All-time Syracuse basketball greats who I'd want to play with in EA Sports video game

Late last month, there were rumblings that video-game developers EA Sports and 2K Games may get back into the college basketball market.

EA Sports, for one, had a post on X that suggested it may develop a college basketball video game for the first time dating back to 2009, according to this article from The Associated Press.

2K Games, meanwhile, issued a statement that it is "exploring exciting new ways to bring athletes and schools to life," according to the AP story.

Fun things.

This got me thinking. If I could play a college basketball video game, and I could choose from any current or former Syracuse basketball players, who would I choose?

These are Syracuse basketball players I'd like to use in a future college hoops video game.

Given that I went to Syracuse University in the late 1990s, graduating in 2000, I'm somewhat old school. Thus, the first two guys that come to mind, for me, are point guard Dave Bing and guard Jim Boeheim. Now, a lot of folks think of Boeheim as the legendary head coach, but he also played for the Orange back in the day, alongside Bing, who would have a Hall of Fame career on the Hill and in the NBA.

Also up high on my list is the late point guard Pearl Washington (love you, Pearl). The famed New York City product was a key recruit in helping propel Syracuse basketball to a national brand, while also significantly boosting the visibility of the Big East Conference in the mid-1980s.

One of the golden eras for 'Cuse hoops arrived from 2009 to 2014, as Syracuse basketball put forth several tremendous seasons. Three of my favorite players from that era were point guard Brandon Triche, forward C.J. Fair and wing James Southerland.

Another more recent favorite of mine is Eric Devendorf, a guard who has tremendous toughness. These days, I love what Eric does for the greater Syracuse and Central New York communities.

If we're thinking about power forwards and centers, two of my favs are Rony Seikaly and Billy Owens. I started at SU in 1996, a few months after the Orange had made that fabulous run to the national championship game the prior spring, where the 'Cuse hung with Kentucky before losing by nine points. So I have to include the architect of that Syracuse basketball journey, forward John Wallace.

Naturally, I'd be remiss if I didn't include phenomenal forward Carmelo Anthony, who guided the Orange to its only national title in 2003. Melo has also entered legendary status in the video game world, as I noted in another recent column.

By extension, I'd want to play the video game with stellar shooting guard Lawrence Moten, who is the all-time leading scorer for Syracuse basketball and also is, like me, from the DMV.

Finally, if I'm picking a current Orange player, I'll roll with another Washington, D.C., area guy, rising sophomore power forward Donnie Freeman.