Syracuse University Basketball fans were able to see some familiar faces help Boeheim's Army team advance in The Basketball Tournament, also known as TBT. Boeheim's Army beat the team called Blue Collar U 69-54 to advance to the tournament's quarterfinals.
Former SU players such as Rakeem Christmas, Andrew White III and Chris McCullough were carrying on the Hall of Fame former SU coach Jim Boeheim's legacy. Other former Orange players included Paschal Chukwu and BJ Johnson. But no player carries on the Boeheim Legacy more than the coach’s son, Jimmy Boeheim.
‘’He loves it, he takes a lot of pride in this team. It means a lot to him that they named this team after him many years ago. We’re all just trying to do our part, making sure I’m doing everything out there to help us win.’’
Coach Boeheim was in attendance throughout the whole Syracuse Regional, in the crowd with all of the SU fans. The Orange Army was in full effect with ‘’Let’s Go Orange’’ chants echoing throughout the Upstate Medical University Arena at the War Memorial.
In the regional final, Boeheim's Army fell behind by a 23-9 margin early, but chipped away at that lead to eventually go into the fourth quarter with a lead. A change in defense caused Blue Collar U, which includes players from the University of Buffalo, to miss 20 straight 3-pointers. A 20-10 fourth quarter sealed the win for the Syracuse-based team.
Playing in front of the home crowd means a lot, says Boeheim Army’s coach Ryan Blackwell. He loves being able to lead the team with Jim Boeheim in the crowd and having his name on jersey.
"It's great, especially being in the home crowd this is one of the regionals and having coach here with his name on the jersey after he just retired, his son’s on the team. It feels great.’’
Grant Riller led the team in scoring once again with 29 points. Riller, who isn’t a Syracuse Alum, still shares reverence for the Hall of Fame coach and the team.
‘’It’s a great experience, man. Just growing up, you always hear about Syracuse, obviously coach Boeheim legendary coach. I wasn't fortunate enough to get recruited here or anything. But I got recruited this summer, and I'm happy to play with the squad.’’
Riller was the leading scorer throughout the regional. Growing his popularity with the orange fans. Riller says it’s starting to feel like he played at Syracuse because of how welcoming the Syracuse fans are.
"I feel welcomed, I feel like I went to Syracuse. It’s been fun, man, to play for the Orange. Playing in front of a home crowd. It gave us life. You don’t make those kinds of runs after being down without a home crowd. It’s good to have them here."
With the up and down runs Boeheim’s Army had in the Syracuse Regional the home crowd stayed loyal to the home town squad. Orange Nation brought the team to life and helped lead the SU squad to advancing past the Syracuse Regional onto the Elite 8 in West Virginia.
Boeheim’s Army is now just three wins away from its second TBT championship in three years. The TBT is a winner-take-all tournament where the victors take home a $1 Million prize.
