John Wallace didn't have help? Are you crazy? That was one of the best Syracuse teams of all time! Otis Hill, Jason Capola, Lazarus Sims, and Todd Burgan were all named all-Big East! They had top 75 players that didn't even sniff the court (and Donovan McNabb).
Are you on drugs? John Wallace wasn't even the best player on Syracuse, Lawrence Moten was. Lazurus Sims? Jason Cipolla? were all BE? Over Ray Allen? Allen Iverson? send it in Jerome Willams? Adrian Griffin? Felipe Lopez? Zendon Hamilton? Danya Abrams? Donny Marshall? Othella Harrington? Seriously, are you on drugs? Because I'll have what you're having
Out of that group, Cipolla was the most overrated. Otis Hill, Todd Burgan and Lazarus Sims, or “Z” as my SU friends called him, were great in 95-96. If you recall, Z was a bust for 3 years not unlike our own David Cain who put it all together for his senior season. John Wallace wasn’t a bust but he hadn’t lived up to the hype. In 1996, he did. He ate us alive that season. He ate everyone.
I don’t know how you could mention Lopez and Hamilton as more deserving players. Completely different level of basketball. A guy like Zendon wouldn’t even make Boeheim’s rotation. He’s not smart enough.
Right. smart like Eric Diefendorf.
John Wallace was a great player but he barely makes the Syracuse top 10:
Pearl
J Flynn
Sherman Douglas
(Dave Bing)
Billy Owens
Carmelo
Derrick Coleman
Moten
(Hakim Warwick)
(Wallace)
Roosevelt Bouie
If Zendon had played for JB he'd have averaged 20 and 20 instead of 10 and 10. Selfish player but tremendously under rated
You think Devendorf wasn’t a smart baller? I beg to differ. He was kinda thuggy, but what is it about his game that would make you say that? Anything in particular? I’m going to bet on no.
Yeah, I actually have no independent memory of ED. (Neither do I have ED, just saying.) He did thought get thrown out of school for multiple infractions and only played only two years. That's not very smart.
I've always thought that Boeheim's players were superior talents with low basketball IQs. They're dumb, like their coach. Case in point the end of the 87 championship game.
Zendon was underrated? Come on now. His senior year he played like a freshman. Can only blame so much on a bad coach. Zendon had two coaches and after four years, he actually regressed. That’s on him.
Zendon averaged 16 and 8 for his career and played 8 years in the NBA. He didn't have a great career but he a good one and yet he routinely gets shit on. Which is why I said underrated. Certainly he was a flawed player. His misfortune was being coached by a knucklehead or two and (b) playing with Lopez. Not that Lopez was bad, but that he and ZH had inapposite games.
If Syracuse players have low basketball IQs what does that make our players?
I started watching SU in the 1980s. Since then, Boeheim has recruited players that played the game from the neck up.
This is the first time that I’ve ever heard any basketball fan say that SU has superior talents with low basketball IQs. I couldn’t disagree with you more.
Anyone heard of Andy Rautins before he went to Syracuse? That dude was drafted by an NBA team. Who gets the credit for that?
You have to be smart to play the 2/3 zone. SU had a short bench last year, but instead of winning 5 conference games and blaming the NCAA the guy made the Sweet Sixteen taking out another HOF coach in Tom Izzo. That’s a dumb coach? There’s a difference between not liking someone and thinking they’re dumb because you don’t like them, which is clearly the case here. Is Jim Calhoun dumb, too? Coach K?
And for the record, I don’t give a shit that Zendon played 8 years in the league. I don’t remember him getting off the bench once.
Devendorf played 4 seasons for Syracuse. I think he performed at D’Angelo Harrison’s level in college. DLO’s game reminded me of Devendorf. If he played for STJ, he would have scored 20 a game for 4 years.