I made it in the hall...after paying $8.50 I know it’s the time of the year for College Football to start swinging. This very weekend the Orange begin their campaign at Wake Forrest. Therefore this notebook was of course covering all the hoopla associated with it, as well as the ridiculously talented special teams unit the Orange possesses. However, as much as I enjoy football (and apparently must cover it in the absence of the talented Mr. Glaude), I thought I’d make a return to writing for this chronicle by talking about my recent and first time visit to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. Everyone this time of year could use a Boeheim fix.
There are a lot of interesting connections between the Basketball Hall of Fame and Syracuse. Not just the university, but the city as well. For instance, the 24 second shot clock was invented in Syracuse by the then Syracuse Nationals (eventually to be the Philadelphia 76ers) owner Danny Biasone. A founding father of the NBA, some maintain that it is still the most significant rule change to the NBA.
There are a lot of interesting connections between the Basketball Hall of Fame and Syracuse. Not just the university, but the city as well. For instance, the 24 second shot clock was invented in Syracuse by the then Syracuse Nationals (eventually to be the Philadelphia 76ers) owner Danny Biasone. A founding father of the NBA, some maintain that it is still the most significant rule change to the NBA.
Before there was the NCAA Tournament, and the beloved “March Madness” we all enjoy while we fill out our brackets, Syracuse University actually won the “National Championship”. Led by Hall of Famer Vic Hanson, the team apparently won everything you could win at that time in 1926. Whatever that means. Nothing was too clear as to what this meant then.
Next is Syracuse great Dave Bing, a member of the Orangemen from 1962 to 1966. His senior season, while being co-captain with Jim Boeheim, was named consensus All American. He was fifth in the nation in scoring his senior season (28.4ppg). Other career highlights include being named NBA Rookie of the Year in 1967, as well as being named one of the 50 greatest NBA players in history. He was named MVP of the All Star game in 1976 as well. Bing was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1990. Being more then qualified, he got to help induct his former teammate Jim Boeheim into the hall in 2005.
Finally, Jim Boeheim finally got his ticket punched to the hall in September of 2005. He was inducted with friend and rival Jim Calhoun. While regular readers of this notebook probably know the full annals of Boeheim’s career, I’ll provide some highlights anyway:
NCAA Championship in 2003, 3 Final Four Appearances, Big East Coach of the
Year 3 times, USA Basketball Coach of the Year in 2001, overall Lord and
Master of the 2-3 Zone Defense.
Needless to say, he deserved a trip to Springfield. It was an enjoyable day and pretty cool to see the rich history of basketball. If you love the game, college basketball, or the NBA, you’ve got to see it for yourself. You can check out who is enshrined and everything else about the hall here. And it was nice to see a little piece of Syracuse now that I’m not there anymore.
Oh, and one more thing...
Say hello to your captain.
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