A group of former Syracuse men’s basketball players will get together for a chance at $2 million in the 2016 edition of The Basketball Tournament starting this Saturday. The team is fittingly named Boeheim’s Army, composed of former Purdue guard Willie Deane and nine former Orange that span a decade of Jim Boeheim’s tenure. Last year the squad bowed out in the Elite Eight against eventual champions City of Gods. This year, second-seeded Boeheim’s Army faces No. 15 seed Basketball City NYC at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Philadelphia University to begin its quest toward the cash prize. Follow along all week as we introduce you to the team’s players and coach ahead of the matchup.

Donte Greene

Greene only played one season for the Orange before entering the 2008 NBA Draft, where he was selected 28th overall by the Memphis Grizzlies. Greene played for the Sacramento Kings until 2012, then spent time in the D-League, Puerto Rico and China before moving to Al-Nasr in the United Arab Emirates after a broken ankle prevented an NBA return.

Greene averaged a team-high 17.7 points per game to go along with 7.2 rebounds per contest in his freshman season at SU. He took the most 3-pointers on the team (261), shooting 34.5 percent from deep.

Conflicts with his professional team and passport, according to Syracuse.com, prevented Greene from playing with Boeheim’s Army last year despite being on the roster. This year, the 6-foot-11 Greene will bring a high-volume scoring presence as well as an ability to play on the wing and in the low post.

 

Meet Boeheim’s Army

Baye Moussa Keita

Published on July 11, 2016 at 10:02 pm

Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman