Syracuse Basketball: Boeheim’s Army changes, Jim Boeheim in the house
By Neil Adler
Boeheim’s Army, that collection of former Syracuse basketball players and others, will make its debut in the 2023 The Basketball Tournament (“TBT”) on Monday night, and former Orange head coach Jim Boeheim will be in the house.
On Monday evening, beginning at 7 pm and nationally broadcast on ESPN, Boeheim’s Army will take on Team Gibson as part of the Syracuse regional site from the Upstate Medical University Arena at the Oncenter War Memorial.
In this regional, Boeheim’s Army is the No. 2 seed, while Team Gibson is the No. 7 seed. Boeheim’s Army won the 2021 version of the TBT, a winner-take-all, $1 million annual summer event.
According to a tweet from Boeheim’s Army on Monday afternoon, Jim Boeheim is expected to attend Monday night’s encounter. The team is named after him, and one of his sons, Jimmy Boeheim, is on the 2023 roster.
https://twitter.com/BoeheimsArmy/status/1683529627275280390
Jim Boeheim, a Hall of Famer, retired as the long-time head coach of Syracuse basketball this past March. It’s super cool that he will cheer on his army on Monday night, and I hope he gets a wonderful reception from fellow ‘Cuse fans who are in attendance.
The Boeheim’s Army fan base on Monday evening will include former Syracuse basketball boss Jim Boeheim.
On July 22, Boeheim’s Army sent out a tweet, where it disclosed its full 2023 TBT roster. Missing from the tweet is former Syracuse basketball star Tyus Battle, an immensely popular shooting guard.
https://twitter.com/thetournament/status/1682770481852604417
He was previously part of the team’s line-up. Syracuse.com’s Donna Ditota reported on Monday that Battle will, unfortunately, not play for Boeheim’s Army this summer. That’s a bummer for sure.
Point guard Matt Morgan, a high-scoring Cornell alumnus, will also not be available, according to a tweet from Boeheim’s Army. Reports also seem to indicate that former Syracuse basketball shooting guard Malachi Richardson will also not suit up for the team in the 2023 TBT.
Super disappointed that Matt won’t be able to join us for TBT 23’ He was super excited to be back in 🍊 He just signed a new contract overseas and the team did not permit him to play in TBT 23’ https://t.co/kZrMRIRJGW
— Boeheim's Army (@BoeheimsArmy) July 23, 2023
Other former Orange players on the roster, besides Jimmy Boeheim (forward), include Andrew White III (wing), BJ Johnson (small forward), Paschal Chukwu (center), Chris McCullough (power forward) and Rakeem Christmas (power forward/center).
Non-SU alumni on the 2023 roster are point guard Dwight Buycks Jr. (Marquette), wing DeAndre Kane (Marshall and Iowa State), point guard Grant Riller (College of Charleston), small forward Jamil Wilson (Marquette and Oregon), shooting guard Jordan Roland (Northeastern) and point guard Justin Robinson (Monmouth).
If my math is correct, which is never a given, this squad has 12 players on its 2023 TBT roster, with six Syracuse basketball alumni and six guys who competed for other college teams.
The Syracuse regional runs until July 28, with the winner of this site advancing to the TBT quarterfinal round. Good luck to Boeheim’s Army on Monday night and (hopefully) beyond!
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