Our hoops guru is taking a look at the most exciting Syracuse basketball players on the fast break.
Leading up to the 2021-22 Syracuse basketball campaign, it’s a good time for a 10-part series highlighting the best of the Boeheim era (1976-present).
I’ll give my takes, ranking the “Top 3” in many categories, from best free throw shooters to most exciting on a fast break. From top games in the Dome, to top games in the NCAA tourney and everything else in between.
I was 7-years-old in 1976 when the legendary Jim Boeheim, who is second all-time in career victories within Division I men’s basketball, became the head coach of the Orange. If I haven’t watched (or listened on the radio) intently to every single Syracuse basketball game since then, then it’s close to 98%.
Statistical facts in each Top 3 are fueled by the awesome OrangeHoops.org web site.
Part 1: Top 3 Triple Doubles.
Part 2: Top 3 Free Throw Shooters.
Today, it’s Part 3: My Top 3 Most Exciting on Fast Break.
Throughout the Boeheim era, Syracuse basketball has become best known (and either feared or loathed) nationally for its vaunted 2-3 zone. But the Orange has also been one of the most exciting teams on the fast break for decades, and I’m hopeful that this will ring true in the upcoming campaign.
Jim Boeheim loves to run, especially when he has the horses, and the 2-3 zone leads to a lot of fast breaks due to deflections, steals and long rebounds from missed 3-pointers by the opposing team’s players.
From 1983 to 89, one of the best stretches for the Orange program, Syracuse basketball was blessed with two of the most electric collegiate point guards ever. They kick things off, followed by my third choice, an exciting player in his own right who suited up more recently on the Hill.
1. Dwayne ‘Pearl’ Washington, 1983-86.
If you know, you know.
I’d argue The Pearl is the most exciting player in college basketball history.
In the open court, as a fan you simply raised to your feet. You were about to see something you hadn’t seen before.
My favorite: The first time he made a fake behind-the-back pass and turned it into a layup. Then flashed that unmatched Pearl smile.
His crossover changed the game on the court. His magnetism changed it off the court, by making the young Big East Conference must-see TV nationwide.
Pearl wasn’t that fast, he wasn’t a leaper, didn’t dunk, but he owned the court. Two courts especially: the Carrier Dome and Madison Square Garden, where his performances in the Big East Tournament are legendary.
Already a star in New York City from his high school and playground exploits, he was the most prized recruit Jim Boeheim ever brought to the hill. From Pearl’s freshman to junior seasons he averaged 15.7 points and 6.7 assists per game, but those numbers don’t illustrate the clutch shots, important moments, and breathtaking presence that won games.
I remember bringing my transistor radio to high school the day in 1986 when he would formally announce whether he was coming back or foregoing his senior year. Washington became the first Jim Boeheim-coached player to go pro early. It was a devastating day for us fans, simply because we wanted more.
More devastating was the day Pearl succumbed to brain cancer in 2016.
I made the trek from Milwaukee to my hometown Syracuse for Pearl Washington Day at the Carrier Dome that year, to pay my respects, give thanks, and watch his number 31 revealed near center court in the spot he launched his magical shot to defeat Boston College in 1984.
My “Pearl” Orange shirts are prized. You still see them worn by many fans at games. I carried his autograph in my wallet for decades.
After Pearl passed, Jim Boeheim gave a press conference and it’s the first time I have ever seen the coach cry. That’s how special a person, and important Dwayne Washington was to Syracuse basketball.
At The Pearl’s funeral, Boeheim was emotional again, and he said: “There are a lot of great players. But there is only one Pearl Washington.”
And we’ll never forget the excitement of the Pearl on the fast break.
2. Sherman Douglas, 1985-89.
Looking back, it’s amazing to think how lucky Syracuse fans were to enjoy two point guards back-to-back with the abilities and flair of Dwayne Washington and Sherman Douglas.
During Pearl’s junior year, I remember going to watch Syracuse hoops practices at Manley and the Carrier Dome and seeing this small, freshman, backup guard bother him up and down the court. Syracuse fans never really thought much of that freshman guard, he wasn’t highly recruited and our eyes were on The Pearl.
But then we got to know “The General”: Sherman Douglas.
After Pearl left before his senior year, Douglas took control of the team at the start of the 1986-87 season. It was a hard act to follow, but Douglas brought Syracuse to new heights: Its first Final Four and championship game of the Boeheim era.
The General’s teams, for his sophomore-senior years, always finished the season ranked in the top 10.
Douglas was the best passer and leader in Syracuse history. He set the all-time collegiate record for assists in a college career with 960 (later broken), and the Syracuse records for points scored, 2,060 (also later broken), and most assists in a game (22).
He was thrilling on the fast break, using some of the moves he learned from Pearl, mixed with his own unique confidence and court vision.
But the thing he’ll be remembered for most is the alley-oops. He didn’t invent the most exciting play in basketball, but it sure seemed like it.
The dynamic weapons at his disposal at Syracuse: forwards Stephen Thompson, Derrick Coleman, Billy Owens, and center Rony Seikaly, were beneficiaries of Douglas’ deft touch.
Whether in a fast break situation or a half-court set, The General would loft the ball to the rim, those thoroughbreds went up and got it, dunked with authority, and Syracuse was simply the best show on Earth.
I love Chris Paul, and he’s great at serving up alley-oops, especially during the LA Clippers “Lob City” run, but I’m sorry, Sherman Douglas is the all-time king.
Douglas went on to a solid 12-year career in the NBA and his uniform number 20 was retired to the Carrier Dome rafters in 2005.
Please watch this between-the-legs hike of the ball to a streaking Stevie Thompson, against Indiana (the team that edged us for the title in 1987) to start the 1988 season. Listen to announcer Dick Vitale. This is how we all felt for three years watching Douglas:
3. Dion Waiters, 2010-12.
With so many exciting players to choose from in the Boeheim era, Dion could be looked at as a surprise selection. After all, he never started a game for the Orange.
But Waiters’ Syracuse career was sort of like a fast break of its own: Exciting, a little unpredictable and over quickly with a slam dunk.
The 2011-12 Syracuse Orange campaign, with Waiters as the overqualified sixth man in his sophomore year, may have been the best team in the Boeheim era. Waiters was the squad’s best offensive player and the team compiled a 34-3 record, was ranked No. 2 in the country, and would have probably gone undefeated and won the national championship if not for the controversy surrounding center Fab Melo’s eligibility.
One of that special team’s calling cards was its electric, perfectly run, fast break. One reason for it was the steals the 2-3 created (and Dion lead the team with 67 thefts). Slashing players like Scoop Jardine, Brandon Triche, Kris Joseph, James Southerland and bigs Rakeem Christmas and Melo, moved as one towards the basket. And Dion was the most feared of all on that break. Most teams simply got out of his way.
Today, none of the 34 wins from that season “count” on Boeheim’s official NCAA record, one of the great travesties in sports. But you can’t wipe out what happened.
Waiters declared himself eligible for the NBA draft and was selected No. 4 overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Remarkable when you think of the fact he never started a game at Syracuse.
One thing is for sure, since 1976 Jim Boeheim has had a lot of exciting players in the fast break. But no one better combined Dion’s speed, power and confidence in the open court.
Next time, Part 4: My top 3 games in Carrier Dome history.