Syracuse, NY – Mike’s Mailbox is operating under a new name this week.
We present to you Bill’s Mailbox in honor of loyal reader; and regular sender of questions, Bill N.
I don’t know Bill. Never meet him. But he sends in a bunch of questions for use here at the Mailbox and most of them are quite insightful.
They usually have a statistical and historical bent, but you never can tell with Bill.
So while everyone else takes the week off, we devote this week’s Mailbox to Bill with questions submitted only by Bill.
(If you have a question; follow up or otherwise, for the Mailbox, email it to [email protected]).
Q: In a recent Mike’s Mailbox, you wrote about players at non-Power 5 conference schools transferring to Power 5 schools. Besides Elijah Hughes, who has Syracuse signed from a non-Power 5 school?
Bill N.
Mike: Bill is referring to this Mailbox in which I discussed a question about Syracuse getting two players from mid-major schools.
They are Jaquan Carlos, a 6-foot guard from Hofstra; and Jyare Davis, a 6-7 forward from Delaware.
The NCAA’s decision to eliminate the rule forcing players to sit out a year following a transfer coupled with the transfer portal has increased the number of players going from teams in mid-major leagues to teams in Power 5 conferences.
Syracuse provides a great example of this trend. In the last month,
I did a quick search of Syracuse’s rosters going back to 1990 and found five players who transferred to Syracuse from a non-Power 5 school (and I included the Big East as a sixth power conference for basketball).
They were: Elijah Hughes (East Carolina), John Gillon (Colorado State), Jimmy Boeheim (Colgate), Geno Thorpe (South Florida) and Ethan Cole (New Hampshire).
Q: Among Syracuse players who started every game in a season, did Justin Taylor have the all-time lowest points per game total?
Bill N.
Mike: Justin Taylor started all 32 games for Syracuse this past season. The 6-foot-6 sophomore averaged just 5.0 points per game.
That sounds low, but it’s actually not that unusual to have one full-time starter who doesn’t average that many points per game. Here are a few examples:
In the 2019-20 season, Bourama Sidibe averaged 6.0 points per game.
In 2017-18, Paschal Chukwu averaged 5.4
In 2015-16, Dajuan Coleman started all 37 games, including five NCAA tournament games as Syracuse reached the Final Four. He played 17.5 minutes per game and averaged just 4.9 points.
In 2012-13, Rakeem Christmas started all 40 games and averaged 5.1
In 2011-12, Christmas had started 35 out of 37 games and averaged 2.8 points in 11.5 minutes per game.
Craig Forth started every game in four straight seasons from 2002 to 2005. His season scoring averages were 4.6 points, 5.7 points, 3.8 points and 4.9 points.
Q: Back during the season, JJ Starling said that Boston College’s Conte Forum is cold. SU radio voice Matt Park attributed this to the ice under the floor. What are some of the coldest arenas Syracuse has played in? What are some of the warmest?
Bill N.
Mike: Any arena that serves as the home to both an NBA and an NHL team is going to feel a little colder than the basketball-only arenas you find on most college campuses.
Fans might not experience this up in the stands, but if you’re standing or sitting on the court for any length of time without moving, it’s noticeable.
The coldest arena that I’ve ever covered a college basketball game in was the old Pittsburgh Civic Arena, which was nicknamed The Igloo. The Civic Arena was the home of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins and for a few years was also the home of the Pitt Panthers.
After my first experience at The Igloo, the next year I wore two pairs of socks to the game in an attempt to avoid frostbite.
As far as the warmest, I’d have to say the Lahaina Civic Center, which is the home of the Maui Invitational. But I had no complaints.
Q: The late Bob Lanier still holds many of St. Bonaventure’s all-time records. What is the oldest, longest held individual Syracuse basketball record and what record was set most recently?
Bill N.
Mike: The oldest individual records are held by three different Syracuse players.
Frank Reddout still holds the record for most rebounds in a game with 34 against Temple in the 1951-52 season. For a season, Jack Kiley has the record for most field goal attempts with 636 (in just 27 games) in the 1949-50 season. And for a career, Jon Cincebox’s rebounding average of 14.6 per game still stands 65 years later.
The most recent record set happened just this past season. Maliq Brown made 69.8% of his field goal attempts, tying his own record which he set the previous year. Brown took and made more shots in 2024 than he did as a freshman, going 127-for-182 from the field, so this year’s mark will be considered the record.
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