In this Boeheim’s Army 2019 Player Series we will feature the members of this year’s TBT (The Basketball Tournament) squad, and what’s happened since we saw them last. Up next: Hakim Warrick.
Boeheim’s Army has the awesome ability to recruit and bring in the best Syracuse basketball players from the last decade or so and put them together on one team to do one thing: compete in TBT (The Basketball Tournament) This years edition features players just starting their careers and others finishing theirs. Among the latter is Syracuse Basketball legend Hakim Warrick.
Hakim Warrick has played in TBT multiple times for Boeheim’s Army and as such continues to add to an already tremendous career at Syracuse and beyond. Most SU fans will recognize his name as one of those privileged to help bring home a national championship game for Syracuse along with Carmelo Anthony, Gerry McNamara, and company in 2003. His most famous play is essentially the one that sealed the title for good: a block of Kansas’s Michael Lee three in the corner with just seconds left on the clock.
Warrick is more than a one-play pony through and many fans forget that. Warrick had excellent numbers at Syracuse as well. He ended up with averages of 15.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 0.9 blocks, 1.5 assists and 1.0 blocks per game for his SU career, according to Sports-Reference.com.
His best year was probably his senior year though in 2004-2005 where he posted 21.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game. That effort led him to be drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies with the 19th selection in the first round of the 2005 NBA Draft, according to Orangehoops.org.
After playing with the Griz, he played with multiple NBA teams for a few more years before going overseas. Now, back in the states he most recently played in the G-League (the NBA’s developmental league) for the Iowa Wolves averaging 12 points, 5.8 rebounds, according to Syracuse.com. He also shot a very good shooting percentage of 61.3%. For a player of 37 years of age that isn’t bad!
Boeheim’s Army Star
Warrick showed last year he is still very capable of playing at a high level. In last year’s TBT for Boeheim’s Army, Warrick averaged 11.5 points, 89% from the foul line, and shot 62.5% from the field overall, according to Syracuse.com.
In addition, he had a huge game against the Golden eagles in the semifinals of TBT last year, leading the team in scoring with 24 points while shooting 8 of 9 from the floor, according to the TBT website. It just goes to show he can still be a huge factor offensively even if he isn’t as fast as he used to be.
Warrick is a huge grab for Boeheim’s Army. Not only are they bringing back a TBT veteran with name recognition, but they are also bringing back a guy who still has that desire to win and can still play at a high level. With his height at 6-foot-8, he can play at forward or center for Boeheim’s Army and can be relied upon both as a scorer as well a defender in the middle and wings of the 2-3 zone.
With such a talented roster hopefully, Boeheim’s Army won’t have to rely on Warrick as much as they did last year, but even if they do, I’m sure former SU fans will not be disappointed. Who knows? Maybe this is the last time we see him in Orange, so we better catch him while we still can.