Syracuse Basketball: Top 50 Players in School History (35-31)

3 of 6

SYRACUSE, NY – OCTOBER 15: Syracuse Orange fans rush the field to celebrate after the game against the Virginia Tech Hokies on October 15, 2016 at The Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. Syracuse upsets Virginia Tech 31-17. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /

#34: Billy Gabor

Forward/Guard: 1942-1948

Billy ” The Bullet” Gabor, like Hanson before him, has a unique story. Gabor, a fast 5’11 guard, which earned him the nickname “The Bullet,” played basketball for SU around the time that World War II started. Gabor played one year before being called off to war. He averaged 14 points a game that year, according to Orangehoops.com.

During the war, Gabor served as a Lieutenant and bombardier in the Air Force, according to Syracuse.com. Following the war, he returned and played for SU for three more years, averaging 15.2, 16.3, and 15.0 points respectively from 1945-1948.

Though those are role playing numbers in our eyes, those were good numbers for that era in basketball. In fact, he was the first Syracuse basketball player ever to score over 400 points in a season, with 409 in the 1946-1947 season, according to Syracuse.com. That performance earned him All-American honors that season.

In addition, Gabor finished his career with 1,344 points which was the most in school history until Dave Bing broke it in the 1960’s. Gabor may not have been the flashiest, or tallest guy Syracuse has ever had, but his ability to play well before and after serving for our country shows he deserves to be on this list. It’s also why his #17 jersey was retired in 2009.

Home/All-Time Lists