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Former Syracuse basketball player and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Dave Bing will join the university’s ring of honor, Syracuse Athletics announced. He will officially be inducted on Jan. 27, 2024 when Syracuse plays NC State. Bing, a teammate of former head coach Jim Boeheim, helped Syracuse become a basketball powerhouse when he joined the team in 1962.

During his first season, Bing averaged 25.7 points per game and 11.3 rebounds as a freshman, drawing at times more fans to the freshman games than the varsity games. As a sophomore, Bing helped the Orange go 17-8 and go to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT). He finished his career averaging 24.8 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, adding in 780 rebounds.

As a senior, Bing led a 22-6 Syracuse team to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1956-57, helping an offense that averaged 99 points per game, the fifth-most in the country.

“Dave Bing’s career at Syracuse, the NBA, as a business leader, as Mayor of Detroit and now as leader of the Bing Youth Institute is one of tremendous achievement and impact,” Syracuse Director of Athletics John Wildhack said in the release. “Dave’s induction into the Ring of Honor is incredibly well deserved and provides Orange fans the opportunity to honor a truly remarkable person.”

Bing was named to the All-American team and would go on to be taken second in the NBA draft the following spring. He played 12 seasons in the NBA with the Detroit Pistons, Washington Bullets and Boston Celtics and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990. In 1981, he became the first basketball player to have his number retired at Syracuse, while also getting his number retired by the Pistons.

Bing also founded Bing Steel in Detroit and launched a campaign in 1989 to help offset the costs of Detroit-area school’s athletic programs. From 2009-14, he served as Mayor of Detroit. He’ll join Boeheim, Jim Brown, Ernie Davis, Floyd Little, Ben Schwartzwalder, Roy Simmons Jr., and Dwayne “Pearl” Washington in the university’s Ring of Honor.

Published on November 30, 2023 at 5:42 pm

Contact Anthony: aalandt@syr.edu | @anthonyalandt