Syracuse Basketball: Top 30 Players in School History

Surprise, Surprise! Dave Bing sits first overall on our Top 30 Syracuse Basketball Players of All- Time list. Though not everyone who follows Syracuse Basketball knows his name, we’ll give you multiple reasons why you should.

First off, Jim Boeheim, who has coached the Orange for 40+ years, had this to say about Dave Bing in Mike Water’s book, “Legends of Syracuse Basketball (2004)“:

"“He was one of the NBA’s top 50 players, but he’s done even more in the business world and for his community in Detroit. He’s the gold standard as far as any athlete I’ve ever known in terms of athlete, role model, businessman, community leader. He started the whole thing. There’s no better college player. He took Syracuse from the worst program in the country to one of the top 10 programs in the country.”"

Pearl Washington, another Top Five player on this list, may have been the one who drew people to watch Syracuse Basketball, but Dave Bing was the one who turned the Orangemen from cellar dwellers to a national powerhouse. Don’t take my word for it though, let’s look at the numbers.

Coming out of high school, Bing was considered a highly touted prospect from Washington D.C. Standing at only 6’3, he was a tremendous scorer both off the drive and with his pull-up shot. In addition, he was an excellent rebounder for his height, mostly because he could jump higher than most guards his size.

Bing had his pick of the best schools, and even John’s Wooden’s UCLA was an option. Bing though felt he could make a bigger impact though if he went to a lesser-known school (which Syracuse was at that time). In addition, Ernie Davis, who would be a future Syracuse Football legend, urged him to come to SU, and that was the clincher.

As a freshman, his team was separate from the varsity team because that’s how it was at that time. If he had played on varsity he would have easily been its best player, as the team went 8-13 that year. On that freshman team, he averaged 25.7 points and 11.3 rebounds, according to Orangehoops.org.

As a sophomore, his first on varsity, he would excel immediately and earn the green light to score early and often from Head Coach Fred Lewis. That team would improve to 17-8 and make the NIT Tournament at the end of the season. He would average 22.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and probably about six assists a game (if assists were accounted for), according to Sports-reference.com.

His junior year, the team struggled mightily, going 13-10 and missed the postseason. Bing though had an excellent season averaging 23.2 points, and 12 rebounds, and probably around six assists a game once again.

His senior year was his best though. Bing would lead the team to become the nation’s best scoring team, a 22-6 record, and a run to the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight. As for Bing himself, he scored 28.4 points per game to pair with 10.2 rebounds and 6.6 assists. Bing’s 28.4 points per game still stand as the highest single-season scoring average for any Syracuse basketball player, according to SUAthletics.com. As a result of these accomplishments, he was named a First Team All-American at the end of the season and was drafted second overall in the NBA Draft to the Detroit Pistons.

In addition, Bing led the Orangemen in scoring for three straight years after he joined varsity. He also set the SU all-time scoring record as well which held for almost two decades when Sherman Douglas finally broke it. Although that record was broken, Bing still holds the record for most points per game for an SU career at 24.8.

Though those are the only records Bing broke during his career, he still sits highly on multiple SU all-time lists. He currently sits 9th in scoring, 9th in field goals made, 18th in rebounding, and 5th in free throws made, according to Orangehoops.org and Cuse.com.

After his time with Syracuse Basketball, he would go to have an excellent NBA career spanning 12 years with the Detroit Pistons, Washington Bullets, and Boston Celtics. He is to this day the only Syracuse Basketball player post-1925 (Vic Hanson) to be selected to the Basketball Hall of Fame, according to the Basketball Hall of Fame website. Bing became the first player at Syracuse University to have his (#22) uniform retired.

The fact that Dave Bing averaged a double-double of 25 points a game and over 10 rebounds a game for his career, and probably about six assists a game tells just part of the story of a truly incredible player. Off the court and on, Dave Bing was a professional and a great teammate.

At Syracuse, he was a mentor, a leader, a scorer, a fan favorite, and a game-changer. He became a legend and the All-Time Greatest Player to play for Syracuse basketball by just being himself. Most of all, if Jim Boeheim, the ultimate Orangeman of all-time, says Dave Bing is the best Syracuse Player ever, then it must be true. Dave Bing was one of a kind and way ahead of his time, and for that reason, he sits on top of our list of the Top 50 Syracuse Basketball Players of All-Time.