Syracuse Basketball: Initial Boeheim’s Army roster looks really, really good

Right before the deadline on Tuesday afternoon, the collection of primarily former Syracuse basketball stars known as Boeheim’s Army revealed the team’s initial 2021 roster.

Boeheim’s Army will yet again compete in the annual The Basketball Tournament (“TBT”), a $1 million, winner-take-all event that transpires over the summer.

The squad can continue to bring on additional players moving forward, however, it needed to announce a line-up of at least seven guys by noon on Tuesday, per a report from Donna Ditota of Syracuse.com.

According to a tweet from the TBT, the initial Boeheim’s Army roster includes guard Eric Devendorf, center Paschal Chukwu, power forward/center Tyler Lydon, power forward/center Chris McCullough, wing Malachi Richardson, small forward Andrew White III, forward C.J. Fair and guard Tyrese Rice, who has played internationally for a while now and went to Boston College.

Former Boeheim’s Army head coach Ryan Blackwell is now the team’s associate head coach. The new head coach is Jeremy Pope, who is an assistant coach for the University of Portland and served as a graduate manager for Mike Hopkins at Washington in 2017, per a press release.

Some excellent Syracuse basketball players are suiting up for Boeheim’s Army.

We’ll see if Boeheim’s Army recruits more players to the team for the 2021 TBT, but I really like the looks of its roster so far. Devendorf is a mainstay at this event and one of the best scorers in the tourney.

I’m pumped to see Lydon and McCullough compete after they were initially part of last summer’s roster but had to withdraw before that TBT began.

Fair is easily one of my favorite Orange players in Syracuse basketball history. Chukwu provides a shot-blocker on defense. Richardson and White can prove sharp-shooters from the perimeter. It will be interesting to watch how Rice fits into the line-up.

According to Ditota’s article and the TBT Web site, Boeheim’s Army is being placed in the Peoria, Ill., region. A year ago, the No. 3 seed Boeheim’s Army lost in the quarterfinals to No. 22 seed Sideline Cancer, 65-48.

Although it has reached the Final Four in the past, Boeheim’s Army is still searching for its first TBT crown. Per the TBT Web site, Boeheim’s Army sports a 15-6 overall record in the history of this event.

I’m hopeful that Boeheim’s Army will go on a deep run in the 2021 TBT. Syracuse basketball fans, are there any other former Orange stars whom you’d like to see on the Boeheim’s Army roster?