Syracuse Basketball: Top 30 Players in School History

The first time I heard of Jason Hart, he was in my NBA 2K game, and his best skill was stealing the ball. Having been born in the early 1990s, I missed seeing him in action as a kid. Not surprisingly, Hart’s best skill, as I soon found out, was stealing the ball for Syracuse Basketball.

Known as a defensive point guard who was also a good distributor, he was a four-year starter for the Orange. He was turnover-prone but was good at driving to the basket and finding his teammates for good looks. He was quick enough on defense to make it hard for opposing point guards to blow by him. Paired with Etan Thomas and Ryan Blackwell, Hart made Syracuse a stellar defensive unit for years.

For his career, Hart averaged 11.4 points, 2.5 steals, 5.4 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per contest. He would go on to be drafted in the 2nd round by the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Draft after his senior season. In his NBA career, he would play for nine different teams, in both starting and reserve roles.

Hart sits 22nd on the All-Time SU Scoring list with 1,504 points and is amongst the company of Dennis DuVal and Rudy Hackett, two other SU greats. He also sits 2nd on Syracuse’s all-time assists list, only behind the great Sherman Douglas and ahead of Pearl Washington and Gerry McNamara. But his real legacy is the energy and talent he had on defense.