Syracuse Basketball: Boeheim’s Army roster hit, but experts say deep run
By Neil Adler
Boeheim’s Army, the crew of former Syracuse basketball players, will need to execute well on the glass after unfortunately losing Chris McCullough.
Boeheim’s Army, the elite collection of former Syracuse basketball stars who are vying for $1 million in The Basketball Tournament (“TBT”), is entering this event as the No. 3 seed and had boasted perhaps the most-talented line-up among all of the 24 teams.
However, over the past few days, Boeheim’s Army has revealed that 6-foot-10 power forwards/centers Tyler Lydon and now Chris McCullough will not suit up in the 2020 TBT.
Boeheim’s Army said on its Twitter page that Lydon would not compete due to a recently sustained injury. Meanwhile, Donna Ditota of Syracuse.com first reported that McCullough will not play for personal reasons. Our thoughts are with both of these guys.
For Boeheim’s Army, its nine-player roster had included four former NBA Draft first-round picks, but two of them in McCullough and Lydon are gone.
The squad this week did add a strong replacement in 6-foot-9 forward Will Rayman, one of the top players in the history of the Colgate basketball program. Rayman is a terrific rebounder and a tremendous 3-point shooter.
That being said, it’s virtually impossible to completely replace the skills that McCullough and Lydon would have brought to the table. Presently, the eight-man Boeheim’s Army line-up features Rayman, small forward Andrew White III, power forward Donte Greene, wing Malachi Richardson, combo guard Eric Devendorf, combo guard Brandon Triche, point guard John Gillon, and forward Demetris Nichols.
Prior to the news about McCullough breaking on Thursday, ESPN.com had published a piece in which five of its panelists – both analysts and writers – provided their selections for the TBT’s final four.
Three out of the five panelists projected that Boeheim’s Army would advance to at least the semi-finals. Might their predictions have changed if the status of McCullough (or even Lydon) was known? Potentially.
Regardless, Boeheim’s Army still possesses a ton of talent and could certainly go on a magical journey. Rebounding will prove a critical key.
The team will face the winner of No. 14 seed Heartfire versus No. 19 seed Men of Mackey at 4 pm on Tuesday, July 7, with ESPN providing television coverage from Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.