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Orange Nation is very proud of Syracuse basketball’s accomplishments, and why not?
The team wins every year. With Jim Boeheim at the helm for nearly four decades, his style of coaching has worked for his players and is a Hall of Famer. He has a legacy of success. This had led to the nation’s top recruits wanting to play in Syracuse. The coaching staff makes these players desirable to the NBA Рjust look at the track record of lottery picks recently.
Earlier this week, Syracuse was said to be the most hated basketball program in three states РMaine, Connecticut and Rhode Island. There is a few reasons that comes to mind for these New England-area three states: UConn and the old rivalry between Boston College and Syracuse. Plus, the Orange wins. And wins a lot. And we let people know it.
The term “hated” might be a little bit of a stretch. The players and coaches aren’t really hated; probably more annoyance. People do not like Syracuse‚Äôs consistent winning. It‚Äôs also the attention. The Orange get a lot of it because of its success, the Carrier Dome, the NBA lottery picks, and Boeheim‚Äôs famous 2-3 zone. Syracuse basketball is similar to the legacy the New York Yankees have in baseball.
Sound like another college team?
Duke is another commonly hated team, and for some of the same reasons as Syracuse. The Blue Devils always seem to win and get on national TV. Mike Krzyzewski always has some of the top recruits and Duke are often a championship favorite when the preseason rankings come out. And of course, Duke has more Final Fours and titles than Syracuse.
And so these two newly-minted rivals are a lot alike in this instance. So think about those feelings. These two teams always seem to be on top of their conference. 
Although frustrating for some, the Syracuse basketball legacy is what makes college basketball great. For Syracuse and Duke to play in the same conference and to play twice in a college basketball season… that is great too.¬†It is top talent against top talent and although some people may dislike both of the teams, Syracuse is a strong team for the reasons why people may dislike Syracuse.
Posted: Austin Pollack
