2002–03 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team

{{{year}}} [[{{{team}}} football]]
{{{year}}} [[{{{team}}} football]]
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 13

2002–03 Big East men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
East
Boston College	10	–	6	.625	19	–	12	.613
No. 23 Connecticut	10	–	6	.625	23	–	10	.697
Providence	8	–	8	.500	18	–	14	.563
Villanova	8	–	8	.500	15	–	16	.484
St. John's	7	–	9	.438	21	–	13	.618
Miami	4	–	12	.250	11	–	17	.393
Virginia Tech*	4	–	12	.250	11	–	18	.379
West
No. 13 Syracuse	13	–	3	.813	30	–	5	.857
No. 4 Pittsburgh†	13	–	3	.813	28	–	5	.848
Seton Hall	10	–	6	.625	17	–	13	.567
No. 22 Notre Dame	10	–	6	.625	24	–	10	.706
Georgetown	6	–	10	.375	19	–	15	.559
West Virginia	5	–	11	.313	14	–	15	.483
Rutgers*	4	–	12	.250	12	–	16	.429

† 2003 Big East tournament winner As of March 31, 2003^[1] Rankings from AP Poll *Did not qualify for 2003 Big East tournament

The 2002–03 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team represented Syracuse University in NCAA men's basketball competition in the 2002–03 Division I season. (At that time, "Orangemen" was exclusively used to refer to Syracuse men's teams; women's teams were known as "Orangewomen".) The head coach was Jim Boeheim, serving for his 27th year. The team played its home games at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. The team finished with a 30–5 (13–3) record, while capturing its first modern-era NCAA Championship.

The team had just one senior, guard Kueth Duany. He was joined in the starting lineup by forwards Hakim Warrick (sophomore), Carmelo Anthony (freshman), center Craig Forth (sophomore), and guard Gerry McNamara (freshman). Other key contributors included guards Josh Pace (sophomore) and Billy Edelin (freshman), and center Jeremy McNeil (junior).

Season recap

Things did not start well for Syracuse. Guards DeShaun Williams^[2] and James Thues^[3] both left the team. Williams transferred to Iona while Thues left for Detroit. Freshman point guard Billy Edelin was suspended for 12 games for participating in a non-sanctioned basketball league. Syracuse then started its season with a loss against Memphis, despite Carmelo Anthony's 27 points, a then-high for a Syracuse freshman debut.^[4]

But things turned around, as Syracuse went 13–3 in the Big East, with several memorable wins. McNamara would establish himself as a clutch player, nailing a game-winning 3-pointer as then-No. 17 Syracuse notched an 82–80 win over then-No. 10 Notre Dame in February.^[5] In an upset of then-No. 24 Syracuse over then-No. 2 Pittsburgh, McNeil, a career 49.1% free throw shooter, hit two key free throws, and added a game-winning tip in a 67–65 upset.^[6]

The Orangemen would play five Big 12 teams throughout the year, including games against Missouri^[7] in the regular season, and against Oklahoma (Elite Eight), Oklahoma State (second round), Texas (National Semifinal) and then Kansas (National Championship game).^[8]

In the championship game against Kansas, with Syracuse leading by three with under 15 seconds left, Warrick missed two free throws that would've sealed the game with Syracuse hanging on to a three-point lead, 81–78. With 1.5 seconds left and the score still the same, Kansas' Michael Lee was open on the baseline for a potential game-tying 3-pointer. But Warrick used his long arms to block Lee's attempt and Syracuse captured its first ever national championship.^[9]

Coincidentally, the game was played in the Superdome in New Orleans, where Syracuse had lost the National Championship to Indiana in 1987 on a last-second shot by Keith Smart.^[10]

Roster

Name	Number	Position	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	PPG	APG	RPG
Hakim Warrick	1	F	6–9	219	Sophomore	Philadelphia, PA	14.8	1.6	8.5
Gerry McNamara	3	G	6–2	182	Freshman	Scranton, PA	13.3	4.4	2.3
Josh Pace	5	G/F	6–5	190	Sophomore	Griffin, GA	4.3	1.9	2.7
Kueth Duany	13	G/F	6–6	190	Senior	Sudan/Bloomington, IN	11.0	2.0	3.7
Billy Edelin	14	G	6–4	195	Freshman	Silver Spring, MD	9.0	2.5	3.4
Carmelo Anthony	15	F	6–8	230	Freshman	Baltimore, MD	22.2	2.2	10.0
Matt Gorman	24	F/C	6–9	235	Freshman	Watertown, NY	2.3	0.1	2.1
Jeremy McNeil	34	C	6–8	257	Junior	San Antonio, TX	3.3	0.2	4.2
Craig Forth	51	C	7-1	255	Sophomore	Albany, NY	3.8	0.9	3.3
Andrew Kouwe	10	PG	6-0	170	Junior	Tampa, FL	1.7	0.3	0.3
Ronneil Herron	11	G	5-11	158	Senior	Warner Robbins, GA	1.2	0.0	1.0
Tyrone Albright	2	G	5-11	165	Junior	Syracuse, NY	0.0	0.1	0.3
Gary Hall	23	F	6-6	230	Junior	Tully, NY	0.4	0.4	0.4
Josh Brooks	21	F	6-5	180	Junior	Saranac, NY	0.0	0.0	0.2

References

^ https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/big-east/2003.html
^ Williams to leave Orangemen – News^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Thues transfers to Detroit Mercy – Sports^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Memphis Holds Off Syracuse, 70–63 Archived 2009-11-26 at the Wayback Machine
^ The Daily Orange Archived 2009-02-05 at the Wayback Machine
^ USATODAY.com – Syracuse blocks Pittsburgh from first coronation at No. 1
^ NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball – Missouri vs. Syracuse
^ Fresh-squeezed orangeman: Carmelo Anthony carries Syracuse to its first NCAA championship and proves to have the juiciest game of any college freshman—ever | Sporting News, Th... Archived 2007-02-22 at the Wayback Machine
^ The Daily Orange Archived 2007-11-09 at the Wayback Machine
^ ESPN.com – ESPN 25 – 60: Smart's jumper wins NCAA title for Indiana Archived 2005-05-16 at the Wayback Machine

External links

"The Inside Look at Carmelo Anthony and Syracuse's 2003 National Championship Run". Bleacher Report. March 20, 2018 – via YouTube.

[1] ttps://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/big-east/2003.html

[2] Williams to leave Orangemen – News^{[permanent dead link]}

[3] Thues transfers to Detroit Mercy – Sports^{[permanent dead link]}

[4] Memphis Holds Off Syracuse, 70–63 Archived 2009-11-26 at the Wayback Machine

[5] The Daily Orange Archived 2009-02-05 at the Wayback Machine

[6] USATODAY.com – Syracuse blocks Pittsburgh from first coronation at No. 1

[7] NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball – Missouri vs. Syracuse

[8] Fresh-squeezed orangeman: Carmelo Anthony carries Syracuse to its first NCAA championship and proves to have the juiciest game of any college freshman—ever | Sporting News, Th... Archived 2007-02-22 at the Wayback Machine

[9] The Daily Orange Archived 2007-11-09 at the Wayback Machine

[10] ESPN.com – ESPN 25 – 60: Smart's jumper wins NCAA title for Indiana Archived 2005-05-16 at the Wayback Machine

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

v t e Syracuse Orange men's basketball
Venues	Archbold Gymnasium (1908–1947; 1952–1955) State Fair Coliseum (1947–1951) Onondaga County War Memorial (1951–1952; 1955–1962) Manley Field House (1962–1980) JMA Wireless Dome (1980–present) Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center (practice)
Rivalries	UConn
Culture & lore	"McNamara's Band" Otto the Orange Scandal 6-overtime game Syracuse Sports Network
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics; NCAA championships in bolded italics