Syracuse Basketball: It's been a magical season for Felisha Legette-Jack and 'Cuse

Former Syracuse basketball star Felisha Legette-Jack, in her second season leading the Orange as the team’s head coach, has guided ‘Cuse to a truly remarkable 2023-24 campaign to date, although SU coaches and players have even bigger goals that lie ahead.

Legette-Jack, this week, was named the Atlantic Coast Conference coach of the year for 2023-24, a testament to what the Orange has accomplished thus far in the current stanza.

Additionally, fifth-year guard and prolific scorer Dyaisha Fair resides on the All-ACC first team, and forward Alyssa Latham is on the league’s All-Freshman squad.

All of these honors are incredible and so well-deserved. ‘Cuse Nation is extremely proud of Syracuse basketball and excited for what hopefully will prove a deep post-season run for the Orange.

A fabulous 2023-24 for Syracuse basketball and head coach Felisha Legette-Jack.

In some respects, the current term has been a historic one for the ‘Cuse. The Orange, for one, has defeated multiple ranked opponents.

Syracuse basketball finished the 2023-24 regular season at 23-6 overall and 13-5 in league affairs. Ranked No. 20 nationally in both major polls this week, the Orange in 2023-24 has tied program records for regular-season victories (23), conference triumphs (13) and ACC road conquests (6), according to SU Athletics.

Earning the No. 3 seed in the ACC Tournament, the ‘Cuse will play its first game in this annual event on Friday, March 8, beginning at 7:30 pm, as part of the quarterfinal round. For some context, ahead of 2023-24, Syracuse basketball was picked to finish at No. 9 in the conference race.

Should Syracuse basketball have a lot of success in the ACC Tournament, the Orange will be a significant contender for a top-four seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, and if that occurred, the ‘Cuse would have the chance to host some early round contests in March Madness at the JMA Wireless Dome.

Legette-Jack is the first Syracuse basketball men’s or women’s head coach to receive ACC coach of the year honors.

The 5-foot-5 Fair, who is from nearby Rochester, N.Y., is the first Orange player to be named to the All-ACC first team in consecutive terms since Tiana Mangakahia in 2018 and 2019.

The 6-foot-2 Latham, who hails from Glenwood, Ill., becomes the first Syracuse women’s basketball player to make the ACC’s All-Freshman squad dating back to Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi in 2019.

Legette-Jack returned to lead her alma mater in the 2022-23 season, and the Orange claimed 20 victories and reached the NIT’s Super 16. Currently, the ‘Cuse is poised to return to the Big Dance for the first time since 2021.

Fair, fifth all-time in Division I women’s basketball scoring with an astounding 3,328 career points, is this term averaging 22.0 points 4.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.3 steals per game.

A top-100 recruit per ESPN HoopGurlz, Latham is averaging 8.8 points per contest, along with ‘Cuse leads of 7.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per meeting.

Legette-Jack and her roster have already made history in 2023-24, and I can’t wait to see what Syracuse basketball does in the upcoming ACC and NCAA Tournaments.