Watching Boeheim’s Army got me thinking. If we could combine all eras what would be the best Syracuse basketball starting five ever. To make it more interesting, lets throw a budget on it.
You have $15. Go ahead and make your Syracuse basketball All-Time starting lineup.
Guard #1                                                  Guard #2                          Wing/Forward
$5: Pearl Washington                         $5:Dave Bing                     $5: Carmelo Anthony
$4: Sherman Douglas                        $4:Gerry McNamara         $4: Billy Owens
$3: Lawrence Moten                         $3: Stevie Thompson          $3: C.J. Fair
$2: Jason Hart                                 $2: Preston Shumpert           $2: Eric Devendorf
$1: Jonny Flynn                               $1: Dennis DuVal                   $1: Wes Johnson
Forward                                                    Center
$5: Derrick Coleman                     $5: Roosevelt Bouie
$4: John Wallace                            $4: Hakim Warrick
$3: Louis Orr                                    $3: Rony Seikaly
$2: Leo Rautins                                $2: Bill Smith
$1: Rafael Addison                           $1: Etan Thomas 
My lineup: G Mac, Moten, Wes Johnson, Melo, Bill Smith 
I kept trying to make one without G Mac, but he’s just too hard to pass up. My $5 purchase went to Melo for kinda the same reason. Then, I get the program’s all-time leading scorer and Big East all-time leading scorer for that matter with my $3 value. Wes Johnson is a steal for one dollar. He gives me some added size at the top of the zone and spreads the floor out even more on offense for Melo and G Mac to score in isolation or occasionally kick to him in the corner when the defense collapses. Finally, Bill Smith to anchor down the back half of the zone is not a bad choice at all.
Modern Lineup (2003-present): Alright same rules, $15 to pick an All-Orange team of the past 15 years.
Guard #1                                                    Guard #2                           Wing/Forward
$5: Jonny Flynn                                       $5: G Mac                          $5: C.J. Fair
$4: MCW                                                  $4: Eric Devendorf           $4: Dion Waiters
$3: Tyler Ennis                                        $3: Tyus Battle                 $3: Demetris Nichols
$2: Brandon Triche                               $2: Andy Rautins              $2: Kris Joseph
$1: Michael Gbinije                                $1: Trevor Cooney             $1: Scoop Jardine
Forward                                                           Center
$5: Melo                                                 $5: Hakim Warrick
$4: Wes Johnson                                 $4: Rakeem Christmas
$3: Jerami Grant                                  $3: Tyler Lydon
$2: Donte Greene                                 $2: Fab Melo
$1: Oshae Brissett                                $1: James Southerland
My lineup: Ennis, G Mac, Battle, Oshae, Lydon
For the modern Syracuse rendition, I had to stay true to the modern brand of spread it out and jack threes basketball. I tweaked the rules a little to pair the three cold-blooded killers of G Mac, Ennis,¬† and Battle together in the backcourt. We might lack a little size, but we’re not losing any close games with all those clutch genes on one team. To round it out in the front court, I’ve got the classic stretch four and prototypical stretch five. As long as we don’t draw a Carolina or some team that can bully us on the boards in the title game, we’re set.
Agree/Disagree with my lineup(s)? Comment below or tweet @OrangeFizz what your time machine influenced 2-3 zone would look like and why.
