Syracuse Basketball: Top 30 Players in School History
By Josh Peelman
Kris Joseph may not have been the most flashy or best shooter Syracuse has ever had, but he deserved a spot in our rankings. He was a player who played well for the Orange for three straight seasons.
After only scoring about three points a game his freshman year, he boosted that number to 11 points a game his sophomore season. He would continue to improve his numbers to about 14 points, five rebounds, and one steal a game for the remainder of his Syracuse career.
As a Junior and Senior, he truly excelled as the leader of the team. Joseph looked like a star, even though he didn’t have the numbers to back that up. He was selected as a 2nd round draft pick in the NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics. Unfortunately for Joseph and Orange fans, he didn’t last long in the NBA. After two years, he is no longer in the league.
Joseph is a great example of a player who played better than most in college, but couldn’t live up to the hype in the pros. He scored 1,476 points in four years for Syracuse, good for 27th all-time at SU. Staying in school did wonders for Joseph. If he hadn’t stayed and had jumped to the NBA sooner, I expect he wouldn’t be in our rankings or would be much lower.