Syracuse Basketball: The Most Hated Player from Orange's Biggest Rivals

The Syracuse basketball team has had its fair share of rivals over the years. In the days of the Big East, teams like Georgetown and Connecticut were the Orange's main nemeses. Now in the ACC, Duke and Big East import Pitt are the main rivals for the Orange.

Heated rivalries cause fans to hate certain players. Whether it is because these players dominate or just generally annoy the other team, fans grow to loathe players they see multiple times a year.

With that in mind, let's take a look at the most hated player from each of Syracuse's biggest rivals. We'll look at rivalries from the Big East and ACC and determine the most hated player based on the success his team had against Syracuse and how annoying they were for fans.

Duke: Rodney Hood

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Duke and Syracuse have only been conference rivals for about an hour, so there are few players to pick from for Orange fans to hate. But Rodney Hood made a pretty good case at Cameron Indoor Stadium the last time the two teams got together.

The story is probably still fresh in your memory. Down two with under 15 seconds left, C.J. Fair drove baseline and appeared to finish an and-1. However, the referee determined Hood got there in time and called an offensive foul. Jim Boeheim went nuts and subsequently became an Internet legend.

The Orange went on to lose after winning an overtime thriller in the Carrier Dome a few weeks prior, thus tipping off what should continue to be an intense rivalry. If it weren't for Hood, Syracuse would be undefeated in conference play against Duke. It's a good thing Hood is no longer a Blue Devil, because he would have heard it from the Carrier Dome crowd this season.

Pittsburgh: Levance Fields

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No team has dominated Syracuse recently like Pittsburgh has. Until Tyler Ennis went Panther hunting, Syracuse hadn't won in Pittsburgh since 2004. Few players had as big a hand in Pitt's dominance as Levance Fields.

Like Paul Pierce and Scoop Jardine, Fields had what you would call "old-man game." That is, he was consistently overmatched athletically, but he always found a way to somehow make plays after a series of the slowest moves you've ever seen.

But it worked. Fields's Pitt teams owned Syracuse, and he was the one running the point for Pittsburgh and creating everything. He and DeJuan Blair were a formidable pair for Pitt, and Syracuse had a hard time stopping them.

Fields was also one of those players who seemed like he was in school for eight or nine years. That added to the frustration for Syracuse fans because they seemingly could never get rid of him. Now that Fields has moved on, Syracuse fans are hoping for more success against Pittsburgh.

Connecticut: Josh Boone

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Josh Boone was never the best player on his UConn Huskies teams, but he was always an annoyance for the opposition.

Chances are most opposing fans hated Boone because he was one of those players that could have a good game just based on his hustle. He was never the most skilled player, but he gave it his all on every possession, and that led to him getting the better of his opponents.

The game between Syracuse and Connecticut on March 5, 2005, in the Big East Tournament is a perfect example. Both teams were ranked in the Top 20 of both polls, and Syracuse was looking for redemption after losses earlier in the season.

Syracuse ended up winning the game, but Boone made his presence felt all night. The big man had 13 rebounds, with seven of them coming on the offensive end. That was generally how it went with Boone; he always found a way to make an impact on the game.

Teams need players who can get under their opponents' skin. For Connecticut in the early 2000s, Boone was that guy.

Georgetown: Patrick Ewing

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They aren't conference rivals anymore, but Syracuse and Georgetown still have a storied history and intense rivalry. After all, it was basically the Orange (then the Orangemen) and the Hoyas that built the Big East into what it...was.

For Syracuse's all-time biggest rival, it's hard to imagine a player fans hated more than Patrick Ewing. Honorable mention can be given to Ewing's teammate Michael Graham, who threw a punch at a Syracuse player in the Big East Tournament and was not ejected. But Ewing got to another level entirely.

Naturally, Ewing got a less-than-polite reception from Syracuse fans. One time in particular, though, it went over the top. As Ewing stepped to the free-throw line and attempted a shot, an orange hit the backboard. Then-Georgetown coach John Thompson pulled his team off the floor and tried to get the game suspended.

It took Jim Boeheim to get on the PA and tell the crowd he would ask for technical fouls on his own team to calm down the crowd. Syracuse ultimately won the game, but the fans sent their message. Chances are Ewing might still get a few jeers if he ever visits Destiny USA.