Syracuse Basketball: Ranking the 5 Most Hyped Recruits in Orange History

While the college basketball world turns its attention to March Madness, the Syracuse Orange will be absent from the championship tournament for just the eighth time in coach Jim Boeheim’s storied 39-year career.

While the team played through a depleted roster due to injuries and lack of player maturation and likely would have earned an NCAA bid, a self-imposed postseason ban removed any chance of Syracuse having a dance partner in the tournament.

With knowledge of a lengthy NCAA investigation into the program, an attempt to appease the NCAA was made with the self-imposed ban, but an exponentially tougher punishment was handed down. Among the disciplinary actions for an array of violations are five years of probation, a four-year loss of multiple scholarships, restrictions on recruiting and a nine-game suspension for Boeheim to start the ACC schedule next season.

Syracuse is appealing the NCAA’s decision, but for the time being, things look gloomy for the Orange. Loss of scholarships could affect what is a highly regarded recruiting class coming in, as well as future recruiting classes. This makes the crystal ball a bit fuzzy, but that has never stopped Orange fans from getting excited about potential arrivals.

Through the Jim Boeheim era and even a bit before, Syracuse has enjoyed the spoils of many highly rated recruits. The following is a list of some of the most hyped. There is no official hype meter, so we’ll just go with a combination of media coverage, class ranking and strength of competing schools recruiting the same player.

Just missing the list as honorable mentions were John Wallace, who led Syracuse to a national title game appearance in 1996 and Tony "Red" Bruin, who had one of the greatest vertical leaps in Syracuse history.

5. Tie: Karlton Hines, Fab Melo, Winfred Walton

This group of three players equaled varying degrees of disappointment for the Orange.

Karlton Hines was a highly sought after New York basketball legend in the mid-'90s. Jim Boeheim famously went to the Melrose projects in the Bronx to recruit this young man, who had the basketball world in the palm of his hands.

His story ended in tragedy as he was unable to complete his high school studies, spent time in jail and was murdered at the age of 25. He was the subject of a fascinating documentary (above), which is just a reminder of how special this young man could have been.

Winfred Walton was another mid-'90s recruit who dazzled. He was a top recruit and Michigan's Mr. Basketball in 1996. The McDonald's All-American also had problems with grades and ended up at Fresno State, where he was less than prolific.

Fab Melo was a top recruit out of Brazil who also had problems with grades but actually ended up in an Orange uniform and became a great contributor.

In this ESPN.com article, Ryan Canner-O'Mealy practically gushes over the potential of the Syracuse big man.

Melo went through a host of growing pains his freshman year and was often the object of Boeheim's ire, but by his sophomore year, he was a defensive force. Problems with his grades led him to have to sit out a few games that season, but the death knell came when Melo was declared academically ineligible for the NCAA tournament.

That season, the Orange made it all the way to the Elite 8 as a No. 1 seed but fell to Ohio State in a game that left Orange fans wondering what could have been had Melo played.

Melo left school after that season and was a first-round NBA draft pick. He now plays professionally in Brazil.

4. Dave Bing

Associated Press

Dave Bing

Dave Bing was not only the best player in Syracuse history. He was the most important recruit in school history, as well.

Highly recruited out of Washington, D.C., by the legendary John Wooden at UCLA, Bing took the advice of Ernie Davis and headed to Syracuse.

Davis, the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy, led Syracuse to its first and only national championship in football but as a junior also put up impressive numbers on the basketball court. He averaged 10.2 points and 9.6 rebounds per game on a team that struggled to find talent. He convinced Bing that Syracuse was where he should be.

When Bing came to campus, freshman could not play varsity, but it didn’t matter because he packed the gym for freshman games. The crowds would leave before the start of varsity games.

Bing turned Syracuse from an afterthought to a nationally recognized scoring machine. At just 6’3”, he averaged 24.8 points and 10.3 rebounds per game for his Syracuse career. Bing was the program’s all-time leading scorer for almost 20 years and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990 after a fantastic NBA career with the Pistons, Bullets and Celtics.

3. Billy Owens

Rick Stewart/Getty Images

Billy Owens

Billy Owens was one of the most highly recruited prep players in the country after leading Carlisle High in Pennsylvania to three straight state titles. His brother, Michael Owens, was already a Syracuse star, which helped Billy in his decision.

Considered one of the two best recruits in the country along with Alonzo Mourning, Owens even drew comparisons to Magic Johnson by the New York Daily News.

Owens was just one of many extremely talented Orangemen, but he immediately meshed with the team and became an impressive force.

Known for being part of a few underachieving Syracuse teams, including the No. 2 seed Orangemen that lost to No. 15 seed Richmond in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Owens was an incredible talent and left school after his junior season for the greener pastures of the NBA.

2. Tie: Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Coleman

Jesse D. Garrabrant/Getty Images

Carmelo Anthony dunks as Derrick Coleman takes in the view.

I know it’s a cop-out to select two players here, but both deserve to be No. 2.

Derrick Coleman was the best high school player in the country out of Detroit’s Northern High School. At 6’10” and 215 pounds, Coleman was a southpaw who was way ahead of his time.

He had a nice touch and could shoot over anyone. He had a man’s body that could dominate inside. He handled the ball like a point guard, and most importantly, he was an insatiable rebounder.

Coleman is on the short list of the greatest Syracuse players ever and was also one of the best college players in NCAA history.

Carmelo Anthony came to Syracuse from the Oak Hill Academy basketball factory as the best player in the nation, according to ESPN.com. Anthony delivered from day one and led the Orange to their first NCAA tournament championship in 2003.

Anthony, like Coleman, was comfortable anywhere on the court. Anthony also exceeded the hype around him and elevated to legendary status in the eyes of Syracuse fans.

1. Pearl Washington

Bob Child/Associated Press

Pearl Washington

Dwayne “Pearl” Washington was one of the most exciting players to ever don a Syracuse uniform. A New York playground legend, Pearl was the most sought after recruit in the nation.

Pearl’s announcement to Al McGuire during the halftime of a CBS-televised game between St. John’s and DePaul in 1983 that he would attend Syracuse springboarded it from a very good eastern school to a national player.

Pearl’s recruitment borderlined on hysteria, with over 300 schools taking a shot at him. Ultimately, he chose Syracuse because of its communications program, as he wanted to go into broadcasting, according to Scott Pitoniak's book, "Color Him Orange."

Remarkably, Pearl played even bigger than the hype that surrounded him. His arrival at Syracuse was the seminal moment in program history and opened the flood gates for major talent to entertain the thought of trekking to the Central New York frozen tundra to play basketball.