, and quick to block shots. His skills fit perfectly into coach Boeheim's plans to run the ball. [B]Danny Schayes[/B] was a talented center who started for Syracuse his senior season. He was the son of NBA Hall of Famer and the NBA's Syracuse Nationals legend Dolph Schayes. Schayes grew up in the Syracuse area playing for Jamesville-DeWitt. He was an extremely gifted and disciplined player, fundamentally sound in all areas of the game, which was extremely unusual for a player of his size (6’11”). Unfortunately for Schayes, Syracuse had several very talented big men established on the team when he arrived. [URL='http://www.orangehoops.org/RBouie.htm']Roosevelt Bouie[/URL] and [URL='http://www.orangehoops.org/LOrr.htm']Louis Orr[/URL] were firmly entrenched in the two big men roles. Coach [URL='http://www.orangehoops.org/JBoeheim.htm']Jim Boeheim[/URL] occasionally tried to play Schayes on the court at the same time as Bouie and Orr, but the combination of the three big men did not work well. Instead, Schayes was a valuable sixth man his first three years. Schayes senior year saw the departure of Orr and Bouie, and Schayes was then the starting center. He was a strong rebounder and a very good passer from the top of the key. Schayes had an excellent mid range jump shot, and was a excellent free throw shooter. He would lead the team in scoring and rebounding, earning first team [URL='http://www.orangehoops.org/BigEast/BE_Conference_Teams_Player.htm']Big East honors[/URL], All-American honors, and academic All-American honors. In a road game against Detroit, Schayes would shoot 11 of 13 from the floor for a career high [URL='http://www.orangehoops.org/Syracuse30points.htm']33[/URL] points. Schayes was drafted in the first round of the 1981 [URL='http://www.orangehoops.org/SyracuseNBA.htm']NBA[/URL] draft, the 13th overall pick, by the Utah Jazz. He would go on to an eighteen year career in the NBA. Though not as athletic as many big men in the game, he was an extremely intelligent player, and that combined with his strong fundamentals made him a valuable part of teams. Over his career he would alternate as a starter or a valuable reserve, but consistently contributed to his teams. His best season was 1987-88, where he averaged 13.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, shot 54% from the floor and 84% from the free throw line. During the playoffs that season he average 16.4 points per game. [B]Rony Seikaly[/B] was one of the most dominating centers in Syracuse basketball history, though it took couple of seasons for him to develop into that role. He was a dominating scorer inside and strong rebounder, though a weak free throw shooter. Seikaly was born in Lebanon but grew up in Greece. He came to the United States for high school, and learned to play basketball while attending school in Massachusetts. Prior to learning basketball he was a good soccer player and track athlete. He returned back to Greece to attend the American School for a couple of years. Meanwhile, he played as an amateur in the Greek professional leagues for 2 1/2 seasons, working on improving his game. Seikaly joined the Syracuse basketball team in December 1983. He was a raw talent, so Coach [URL='http://www.orangehoops.org/JBoeheim.htm']Jim Boeheim[/URL] redshirted him for the season. He immediately was a starter his freshman year, replacing senior [URL='http://www.orangehoops.org/AHawkins.htm']Andre Hawkins[/URL] at the position. Seikaly would show flashes of athletic ability, but was very foul prone, fouling out of a third of the games, and playing just 25 minutes a game. His offensive skills basically contained one shot, which was a two handed tomahawk dunk. Seikaly would steadily improve each year in college, becoming a tremendous rebounder and shot blocker, though he would still be inconsistent in his play. A common sight was to see Seikaly sitting on the bench getting a earful of comments from Coach Boeheim. Prior to his junior season, he would have a stress fracture in his leg that would cause him to miss a lot of preseason practice, and it would hamper his early season play. As the season progressed he would play into shape, and his game would become stronger. Etan Thomas was a dominating defensive center for Syracuse basketball for four seasons. He was an outstanding shot blocker, an extremely strong player who defended his opponent well. Thomas had excellent hands, and became a strong inside scoring presence for the Orangemen. Thomas never had a decent perimeter shot (he never even attempted a three point shot in his college career), but he was outstanding in the low post scoring 60% of the time. Despite his size and strength, Thomas was a solid though never outstanding rebounder until his senior year. He was known as Derrick Thomas while he was being recruited and during his freshman season, using his middle name instead of his first name. He switched to Etan his sophomore year. [/QUOTE]

Verification: What is a Syracuse fan's favorite color?