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In Syracuse’s season finale, Buddy Boeheim sat solemnly on the bench while his teammates pushed Duke to the brink of an upset in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals. Buddy was suspended for one game after punching Florida State’s Wyatt Wilkes in the chest in the previous game. 

Sitting next to his brother Jimmy and father Jim in the postgame press conference, a teary-eyed Buddy apologized for his actions and reflected on his four years playing for the program he grew up in.

“Playing at Syracuse these last four years, wearing this jersey, representing this school, my family, myself, it’s meant everything to me,” Buddy said. “Forget how many points I scored. Forget all that, the numbers. Being able to play here and just put a smile on someone’s face, being able to interact with fans — every day has been a dream come true.”

Buddy leaves Syracuse after four years having scored 1,765 points with 309 made 3-pointers. He also led the ACC in scoring this season with 19.2 points per game. After coming to Syracuse as a three-star recruit, Buddy leaves with the second-most 3-pointers in school history, looking to pursue a professional basketball career.

Here are some of people’s favorite memories of Buddy on and off the court:

Jeff Ike, Buddy’s former high school coach, Jamesville-DeWitt

Ike remembers Buddy as a “contradictory” player, one who worked incredibly hard on the court, but also as a happy, fun-loving kid that could flip the switch as soon as he stepped on the court. He also added that Buddy was the, “biggest SpongeBob SquarePants fan of all time,” since he wore Spongebob socks in every game for his two years playing for Ike.

In a crunch game at Westhill High School during Buddy’s junior year, Jamesville-DeWitt was in overtime in what Ike remembered as a hostile environment. As Buddy stepped up for two big free throws, a familiar tune rang from the student section.

“The student section was singing the SpongeBob SquarePants theme song trying to distract him while he was shooting foul shots,” Ike said. “(But) he knocked both of them down and made a couple more later on in the overtime to seal it.”

A unique path to Syracuse.
A unique career.
A unique person.

Thank you for letting us all be part of it @Buddy_Boeheim35 :tangerine::orange_heart: pic.twitter.com/DonXZePmbb

— Syracuse Men’s Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) March 4, 2022

Ike remembered Buddy being locked in during the game, unfazed by the opposing student section. But after the game, Ike, his assistant coaches and all the players were laughing about the scenes during the game. Since then, Ike has seen Buddy play a big role for Syracuse, which has helped his program grow.

“What (Buddy and Jimmy are) doing now is continuing to help our program,” Ike said. “The work and the effort that they’ve put in for their whole life to get to where they’re at … it’s still paying dividends in our program to this day.”

Terrence Echols, former high school teammate 

Echols and Buddy played youth baseball and basketball before playing alongside each other at Jamesville-DeWitt. Echols’ favorite memory with Buddy came on the court during Echols’ senior year in 2017, when Buddy scored 40 points in their regional championship game against Lansingburgh High School.

“That’s something that I’ll remember for as long as I can remember,” Echols said. “He put the entire central New York area on notice (about) the type of player he was with dropping 40 points in that regional championship game.”

Their day started with Echols going over to Buddy’s house to get shots up, like they did on most game days. Echols said he and Buddy both got nervous before games but Buddy was never the type to show his nerves.

Coincidentally, Echols remembers his team started out in a 2-3 zone with the entire team starting hot on offense. By this point, Jimmy had graduated, so the team’s offense revolved around Buddy and Echols said Buddy was scoring from all over the court with “a whole bunch of crazy shots.”

It wasn’t until after the win that Echols and the rest of the team realized how many points Buddy scored. Echols remembered looking up at the monitor and seeing the number 40 next to Buddy’s name. The team rushed Buddy in celebration after his efforts to secure the crucial win.

“There’s a picture … of me jumping into his arms right after we had won,” Echols said. “Every time I look at that picture I just get really happy and I remember that moment. It was probably the best moment I had as his high school teammate.”

Jonathan Danilich, Otto’s Army senior advisor and former Otto’s Army President

Both Danilich and Buddy arrived at SU in 2018. Danilich remembers the expectations on campus for Buddy being fairly low his freshman year as most people thought Buddy would just be a sixth man. But after breaking out at the ACC Tournament in 2019, Danilich said things started to change.

A native of Charlottesville, Virginia, Danilich estimated about half of his graduating high school class went on to attend the University of Virginia, James Madison University or Virginia Tech. Both his parents are also UVA fans, and with UVA and VT both being in the ACC, those games mean more to Danilich.

On Jan. 11, 2020, Danilich attended the kind of game he said he hated to watch in the moment. UVA was the defending national champions, and hosted Syracuse at John Paul Jones Arena, where SU had not won since 2007.

Then, with just about 80 seconds left in overtime and Syracuse up five, Joe Girard III threw a pass behind Buddy. With just four seconds left on the shot clock, Buddy quickly collected the ball and rose for a one-handed 3-pointer with a defender draped all over him. Buddy’s shot banked in and sunk the dagger into Cavaliers fans in the arena.

“I remember him walking down the court with that little smug look on his face like, ‘There’s no way that should have gone in but it did,’” Danilich said.

Matt Park, Voice of the Orange

As the Voice of the Orange since 2004, Park has watched dozens of players filter through Syracuse. His favorite stretch of games with Buddy came during last year’s NCAA Tournament run to the Sweet Sixteen, where “he just was lights out for a two or three-week stretch.” But for all of Buddy’s exploits on the court, it’s his interactions with the fans that Park really remembers.

Earlier this season, Syracuse traveled to Cameron Indoor Stadium to take on then-No. 6 Duke. The Orange were blown out by 20 points and Buddy struggled, scoring just seven points on 1-for-10 shooting from 3. But after the game, Park recalled walking out to the bus and seeing a young boy with his father waiting to take a picture with Buddy.

Park remembers watching Buddy taking the time to stop and smile for a photo with the kid before continuing onto the bus.

“That kid doesn’t know or care that Buddy had one of his worst games of the year,” Park said. “(But) Buddy is not going to let that impact his interaction with the kid. He knows that the kid looks up to him and is always going to remember him.”

Park credits Buddy literally growing up within the program as the reason why he understands the relationship with fans so much. For some fans, that game at Duke might be the only game they see in person all year, Park said.

“All along (he) was just a guy from our area and a fan of the program before he was ever a player in it,” Park said. “He’s going to leave quite the legacy.”

Jim Boeheim, SU head coach and Buddy’s father

Despite finishing under .500 for the first time in his 46-year tenure, Boeheim said this year was the best season he has ever had in coaching. After the ACC Tournament loss to Duke, Boeheim recounted some of his memories of his two sons.

He remembered the days when he’d come home postgame and watch tapes with a then-4-year-old Buddy. Sometimes Buddy would watch them on his own. Boeheim said that back then, he didn’t think Buddy would ever make it to Syracuse, let alone lead the ACC in scoring.

“How many guys get to play at Syracuse from upstate New York? Not many,” Boeheim said. “We’ve had a handful in my 46 years. So I didn’t think he would get there, (but) he wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

One game Boeheim will never forget came at the Peach Jam basketball tournament. Buddy and Girard faced Penny Hardaway’s No. 1 AAU team in the nation. Boeheim remembered Buddy hitting seven 3s and Girard adding five of his own to give their team a big win.

“Roy Williams walked by and said, ‘You’d better take that kid.’ And this coach from Penny came by and said, ‘What was that about? What were they doing?’ I said, ‘Well, you didn’t guard him,’” Boeheim said laughing. “But that’s when I decided we were going to take Buddy.”

Buddy Boeheim

As he departs Syracuse, Buddy said he has experienced a plethora of memorable moments. But when asked about his favorite memory from his final season, both Buddy and his dad agreed that it was playing alongside Jimmy. Buddy singled out Syracuse’s double-overtime win over Indiana as his favorite game this season for that reason.

“It was one of (Jimmy’s) first big games against a real good team,” Buddy said. “Just a lot of emotions really kind of sunk in, that I was playing with my brother out there and just a special moment, having fans back, especially after last year.”

But after growing up watching his dad coach the program and working his way all the way up to being the focal point of his dad’s team, Buddy said it’s the little things he’ll miss the most.

“The bus rides, talking to my dad after games, working out with (Gerry McNamara) before practice for an hour every day,” Buddy said. “I can’t put it into words how much it’s meant to me to play here. I’ve worked my whole life to play here … I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Published on March 23, 2022 at 9:16 pm

Contact Gaurav: gshetty@syr.edu