Draft:Syracuse University's 2003 National Basketball Championship Run

Jim Boeheim (Head C0ach)

Jim Boeheim coached the Syracuse Men’s Basketball team from 1976 until 2023. During his time as coach he won Big East Coach of the Year (4x), NABC District II Coach of the Year (10x), USBWA District Coach of the Year (4x), the Claire Bee Award and USA Basketball National Coach of the Year. He also became the Olympic team coach whose team successfully won 3 gold medals and in addition 2 world cups. His start at Syracuse precedes all his coaching accolades. In 1962, Boeheim became a walk-on for the team and by senior season he was named a captain. In 1969 he then went on to become a graduate assistant coach for SU and then finally in 1976 he became head coach of the Orangemen.

2003 Roster

2003 Syracuse Men's Basketball Roster

Player	Number	Class	Position	Key Player
Hakim Warrick	1	Sophomore	Forward	*
Gerry McNamara	3	Freshman	Guard	*
Xzavier Gaines	4	Sophomore	Guard
Josh Pace	5	Sophomore	Guard/Forward	*
Andrew Kouwe	10	Junior	Guard
Ronneil Herron	11	Junior	Guard
Kueth Duany	13	Senior	Guard/Forward	*
Billy Edelin	14	Freshman	Guard	*
Carmelo Anthony	15	Freshman	Forward	*
Josh Brooks	21	Junior	Forward
Gary Hall	23	Junior	Forward
Matt Gorman	24	Freshman	Forward
Jeremy McNeil	34	Junior	Forward	*
Craig Forth	51	Sophomore	Center	*

March Madness (NCAA College Basketball Tournament)

March Madness, division 1 college basketball playoffs, originated in 1939, with the University of Oregon winning the first ever official tournament. The first tournament only consisted of 8 teams but over the years March Madness has grown and 68 teams now participate. Those 68 teams are seeded (ranked) by a committee based on stats and rankings etc. From then, 2 rounds get played, leaving 64 teams left, which then get split into 4 regions of 16 teams. March Madness has certain nicknames for the rounds of the tournament. The Sweet Sixteen is the 3rd round (16 teams left), Elite Eight is the fourth round (8 teams left), Final Four (4 teams/semifinal), and then finally the championship game. Syracuse was ranked 3rd going into the 2003 tournament.

Syracuse vs Manhattan (First Round)

Date: 3/21/2003

Location: FleetCenter, Boston, Mass. (TD Garden)

Score: 76-65 Syracuse

Syracuse Leading Scorers: Anthony(17), Edelin(15), McNamara(11)

Manhattan Leading Scorers: Johnson(22), Flores(20), Holmes(14)

In the first round of Syracuse's historic run, they were set to play Manhattan, who were ranked 14. Leading into the second half, Syracuse was up by 4 points with a score of 35-31. Syracuse made 57.7% of their shots in the second half, while Manhattan made only 36.1%. The game ended with a win for Syracuse, putting them into the next round. Syracuse was led by freshman forward Carmelo Anthony, who scored 17 points. Manhattan's Jared Johnson led all scorers with 22 points, going 9-13 in field goals.

Syracuse vs Oklahoma State (Second Round)

Date: 3/23/2003

Location: FleetCenter, Boston, Mass. (TD Garden)

Score: 68-56 Syracuse

Syracuse Leading Scorers: Edelin(20), McNamara(14), Anthony(13)

Oklahoma State Leading Scorers: McFarlin(14), Williams(13)

Within the first couple minutes of the game, Oklahoma state held a 27-10 lead against Cuse. Boeheim was forced to call a timeout and use his bench to pull off a full court press to lessen the lead. Edelin and Pace combined for 18 points and McNeil was strong in the paint, rejecting multiple shot attempts. Anthony and McNamara went 0-12 in the first half. At half the lead was 31-25, Oklahoma State. With 14 minutes left in the game, Syracuse took the lead making it 40-39, a close game. The lead was then again overturned to 43-40 but Warrick made two free throws and Anthony hit a 3 point shot. McNamara sealed the game by hitting 3, 3 pointers, making the score 64-52, with around two minutes left. Oklahoma State was led by Ivan McFarlin and Victor Williams. McFarlin totaled 14 and Williams added 13 to the board. Anthony ended with 13 points, McNamara 14 and Edelin, 12 points in the first half and 8 in the second, totaling 20. The game ended with a score of 68-56 and Syracuse advanced to the next round.

Syracuse vs Auburn (Sweet 16)

Date: 3/28/2003

Location: MVP Arena, Albany, NY

Score: 78-79 Syracuse

Syracuse Leading Scorers: Anthony(18), Warrick(15). Pace(14), Duany(12)

Auburn Leading Scorers: Daniels(27)

Syracuse led by 17 in the first half. The Auburn Tigers, the 10 seed, would not quit and kept closing the gap on the lead. The Tigers played a 3-2 zone defense, to limit Anthony's scoring abilities. He still finished with 18 points, 11 in the final 8 minutes. In the last 78 seconds, Auburn made 3, 3 pointers. They were led by Marquis Daniels, who scored 27 points, went 12-21 and got 9 rebounds. This was a close game right until the very end. Syracuse only won by 1 point. Duany saved the game by hitting both his free throws in the last 30 seconds of the game. He was the only senior on this championship team, and brought them to the next round.

Syracuse vs Oklahoma (Elite 8)

Date: 3/30/2003

Location: MVP Arena, Albany, NY

Score: 63-47 Syracuse

Syracuse Leading Scorers: Anthony(21), Warrick(12)

Oklahoma Leading Scorers: Alexander(16), Price(12)

Oklahoma was the 1 seed for the 2003 March Madness Tournament. Syracuse's game plan was more defense based than usual and went right at the Sooners. The guards for Oklahoma, Hollis Prince and Quannas (both seniors) turned the ball over 9 times and the team ended with 19 turnovers. Syracuse played a strong 2-3 zone that caused the Sooners to shoot only 31% and Prince's game was shut out. He missed the first 6 shots and then didn't start scoring again until later in the second half. Boeheim stated that this was definitely the teams best defensive game all season.

Syracuse vs Texas (Final 4)

Date: 4/5/2003

Location: Superdome, New Orleans, LA

Score: 95-84 Syracuse

Syracuse Leading Scorers: Anthony(33), McNamara(19), Warrick(18)

Texas Leading Scorers: Mouton(25), Buckman(14), Ford(12)

Carmelo Anthony once again proved to be one of the nation's best college basketball players, while only a freshman, with his performance against Texas. He scored 33 points, a season high and had 14 rebounds. McNamara added 19 and Warrick 18. Syracuse was up by 3 at half, 48-45. They once again played a 2-3 zone but that couldn't keep the longhorns away. T.J Ford had 12 points and sliced through the Orangemen defense with 13 assists. Mouton had 25 points and Brad Buckman was a presence in the paint with 14 points. The Longhorns shot 42.9% in the 2nd half but it wasn't enough to pull over a win and advance to the championship game. The ending score was 95 to 84 with Syracuse winning another game.

Syracuse vs Kansas (National Championship Game)

Date: 4/7/2003

Location: Superdome, New Orleans, LA

Score: 81-78 Syracuse

Syracuse Leading Scorers: Anthony(20), McNamara(18), Edelin(12)

Kansas Leading Scorers: Collinson(19), Langford(19), Hinrich(16), Graves(16)

In the first half, Syracuse held a 9 point lead, 53-42.In the second half Kansas outscored Cuse, 36 to 28 but couldn't catch up and the game finished 81-78 Syracuse. With 1.5 seconds left in the game, Duany blocked Lee's 3 point shot attempt, securing the National Championship title for Syracuse University's 2003 Men's Basketball team. Kansas was led by Nick Collinson and Keith Langford, who both scored 19 points in their final game of the season. The Jayhawks ended their season being 30-8 and Syracuse, 30-5. This went on to being Boeheim's first championship.

The Future of the Team

Most of the players on this championship team went to play basketball beyond the collegiate level, some became NBA players, others went overseas and some ended their careers with being March Madness Champions. Anthony only spent one year playing basketball at Syracuse and declared for the NBA draft. He was selected 3rd to the Denver Nuggets and eventually landed himself on the Knicks, where he made his mark on the city within 7 seasons, played for the Rockets for a season, Trailblazers for a season and finally after one season retired as a Laker in 2022. He has been in multiple All Star games and made numerous All-NBA teams. He arguably was the most successful player to come out of this Syracuse team. He also donated 3 million dollars back to Syracuse to build what is now known as the Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center. Jerry McNamara also won a 2006 title at Syracuse. He played in the NBA developmental team and overseas. He retired in 2009 and became a Coach for the Orangemen shortly after. Warrick was picked 19th in the 2005 NBA draft and played for the Grizzlies, Bucks, Bulls and Suns. Duany played overseas ball and for the NBDL. Forth went on to play in Slovakia and the NBDL. McNeil played for the ABA and NBDL. Edelin left Syracuse in 2005 and never really reached his full potential. Pace played in New Zealand and ABA. Coach Jim Boeheim retired from coaching after 47 seasons at Syracuse. He is now working with ESPN.

References

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