Book Description
A list of legends is significant not only for who makes the list, but who gets left off of it. If there are no obvious omissions, then the list of candidates was probably less than legendary in the first place. Not so in the case of the Syracuse University Orangemen. Calling roll on Syracuse’s all-time basketball greats can take up the greater part of a day. The school produced its first All-American, Lewis Castle, in 1912. Most recently, Carmelo Anthony, one of the best freshmen to ever play college basketball, led the 2003 Orangemen to the school’s first NCAA championship. In between there were legends such as the incomparable Dave Bing, Roosevelt Bouie, and Louis Orr, who together formed the Louie and Bouie Show, along with names like Derrick Coleman, Sherman Douglas, Lawrence Moten, and John Wallace. Legends of Syracuse Basketball features 24 players, one coach, and one special team. Within the book’s pages are stories straight from the legends’ teammates, their coaches, and the legends themselves. Of the players mentioned, 17 played in the NBA. More telling of the greatness of the Syracuse University basketball program is the fact that 10 Orangemen who played in the NBA did not make this list of legends. The same is true of record holders, All-Americans, and more fan favorites than are possible to count.


About the Author
Mike Waters has covered Syracuse basketball for the Syracuse Post-Standard since 1989, watching and writing about Derrick Coleman, Sherman Douglas, Lawrence Moten, and the star of the 2003 national championship team, Carmelo Anthony. A member of the United States Basketball Writers Association, Waters has served two terms on the organization’s board of directors. He has earned six awards in the USBWA’s annual writing contest and four from the Associated Press sports editors. Waters has also written on college basketball for The Sporting News, Athlon magazine, and Basketball Times. He lives with his wife and their two children in Camillus, New York. This is his second book on Syracuse basketball.