Syracuse Basketball: A look back at past Boeheim’s Army performances in TBT
By Josh Peelman
Boeheim’s Army- 2019
For the 2019 edition of Boeheim’s Army, the roster focused on getting more shooters on the team while still keeping the general veterans on board. The roster included Head Coach Ryan Blackwell, Captains Eric Devendorf and Brandon Triche (but was injured and could not play), and also brought back veterans: Hakim Warrick, Arinze Onuaku, John Gillon, and Darryl Watkins.
The team also brought in good wing players who could play multiple positions to surround those guys in Michael Gbinije, Andrew White III, BJ Johnson, and Jordan Crawford (Xavier alum). Chris McCullough was also added to the roster, but the PBA playoffs in the Philippines (which he helped them win) kept him overseas and never made it back before TBT ended.
All in all, the roster had huge potential to be great, but injuries and age affected the team’s ability to get out and run in transition. In addition, inconsistency on offense really hurt the team at times as well.
Eric Devendorf, per usual was dynamic and as consistent as ever and carried the team game after game despite not playing professionally in years. In addition, Andrew White III and BJ Johnson`s ability to hit open threes or slash to the rim provided new options the team could turn to when they needed a basket.
The bad news for this team was that Arinze Onuaku and Darryl Watkins really struggled to be consistently good on offense, and get rebounds on defense as they had been in previous years. As a result, opposing teams outrebounded Boeheim’s Army and got multiple second-chance opportunities, which you just can’t allow in a tournament full of professionals and veterans who will make you pay for it time and time again. As good of athletes as this team had, the age showed a little bit, and made it obvious Boeheim`s Army would need more youth on its roster, especially in the post, going forward.
Unlike previous years, this team struggled right out of the gate in their first game even though they were playing in front of the hometown crowd in Syracuse at Onondaga Community College’s SRC Arena for the first time. The Syracuse alumni team barely beat a feisty and persistent WeAreD3 team (a collection of former Division III players), winning 68-65, according to Syracuse.com.
Next up, Boeheim`s Army had to fight off the always competitive Gael Nation squad. Though Boeheim’s Army was clearly the better team, their ability to not get stops and hit the easy shots really killed them, making the game a heck of a lot tighter than it needed to be. In the end, Boeheim’s Army would prevail, 84-74, but the win did not inspire confidence for the team going forward.
Sure enough, in the third round (Super 16) of The Basketball Tournament, a tough Philadelphia-based Team Brotherly Love proved too much for Boeheim’s Army to overcome. The inability of Boeheim’s Army to not get stops and rebounds hurt them for a third straight game. Team Brotherly Love quickly gained a lead they would not relinquish, and the Syracuse alumni team never really caught back up even though their offense started clicking better. They would fall 84-72 in heartbreaking fashion in front of the hometown crowd.
Once again, Boeheim’s Army fell short of winning The Basketball Tournament, but they learned new ways they can get better as well.
The path to a TBT title for Boeheim’s Army. dark. Next
Hopefully, those mistakes and lessons learned will lead Boeheim’s Army to greater success in The Basketball Tournament and a TBT title in 2020 and beyond.