Syracuse National Champions
SYRACUSE NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, as all of America now knows, Syracuse defeated Kansas in the national championship Monday night 81 to 78. This is the Syracuse Orangemen's first national championship. My, how long we have waited. But my, how sweet and deserved victory is.
As you remember, in 1987, in New Orleans, the same building, the same site as this year's championship, Syracuse lost to Indiana by 1 point on an acrobatic shot by Keith Smart. Coach Jim Boeheim said: "I think that building owed us." Well, the building did, and Syracuse is now the national champion.
In a time of war, when so much sorrow is among us, it is a time for a little happiness, the happiness that the Orangemen brought New Yorkers, soldiers overseas who follow the game, and the tens and tens and tens of thousands of Syracuse fans across New York State and across the country.
This is Jim Boeheim's first national championship. He has been coach for 27 years. His loyalty to his alma mater, Syracuse, is unparalleled. Now, Boeheim has been criticized for not being able to win the big game, but he has quieted his critics and has established himself as a legitimate candidate for the Hall of Fame. He called the win not a validation of his coaching skills but a testament to the talent of his playerstypical of Jim Boeheim's modesty. This Syracuse team is a model for all of America. They have persisted and persisted and persisted. Coach Boeheim persisted and persisted and persisted, and we so admire him. His heart belonged to Syracuse.
Jim Boeheim is Mr. Syracuse. As the old story goes, Boeheim was sitting on the beach in Hawaii with his former assistant, Rick Pitino, and Pitino's wife, Joanne. Someone posed a question: If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
Rick picked San Francisco, and his wife Joanne picked New York City. "Syracuse," Boeheim said. "Hawaii was just Syracuse in July," Boeheim sniffed. "For 8 months a year, it's the best weather in the country, and the other 4 months we are playing basketball."
Well, the Orangemen had an amazing story this year. They came in to the season as underdogs, not even earning a ranking in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll until February. They stormed through the regular season, finishing tied for first in the Big East, with a 13-3 record. They finished the regular season 24-5 overall.
Of course, one of the biggest stories is the youth of this team. Where have we ever seenevertwo freshmen guards lead as well as they have?
Carmelo Anthony, a freshman and leader of the team, had 20 points Monday night, with 10 rebounds and seven assists in the final game against Kansas. You could see the pain on his face. He was playing with an injured back, but he kept going and going, as he has done all season. He scored a career high 33 points and had 14 rebounds against Texas in the semifinal. Many scouts believe he could be the No. 1 or No. 2 draft pick this year in the NBA lottery.
How about Gerry McNamara, that feisty Irishman, a freshman point guard. He was huge in the championship game. In the first half, he hit six 3-pointers and scored 18 points.
Hakim Warrick, only a sophomore, made the biggest play of the game. As all of us were sitting around holding our breath as Kansas came within three points, with 1.5 seconds left, Warrick made an amazing block of Michael Lee's 3-point attempt that would have tied the game.
What a game it was, Mr. President. What a victory for Syracuse. All of central New York is cheering. It is 80 degrees and that orange sun is shining brightly over Syracuse in central New York this afternoon, and it will continue to do so for a long time. Because Syracuse has so many proud alumni and fans from one end of New York State to the other, there is a smile across our State this afternoon spreading from Buffalo to New York City.
Mr. President, we are proud of the coach, Jim Boeheim; we are proud of the team, the great Orangemen; we are proud of the university, Syracuse University.