Syracuse Basketball: As Boeheim's Army eyes $1M, Buddy Boeheim is a favorite for MVP

Buddy Buckets has an opportunity to make a splash this summer in the annual The Basketball Tournament ("TBT").

Former Syracuse basketball star Buddy Boeheim, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard, will suit up for Boeheim's Army for the first time, starting next month, and he's already garnering buzz as a potential break-out performer at the 64-team, $1 million winner-take-all event.

Per a post on X from TBT, Boeheim is in a tie with former Kentucky star center Willie Cauley-Stein for the No. 2 spot regarding odds to capture the tournament's MVP honors in 2025. Former Louisville power forward Montrezl Harrell, who won a national championship in 2013, has best odds to win MVP.

Other former Atlantic Coast Conference standouts who are in the MVP conversation, as far as odds go, include point guard Russ Smith, an All-American at Louisville who led the Cardinals on that 2013 title run, and big man DJ Burns, who was a key contributor as N.C. State went on a miraculous journey as a double-digit seed to the Final Four in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Buddy Boeheim's production will be critical for Boeheim's Army in the TBT.

Without question, 3-point shooting is paramount to contend for a TBT crown, and Boeheim's Army hasn't always been stellar from beyond the arc. Boeheim coming on board this summer is huge for the squad, which captured the TBT grand prize back in 2021.

Boeheim, while on the Hill, caught fire in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, as the No. 11 seed 'Cuse reached the Sweet 16. In his SU career, he finished as a top-15 scorer in program history, made the second-most 3-pointers ever with the Orange (309), and connected on a solid 36.18 percent from downtown.

Since his college career culminated, Boeheim has spent most of his playing days in the NBA's G League, first with the Detroit Pistons affiliate, Motor City Cruise, and then with Oklahoma City Blue, an affiliate of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Per his bio on the G League's Web site, Boeheim over the past three seasons has averaged 13.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game while making 41.4 percent from the field, a strong 38.5 percent from 3-point range and 87.0 percent from the free-throw line.

The full Boeheim's Army roster includes six former Syracuse basketball players. They are Buddy Boeheim, forward Jimmy Boeheim, center Rakeem Christmas, big man Chris McCullough, shooting guard Malachi Richardson and wing Elijah Hughes.

To date, the team's three non-Orange players are point guard Jacob Gilyard from Richmond, power forward Nick Perkins from Buffalo and center Noah Starkey from Southern Nazarene.

Syracuse basketball assistant Allen Griffin is the head coach of Boeheim's Army, Jim Boeheim is the squad's head coach emeritus, and Adam Weitsman, the businessman and philanthropist, will serve as chairman.

There are eight TBT regional sites this summer, and Syracuse is one of them, with games taking place from July 19 to July 23 at the SRC Arena on the campus of Onondaga Community College.