Meet Boeheim’s Army: Darryl Watkins
/ The Daily Orange
Darryl Watkins should help bolster the frontcout for a Boeheim's Army team that got exposed down low in last year's tournament.
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 SU head coach 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.
Darryl Watkins
Watkins passed up on joining Boeheim’s Army last summer but the big man isn’t missing out this time around, bringing his 6-foot-11 frame to a deep frontcourt alongside Hakim Warrick, Rick Jackson, Terrence Roberts and others. Playing this past season for Asvel, a team in France’s top division co-owned by San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker, Watkins won a league title while averaging 8.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest.
Watkins attended Syracuse from 2003-07, just missing out on a national title but still logging a stellar four years under Jim Boeheim. He became a starter in his junior season, averaging 7.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. In his senior year he upped those averages to 8.1 points and 7.5 rebounds while blocking the seventh-most shots per game in the country (3.4).
In last year’s Elite Eight, Syracuse fell victim to the inside presence of Pops Mensah-Bonsu, a former George Washington big man, who put up 16 points and 12 rebounds on Boeheim’s Army in a City of Gods win that eliminated to former SU alumni. Watkins brings a much-needed inside presence, especially a shot-blocking one, to further bolster the frontcourt.
Meet Boeheim’s Army:
Published on July 14, 2016 at 11:51 pm
Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman
