Syracuse Basketball: 3 goggles out for Malachi Richardson in TBT win

You had to love it during Boeheim’s Army’s rousing 73-69 win Saturday over the defending champion Golden Eagles to earn a spot in the TBT Final Four, when the telecast cut to a Syracuse basketball fan in the crowd sporting his 3 goggles.

It was a clear nod to Malachi Richardson, whose 3-pointers in the second half were the juice that fueled Boeheim’s Army victory, much as they were during one of the most thrilling sequences in the history of Syracuse basketball in the 2016 NCAA Elite Eight game against Virginia.

We all remember Malachi catching fire in that 2016 game, as the upstart, underdog Orange had fallen behind by 16 in the second half to No. 1 Virginia. Mali scored 21 of his 23 points in the second half, including several threes to lead a spirited comeback, as Jim Boeheim earned his fifth trip to the Final Four as head coach.

The iconic image from that game was young freshman Malachi, en fuego and loving it, making the 3-goggles sign as his smile filled the arena.

My son and I were at the game in Chicago that 2016 day, and it was as close to euphoria as I’ve ever experienced at a sporting event. No, it was euphoric. I admit I almost passed out as the improbable comeback materialized behind Mali’s flood of offense.

Mali caught fire again Saturday in Dayton for 9 points in a cluster to propel Boeheim’s Army, and now the team made up of several Orange alumni head to Sunday’s semifinal game vs. Florida TNT (Noon ET, ESPN) still alive to win the $1 million winner-take-all prize in its seventh summer run at it.

Richardson was so hot for that stretch against the largely Marquette alumni Golden Eagles, he even drained a shot-clock buzzer-beating off-balance three. When he gets going, he’s an electric performer. Malachi is the type of player who gets you up out of your seat. He feels it, you can sense he feels it, and he fills the box score quick.

His streak when the Army needed it most came on the same day that it was announced he signed a pro contract with Italian team Fortitudo Bologna for next season, according to Syracuse.com. It will be Richardson’s second time in the Italian Serie A league.

Former Syracuse basketball star Malachi Richardson and his Boeheim’s Army teammates are Final Four-bound.

Selfishly, I was sad when Richardson decided to go pro after that 2016 NCAA run brought him so much attention as a freshman. I’m sure I can speak for all Orange fans that it would have been nice to see him back in the Carrier Dome for more. But he parlayed it into being an NBA first-round draft pick by Charlotte, so things worked out for him.

His NBA career has been limited (traded by Charlotte to Sacramento where he signed his rookie deal and played from 2016-18, and Toronto from 2018-19). He spent a lot of that time in the G League, including with the Reno Bighorns. I spend a lot of time in Reno, and enjoyed the chance to attend Bighorns games and support Malachi’s professional career.

Since then the still young 25-year-old Richardson has bounced around to international pro teams.

But now as Orange fans, we get the chance to cheer for him again and it’s what’s so great about this summer addiction to the TBT. Malachi has star quality, a charisma and flair for the dramatic, that Syracuse basketball fans love and he’ll always be one of our favorites.

Malachi’s corner three in the TBT first round, when he turned to face the Boeheim’s Army bench while the ball was still in the air completely sure he would make it, is the viral moment so far for this year’s Army run.

That shot, comebacks, getting to know the four non-Syracuse alumni who have bolstered the lineup and the Orange never-say-die grit have added up to a fun ride watching Boeheim’s Army the past couple of weeks.

Let’s hope we get to pull the Mali 3 goggles out for two more games.