Lazarus Sims (pictured with John Wallace – right) was part of the glorious ’96 Final Four – a run for Syracuse no one saw coming.
John Wallace put the team on his shoulders, Jason Cipollo knocked down miraculous shots and the late Al Maguire danced with the Orange all the way to East Rutherford.
But Sims did this year’s SU team no favors when he dropped this in comparison to other great teams in program history on¬†Stewart Mandel from Sports Illustrated:
“The way they play defense, they’re on that level. If they fall short of the Final Four, you really can’t justify the season, because they’re a Final Four team.”
Uh, great. Thanks Laz.
Look, if SU loses in dramatic fashion, in some instant classic against Kansas State -¬†The Fizz thinks even an Elite 8 appearance “justifies” this season. We’d all love a Final Four. Even better – a second national championship for The Per’fesser.
But saying this season is a failure if there’s no Final Four is a little much, especially now that we know there’s no A.O. for at least tonight’s game.
Which makes the Butler Bulldogs all that much scarier.
The Horizon League Big Dawgs have no problem hoisting the three – and have played Giant Killer to a tee in Madness past.
If Wes and Andy are hitting their shots tonight – maybe they’ll make Laz’s proclamation ring true.
