Syracuse Basketball: Boeheim’s Army roster tons of fun, primed for big run

In a couple of weeks, the collection of former Syracuse basketball stars and others known as Boeheim’s Army will seek to defend a thrilling 2021 The Basketball Tournament (“TBT”) crown and claim another cool $1 million payday.

The SRC Arena in Syracuse will serve as one of eight host regions, with games on tap from July 22 to July 25. Boeheim’s Army, as the Syracuse region’s No. 1 seed, will kick things off at 7 pm on Friday, July 22, against No. 8 seed and new TBT squad India Rising.

ESPN will televise this match-up in the round of 64. The Final Four and championship contest of this summer’s TBD will transpire in Dayton, Ohio, on July 30 and August 2, respectively.

With 63 other groups also vying for that hefty pile of cash, Boeheim’s Army by no means will have an easy time repeating its TBT glory from a year ago.

But undeniably, the 2022 Boeheim’s Army roster is talented, more than capable of making another deep run, and filled with Orange fan favorites.

The Boeheim’s Army line-up is evenly balanced between former Syracuse basketball players and other stars.

By my count, the 2022 Boeheim’s Army roster has nine players, five of whom are former ‘Cuse guys and four others who didn’t suit up on the Hill.

On the Orange side, returning from 2021 are shooting guard Andrew White III and wing C.J. Fair. White is lethal from deep, while Fair is one of the winningest players in Syracuse basketball history, earning All-America honors during his senior year, the 2013-14 campaign.

New to the Boeheim’s Army line-up are three of the best ‘Cuse players in recent program history. They are point guard Tyler Ennis, big man Rakeem Christmas and big man Marek Dolezaj.

Ennis steered the ship in 2013-14, when Syracuse basketball raced out of the gates at 25-0, and he became a first-round NBA Draft selection.

In 2014-15, Christmas was an All-American. He played on an Elite Eight and a Final Four team in Central New York. Dolezaj does all of the little things that don’t always show up in the box score, but he makes his teammates better.

Wings D.J. Kennedy and DeAndre Kane, who captured multiple TBT titles with Overseas Elite before helping Boeheim’s Army cut down the nets in 2021, are back.

Kennedy played collegiate ball at St. John’s, while Kane went to Iowa State and Marshall.

Non-Orange alumni also on the Boeheim’s Army roster this summer are point guard Dee Bost from Mississippi State and talented Canadian big man Kyle Wiltjer, who competed for powerhouses Kentucky and Gonzaga in college.

There are a bunch of new guys within the Boeheim’s Army line-up in 2022, and hopefully, all of these players can quickly form a cohesive unit.

Syracuse basketball fanatics like myself have a lot of recent ‘Cuse favorites to cheer on this summer, as Boeheim’s Army eyes making another large monetary deposit into its proverbial vault.