NEW ORLEANS – When it finally happened, there were no shouts of jubilation or tears of joy. In fact, Jim Boeheim barely cracked a smile.

Seconds after winning his first national championship — and the first in Syracuse men’s basketball history — Boeheim simply walked over to Kansas coach Roy Williams and said congratulations.

“Well, I don’t feel any smarter yet,” said Boeheim, SU’s 27-year head coach. “Maybe tomorrow. As I said before the tournament, I want to win this thing. I’m tremendously happy.”

Meanwhile, 15 feet away, the Orangemen danced and celebrated, having just beaten Kansas, 81-78, in front of 54,524 at the Louisiana Superdome. They rejoiced partly out of relief after nearly blowing a 12-point second-half lead.

With 24 seconds left, SU guard Kueth Duany made one of two free throws to give Syracuse an 81-78 lead. Kansas’ Kirk Hinrich missed a 3-pointer with 14 seconds left, but the Jayhawks quickly fouled Hakim Warrick, who missed both free throws.

Then Warrick made what will no doubt become the most famous block in Syracuse history. He stretched all 6-foot-8 of his lanky frame to knock away Michael Lee’s would-be game-tying 3-point try with 1.5 seconds left.

“I definitely wanted to go out there and just try to make a play after missing the free throws,” Warrick said. “I saw a guy open in the corner, and I knew they needed to hit a 3, so I just tried to fly at him. I didn’t want it to be another one of those Keith Smart shots.”

Kansas had time for one last 3-point try, but Hinrich’s desperate heave from the right corner missed everything and safely nestled into Duany’s hands.

Minutes after the game, the Syracuse fans chanted “One More Year!” begging Carmelo Anthony, who won the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award, to forgo the NBA Draft. Anthony led Syracuse with 20 points and 10 rebounds last night.

“I’ve never had a feeling like this,” Anthony said. “This is the best feeling I’ve ever had in my life.”

After the on-court celebration, Anthony hugged his mother, Mary, who sat in the front row.

“I just told him I love him very much,” Mary said as tears streamed down her face. “I’m so proud of him.”

Nick Collison and Keith Langford each had 19 points for Kansas. Williams, the Jayhawks’ 15-year head coach, now has the second most NCAA Tournament wins of any coach without a national championship.

“This is one of those times I feel so inadequate as a coach and so inadequate as a person,” Williams said. “There’s nothing I can say to change the way my kids feel, nothing that can change the way I feel.”

Despite being down 10 with 6:55 remaining, his Jayhawks never quit. They closed the score to 78-73 after a Hinrich dunk with 2:36 left. SU guard Billy Edelin hit a layup for Syracuse, but Hinrich alley-ooped to Collison to keep the Orangemen’s lead at five.

Kansas pulled to within three early in the second half, but poor free-throw shooting held it back in the middle stages. At one point, the Jayhawks missed seven straight from the line.

“You try to make a free throw,” Collison said. “You miss, you make, there’s nothing else you can do.”

A Bourbon Street-style celebration could have broken out well before midnight on Marshall Street. The Orangemen led, 53-42, at halftime, and their lead ballooned to 18 at one point during the first half behind six 3-pointers and 18 points from Gerry McNamara.

During a 17-5 SU run, McNamara hit back-to-back 3-pointers, putting Syracuse ahead, 23-14, early. McNamara shot 6 of 8 from behind the arc in the first half and 6 of 10 overall.

“I just got off early,” McNamara said. “I knew that if we were going to be successful I’d have to make my shots. I got the looks in the first half and the guys carried us in the second half.”

The onslaught continued when the Orangemen hit five consecutive shots — including two McNamara 3-pointers — in the half’s last seven minutes. After a Duany 3, SU led, 47-29.

Kansas never established its up-tempo game because of Syracuse’s first-half 56-percent shooting, including 77 percent from 3-point range. Though the Jayhawks seemed to gain momentum toward halftime, they blew two opportunities to get back in the game.

With Kansas down 12, guard Keith Langford made a dazzling cut from the right corner and hit a layup. That sent the Kansas fans into hysterics, but those feelings quickly subsided when McNamara answered with a 3-pointer.

After Syracuse missed two consecutive shots, Anthony threw a streaking Langford to the ground on his layup try. The referees whistled Anthony for an intentional foul, but Langford missed the second of two free throws.

Then, on the ensuing possession, Hinrich missed a layup, and the Jayhawks lost the ball out of bounds. Anthony drilled a 3-pointer on the other end, giving the Orangemen a 53-40 lead.

After the game, the Orangemen, who pulled out a close one yet again, reflected on the win. Some were lost for words.

“Talk to me in two hours when it hits me,” SU center Craig Forth said. “I’ll have to sit down. I’m sure every person in the nation will try to describe this. I don’t think you can.”

 

Published on April 7, 2003 at 12:00 pm