Tales from the Syracuse Orange Locker Room: A Collection of the Greatest Orange Basketball Stories Ever Told

by Bud Poliquin, Leo Rautins (Foreword by)

Overview

Orange is a state of mind for fans of Syracuse University basketball. Think Orange and images of greatness appear, from Vic Hanson in the Roaring ’20s through Carmelo Anthony in the 21st century. Think Orange and the sounds of glory are heard, from old Archbold Gym to the gleaming Carrier Dome. Think Orange and the memories of 1,607 victories are stirred, from SU’s first win in 1901 over Cornell to its 2003 triumph over Kansas that brought home the national championship. Many of the stories that have contributed to the phenomenon known as Orangemen basketball now come to life in Bud Poliquin’s updated edition of Tales from the Syracuse Orange's Locker Room.

Dave Bing, Jim Boeheim, Jim Brown (yes, he played hoops, too), Bouie and Louie, Leo Rautins, Pearl Washington, and Derrick Coleman—all of them and numerous other SU legends join Hanson and Anthony in the pages of this anecdotal anthology of Syracuse University basketball, certain to complete the bookshelf of any Orange fan. This book looks at the team’s infamous 27-game losing streak in the early 1960s; Roy’s Runts; the Pearl’s stunning half-court buzzer-beater that knocked off Boston College in 1984; the fabulous Final Four runs of 1975, 1996, 2003, 2013, and 2016; and Anthony’s freshman brilliance that delivered the school’s first-ever NCAA tournament title in 2006.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781683580553
Publisher:	Sports Publishing LLC
Publication date:	11/07/2017
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	875 KB

About the Author

Bud Poliquin, the hot topics sports columnist of syracuse.com, has written about sports (and other subjects) in central New York since 1984. Before that, he was both sports editor and sports columnist for the San Diego Union-Tribune, for which he’d earlier covered the NBA. In seven different years, Poliquin has been named to lists compiled by the Associated Press Sports Editors group identifying the Top 10 sports columnists in America. He is co-host of “Bud and the Manchild” on ESPN Radio. He lives in Skaneateles, New York.
Leo Rautins played basketball at Syracuse University for three seasons (1980– 1983) and was named to the Syracuse All-Century Team in 2000. In 1983, Rautins became the first Canadian ever drafted in the first round of the NBA draft. Rautins has been a broadcaster for the Toronto Raptors since the team’ s inception in 1995. He lives in Toronto.

Table of Contents

Foreword Leo Rautins viii

Introduction xi

Introduction Part II xiv

Introduction Part III xvii

From A to Z 1

The Other Champions 4

Oh, the Reindeer Five Could Play 6

Billy Gabor's Pioneer Days 8

Good Man…Cantankerous Coach 11

"What Are You Trying to Do? We're the Pros!" 14

The Football Factor 17

Jim Brown, the Adonis 21

Manny Breland's Little Miracle 23

One "Funny" Rule Cost a Title 26

The Name (and Presumption) Game 29

2-22 31

The Best Orangeman There Ever Was 34

Sam, You've Got Barry and Bradley 37

A Rebounding Man 40

Jim Boeheim's Bad Body 43

Don't Match Resumes with This Man 45

Chasing Those 100 Points 47

Learning a Role 50

The Italian Leprechaun and the Doves 52

SU's Blackout Season 55

Uh-Huh, It Was the Fred Lewis 58

He Helped Hold Calvin Murphy to 68 Points 62

Yo, the Name Is Jo Jo 66

Jim Boeheim, Golf Coach 68

The (Almost) Forgotten Orangeman 71

Roy's Runts 75

Danforth Got His Man 78

Sweet D, the Showman 81

It Was All Happening at the Zoo 83

Maybe They Could Have Tunneled Out 86

1975 Final Four: The Orangemen Wore the Blue Collars 88

Old Shooters Never Die 92

SU's Soup and Sandwich 94

He Coulda Been a Contender…Er, Maverick 97

Dolph Could Have Used a Seat Belt 100

Jim Boeheim's Suddenly Soggy Sensation 104

Leo Rautins Becomes a Legend 107

Lare Starter…Strong Finisher 110

A Memorable Shot, a Pearl's Shrug 112

Addison Loves 'Cuse (Woof, Woof) 115

"I'll Take Pearl and Chris Washburn" 118

Derrick Coleman, the Good Guy 120

1987 Final Four: Squint and You'll See 2003 122

He Was Still Smarting 127

The Orange Foreign Legion 129

California's Imports 132

He Was Carmelo Before Carmelo 135

One Good Deed Deserves Another 137

The Guy with the Points and the Socks 139

The Fourth (or Fifth) Option Makes Good 142

1996 Final Four: The Orangemen Pass on the Romance 145

Donovan McNabb, Savior 149

He Calls 'Em Like He Sees 'Em 153

Jason Heart … Er, Hart 156

A Weeper Grew in Brooklyn 159

2003 Final Four: Maybe It Was Won Back in September 162

Roy Danforth Bets on a Sure Thing 167

Blessed Are the Little Guys 171

The Smile 174

They Met in a New Orleans Corner 177

The Day Jim Boeheim Became a Basketball Immortal 180

G-Mac Was the Prince of the City 184

2013 Final Four: The Orange Got There the Old-Fashioned Way (With Defense) 189

The ACC Came Calling … and SU Had No Choice But to Go 193

Pearl: The Phenom Who Became a Friend 196

2016 Final Four: The Orange Proved It Belonged 199

Adrian Autry Moves Up as Mike Hopkins Moves West 203

Jim Boeheim's (Bumpy) Road to 1,000 Wins 206

The Orange Roads to the Final Four 209

2016 Tournament Results 215