Syracuse Basketball Legends Series: Inside look at Dave Bing

As a freshman, Bing was not allowed to play for the varsity team, as it was the rules at that time. However, he would still play excellent for the Syracuse basketball’s freshman team. Playing alongside future Syracuse coaching great Jim Boeheim as a freshman, Bing would immediately make an impact averaging a double-double: 25.7 points and 11.3 rebounds per game, according to Orangehoops.org.

As a sophomore, Bing would take a program that had been 8-13 the year before and turn them into a contender in 1963-1964. Syracuse basketball would finish the season with a 17-8 record, and make the NIT, only to lose in the first round to NYU, according to JockBio.com.

However, this immediate turnaround showed the nation that Syracuse basketball would be a cellar dweller no more, especially with Bing at the helm. Bing who averaged 22.2 points per game to pair with 8.0 rebounds, would also set the sophomore school record for points scored at 556 points.

As a Junior, Bing would be named a First Team All-American by Sporting News, after averaging another double-double: 23.2 points and 12.4 rebounds per game. As if things couldn’t get better, Bing would be even better as a senior.

As a senior on the Syracuse basketball team. Bing would average 28.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 6.6 assists, according to NunesMagician.com. Not surprisingly, Bing also helped lead Syracuse to a 22-6 record that year, and guide SU to the East Regional Final of the NCAA tournament where they would go on to lose to Duke. His ability to pass the ball, rebound, shoot the ball, as well as drive to the rim,  made him an asset to any team at the next level, that the NBA, would want.

As a result of his great play and being fifth in the nation in scoring, he was named a Consensus All-American, the first such player for Syracuse basketball in almost forty years, according to JockBio.com. He would be drafted by the Detroit Pistons with the second overall pick in the 1966 NBA Draft, according to Cuse.com.

In terms of his records all-time at Syracuse he finished ninth in scoring (1883), 18th in rebounding (786), 54th in assists (185), according to Orangehoops.org. Though those numbers don’t necessarily look legendary, they were are the time he played. Also, if you take into account his averages across the board each year, as well as the fact that SU played fewer games then, those numbers are actually quite remarkable and should be considered among the best in Syracuse basketball history.

In fact, Syracuse basketball Coach Jim Boeheim had this to say about Dave Bing in Mike Waters’ 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.”"

In the NBA, Bing would continue to make Syracuse basketball fans proud during his 12 seasons in the league. He would be named NBA Rookie of the year in 1966-67, averaging 20.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.3 assists, according to Basketball-Reference.com.

In his second year for the Pistons, he would lead the NBA in scoring with 2142 points and be named the 1967-1968 Scoring Champion. That feat in itself is remarkable considering he beat out the likes of legendary scorers Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor, according to Orangehoops.org.

Maybe the most amazing thing about Bing’s pro-career though was the fact it was almost over before it had really started. In a preseason exhibition tilt against the Los Angeles Lakers in 1971, Bing found himself guarding Happy Hairston, according to NBA.com. Hairston made a cut to the basket and flew his hand up in Bing’s face hitting him in the right eye. Though the injury was painful, Bing thought nothing of it at the time. However, a few days later he woke up to find he could barely see. As it turned out, he would have a partially detached retina in that eye which led directly to surgery.

From then on, Bing would have permanently impaired peripheral vision, and struggle to see as a result under the bright lights during NBA games. However, that would not keep Bing from doing what he loved to do. Despite his doctors urging him not to play, Bing refused and would go onto to average  22.6 points, 7.0 assists, and 4.1 rebounds in just 45 games for the Pistons.

In his 12 seasons in the league, Bing averaged 20.3 points, 6.0 assists, and 3.8 rebounds. He would also be named an All-Star seven times, named to an All-NBA team three times (1st team: 1967, 1970, and 2nd team: 1973) and win the NBA MVP award in 1976, according to NunesMagician.com. He would be later be selected to Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980 and named “One of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History” in 1996.

In 1983, Bing would have his No. 21 jersey retired by the Detroit Pistons, the first jersey ever retired by the team, according to NBA.com. In addition, Bing would also be the first Syracuse basketball jersey ever retired, when his number No. 22 jersey was retired in 1981, according to Syracuse.com.

After his pro career, Bing came back to Detroit and helped set up Bing Steel in 1980, a company worth $61 million in sales almost a decade later, according to Orangehoops.org. In addition, he also helped launch a campaign for local schools there so there would not be cutbacks to the athletics/physical education departments. That campaign led to over $373,000 being raised, according to NBA.com.

In 2009, Bing was elected mayor of Detroit and would stay in that capacity until 2013. Other notable post-career achievements include acquiring Superb Manufacturing, a metal-stamping company worth up to $28 million a year as well as a small construction firm.

All in all, Bing is the pure example of an individual who never gives up and battles through adversity. He is living proof that with a little hard work you can do great things. That legacy has transcended through the years through Coach Jim Boeheim, Bing’s college teammate, and the teams he has coached over the last four decades.

Syracuse basketball has had many legends, but none can match the achievements Bing had while on the hill as well as after it. Leaving a legacy isn’t only about what you do on the court, it’s about what you do afterward that cements it.