Syracuse Basketball

Dior Johnson, a 5-star point guard ranked third overall on 247Sports' list of the best class of 2022 men's basketball prospects, has decommitted from Syracuse University. 

Johnson announced the decision on Tuesday afternoon:

The 6'3" point guard had committed to the Orange on Feb. 7:

247Sports lists Johnson as having 16 offers, including from Memphis and LSU.

Per Matthew Gutierrez of The Athletic, Johnson was Syracuse's highest-ranked recruit since NBA star and NCAA champion Carmelo Anthony.

Mike Waters of the Syracuse Post-Standard wrote on Tuesday that Johnson and Syracuse "mutually agreed" to part ways.

Waters ran down the reported series of events leading to that decision, beginning with Johnson's transfer to Oak Hill Academy, a move that Syracuse coaches supported:

"Johnson suffered a stress reaction in his foot in early September. He had his foot placed in a boot. Initially, Oak Hill coach Steve Smith said Johnson would be sidelined for about three weeks, but would return in time for the Warriors' season-opener on Oct. 27.

"But Johnson abruptly left Oak Hill to return to his mother’s home in California. He made the decision without the knowledge of the SU coaches.

"Johnson recently enrolled at Corona (Calif.) Centennial High School.

"It now appears that Johnson and the Syracuse coaching staff, including head coach Jim Boeheim and assistant Gerry McNamara, were both ready to move on."

Waters also noted that Johnson could decide to play in the G-League until he is eligible for the NBA draft or go overseas for a year a la 2020 first-round NBA draft prospects LaMelo Ball and RJ Hampton.

On that front, a pair of scouts told Gutierrez back in February that it was "unlikely" Johnson would play college ball.

"Even if the [one-and-done rule] isn’t passed until 2023 or later, two veteran scouts said, his skill level may be so high by 2022 that it’s 'unlikely' he plays at the college level," Gutierrez wrote.

"His commitment is so early, they said, that a lot could change in the interim."

Regardless of what Johnson decides, whatever team that lands him will be getting a talented player with NBA potential. 

Josh Gershon of 247Sports gave this July 19 scouting report on Johnson:

"Good size and length to go with sturdy frame that should carry plenty of strength. Impressive skill set given athletic ability. Has handle and vision to play on the ball, while he is an efficient enough shooter/scorer to play off it. Will be able to guard the one and two at next level. Talent-wise he is a no-brainer elite prospect at this stage. Bounced around several high schools before sophomore year. Finding stability will be key, but has continued to progress regardless. Projects as high major priority recruit."

Forward Emoni Bates, who has committed to Michigan State, tops the Class of 2022 list ahead of Johnson. Big man Jalen Duren, who is uncommitted, sits second.

The family of Jorge Jimenez, who was killed in a car crash involving Jim Boeheim in 2019, are suing the Syracuse coach and the university following their relative's death.

TMZ Sports reported the news, noting the lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages and says the coach "was traveling at a high rate of speed and/or was otherwise negligent in the operation of the vehicle."

The lawsuit says that is what led to Jiminez's death.

TMZ reported Boeheim swerved to avoid a disabled vehicle in the middle of the road while driving at approximately 11 p.m. and struck Jiminez, who had exited the car. Police investigated the crash and deemed it a "tragic accident" and did not press charges even though the coach was traveling 11 mph over the 55 mph limit.

Boeheim has been the head coach at Syracuse since the 1976-77 campaign.

Mayfair High School point guard Dior Johnson—who is sixth overall among boys high school basketball recruits in the class of 2022, according to 247Sports' composite rankings—has committed to Syracuse.

Evan Daniels of 247Sports provided the exclusive on the 5-star guard, who is listed as the top floor general in the class. The Lakewood, California, native also announced his decision on Twitter on Friday:

The 6'3" Johnson discussed his decision with Daniels:

"I picked Syracuse because I've been around those coaches since seventh grade.

"I was 12, I played for City Rocks with [head coach Jim Boeheim's son and current Syracuse guard] Buddy Boeheim played at the time. I was always around the Syracuse guys, like all of the time, it's his son so they’re around practice and everything. They always have had big interest in me even since I was really young."

Per 247Sports, Johnson had 16 offers, including ones from St. John's, LSU and Arizona State.

"I don’t have anything against the Blue Bloods, but I’m the kind of guy who wants to go to a school where I can play against them and beat them," Johnson said in a first-person piece for Sports Illustrated.

Boeheim is putting together a loaded class of 2022, with 4-star shooting guard Chance Westry already committing to the Orange. Westry is ranked 28th overall.

Syracuse is the only school to have two top-100 commits from the class thus far.

Josh Gershon of 247Sports provided the following scouting report on Johnson on July 19:

Good size and length to go with sturdy frame that should carry plenty of strength. Impressive skill set given athletic ability. Has handle and vision to play on the ball, while he is an efficient enough shooter/scorer to play off it. Will be able to guard the one and two at next level. Talent-wise he is a no-brainer elite prospect at this stage. Bounced around several high schools before sophomore year. Finding stability will be key, but has continued to progress regardless. Projects as high major priority recruit.

Syracuse offered him July 31. He unofficially visited the school last Saturday, when the team hosted Duke.

Johnson wasn't the only prized recruit visiting Syracuse that day. Five-star shooting guard Zion Cruz (class of 2022) and 4-star center Mac Etienne (class of 2021) were among those in Central New York, per Michael McAllister of 247Sports.

The future looks bright in Syracuse after Johnson's commitment, but for now, the Orange are 13-9 and 6-5 in ACC play as they look to wiggle their way into the NCAA tournament.

After a 48-34 loss to Virginia, Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim revealed his true thoughts on the ACC using a conference game as the season opener.   

"You never want to play the elite games so early," Boeheim said after Wednesday's game, per Jeff Goodman. "It's stupid. Just a money grab."

The Orange shot just 23.6 percent from the field and 17.2 percent from three-point range in the loss to the No. 11 team in the country.

According to Ken Pomeroy of KenPom.com, it was the program's worst offensive performance since 1945.

Virginia causes a lot of teams to struggle offensively, even with many new faces in the rotation. Tony Bennett's squad is the reigning national champion and held opponents to an NCAA-best 56.1 points per game last year.

Facing the Cavaliers in the first game of the season is a recipe for disaster for any squad.

However, it makes matters worse that this counts as a conference loss and a missed opportunity for a potential resume-building win that would look good in March. There's no guarantee Syracuse would've fared better later in the season, but the squad likely could've enjoyed more chemistry on both ends of the court.

Boeheim is also known for easing his teams into the season with lots of home games or neutral-court battles in New York City, where the program has a sizable fanbase. 

Over the past four seasons (including this year), the only November games for Syracuse outside of New York have been scheduled in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. 

However, the 20-game ACC schedule has created a longer stretch of conference play and some important games right out of the gate. Only Duke didn't play a fellow ACC opponent while taking on No. 3 Kansas instead.

Former Syracuse University and Syracuse Nationals basketball star Billy Gabor died Tuesday at the age of 97 due to complications from pneumonia.

According to Mike Waters of Syracuse.com, Gabor was believed to be the oldest living former NBA player prior to his death.

Syracuse Basketball tweeted the following on Gabor's passing:

Gabor starred at Syracuse University for four seasons beginning in 1942-43 and ending in 1947-48, with two years spent serving in World War II as part of the Air Force. He also spent six seasons in the NBA and was named an All-Star in 1952-53.

When Gabor graduated from Syracuse, he was the all-time leading scorer for the Orange with 1,344 career points. More than 60 years later, Gabor had his No. 17 jersey retired at Syracuse in 2009.

Per Waters, Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim called Gabor "one of the greatest Syracuse players of all time," and added, "He was always a great representative of his school and his family."

During his six years with the Nationals, the Binghamton, New York, native averaged 9.8 points, 2.0 assists and 1.8 rebounds per game.

The diminutive guard who was known as "Bullet Bill" and "The Human Projectile" because of his blazing speed was at his best in 1950-51 when he averaged 11.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists over 61 games.

He also won an NBA championship with the Nationals in 1955, which was his final NBA season.

Syracuse senior guard Frank Howard's 2018-19 season may have just come to an unceremonious end. 

Dana O'Neil of The Athletic reported Wednesday that the school has officially announced Howard will not play in the NCAA tournament because of an undisclosed violation of "athletic policy rules." 

Jeff Goodman of Stadium detailed that Howard will be unable to play in the tournament "for an indefinite period of time," which theoretically leaves the door open for Howard to make an appearance depending on how deep the Orange make it in the West Region.

Eighth-seeded Syracuse's title campaign will begin against No.9 Baylor on Thursday at 9:57 p.m. ET in Salt Lake City. 

Howard has averaged 8.9 points, 2.9 assists and 2.0 rebounds this season.

While Howard is not a statistical leader for Syracuse this season, he is a senior presence. That matters in March, even if Howard has notoriously been an up-and-down producer. The best of his four years with the Orange came last season when he averaged 14.4 points in 38.4 minutes per game.

CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein emphasized the importance of having a veteran guard like Howard available in the NCAA tournament while also lamenting "another example of kids putting what's important to them over the team": 

The ACC tournament last week saw Howard return to that form as he scored 46 points across two games on 8-of-16 shooting from the three-point line. His uptick coincided with the absence of leading scorer Tyus Battle, who was out with a sore back. 

Syracuse lost to Duke in the quarterfinals, but Howard made headlines for appearing to intentionally trip Blue Devils superstar freshman forward Zion Williamson. According to the Associated Press, "Howard denied trying to trip Williamson and the school did not say if the suspension was related to the alleged attempt."

Battle will be active for the NCAA tournament and told Mike Waters of Syracuse.com that he and his teammates were informed of Howard's discipline "when you guys found out." In a video posted by CNYCentral, Battle was confident in the team's ability to figure out a way forward without Howard: 

Howard missed the first four games of this season with an ankle injury that eventually required surgery. In his absence, Syracuse went 2-2. Once he made his season debut on Nov. 21, the Orange rattled off five wins in a row. Howard started in 29 games following his injury.

Now, Syracuse has no other option but to go undefeated without Howard. If any head coach can handle a loss like this at the last minute, it's Jim Boeheim. Boeheim will regroup and try to lead his squad to at least a second consecutive Sweet Sixteen. 

Syracuse's Sweet Sixteen run last season was a surprise given the Orange were the last team in the field, so making a run without Howard—while not ideal—is not improbable. 

Investigators cleared Syracuse Orange head coach Jim Boeheim of any wrongdoing in the car accident on Feb. 20 in Syracuse, New York, that left a pedestrian dead, according to ESPN.com. 

Boeheim was driving his GMC Acadia when he struck Jorge Jimenez. Jimenez had been standing next to a disabled car on a stretch of Interstate 690.

"As I get to the front of the vehicle, I observed what I believe is a person along the guardrail; there might have been more than one person," Boeheim said in the official report. "Then a split second later, I hear a loud bang, and I start coming to a stop."

The district attorney's office in Onondaga County wrote in the report that "Boeheim's operation of his motor vehicle was not reckless, unreasonable or with gross negligence."

The accident occurred shortly after Syracuse's 69-49 win over the Louisville Cardinals. Boeheim was on the Syracuse bench for the Orange's 75-65 home defeat to the Duke Blue Devils on Feb. 23. Following the game, Boeheim spoke publicly about the accident for the first time.

Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick told reporters last week that Boeheim had been driving at or near the speed limit prior to striking Jimenez and that the case would likely be closed without any criminal charges being brought.

Syracuse men's basketball head coach Jim Boeheim "was traveling within the speed limit or close to it" when his SUV struck and killed 51-year-old Jorge Jimenez on Interstate 690 in Syracuse, New York, on Wednesday, February 20, per the Associated Press.

Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, who spoke with the AP, also noted that the crash investigation is near completion.

Per Casey Darnell and Michael McCleary of the Daily Orange, Syracuse police chief Kenton Buckner said on Thursday that Boeheim has been cooperative during the investigation and that neither he nor the driver of the other car is expected to be charged.

Sarah Moses Buckshot of Syracuse.com outlined the details of the accident:

"The police investigation revealed that Jimenez was a passenger in a vehicle that lost control on the highway striking a guard rail. People in the car got out and proceeded to walk on the highway near the vehicle, police said.

"Boeheim, 74, of DeWitt, noticed the disabled car and tried avoiding the vehicle, which was in the road. Boeheim’s vehicle struck the man who was standing on the side of the road, police said."

Jimenez's funeral will be held on Thursday at no cost to his family, per Buckshot. A. Dewitt Memorial Funeral Homes, Woodland Cemetery and St. Agnes Florist are donating funeral, cremation and flower services, respectively.

Family and friends were effusive in their praise of Jimenez in the days following his death.

“My father was a man who was very sociable, very happy," Jimenez's daughter, Yurisandy Jimenez Arrastre, told Syracuse.com in Spanish.

"He loved to help everybody without question. He loved having friends. Everybody loved him because of his way of being: Going to the casino, listening to music, dancing..."

Per KJ Edelman, Michael McCleary, Nick Alvarez of the Daily Orange, Joel Sanchez, a man who knew Jimenez for two decades, said that Jimenez would do handiwork at no cost to him for acting as a translator for appointments or meetings.

Jimenez's funeral is open to the public from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET.

Syracuse guard Howard Washington said Tuesday a stroke he suffered September 26 was the reason for taking a medical redshirt this season.

Washington told the harrowing story to Mike Waters of Syracuse.com and also described the situation in the following video:

While it was widely believed Washington took a medical redshirt this season due to an ACL tear he suffered in January 2018, he said that he was cleared to return from the knee injury and that the decision to redshirt was based entirely on the stroke.

Washington recounted he felt odd after he walked out of a class in September, and before long, the right side of his body went limp. He called team trainer Brad Pike and managed to get out the words "help" and "quad," which was enough for Pike to get him rushed to the hospital.

The Buffalo, New York, native also explained what caused the stroke:

"They got the test results back, and they see that I have two clots in the artery going up the left side of my neck to my brain. They had caused the stroke. The clots were on the left side of my brain, which is why I'd lost everything on the right side of my body. Even the muscles on the right side of my face had been sagging."

The surgery was successful, and Washington was put on blood thinners. Once he was able to stop taking the blood thinners, Washington returned to the court in time for Syracuse's first game of the 2018-19 season against Eastern Washington on Nov. 6—just 33 days after he suffered the stroke.

Washington played seven minutes in the game and said, "I knew I was OK." He went on to play in two more contests before he took a medical redshirt.

As a result, Washington can return next season as a redshirt sophomore.

He has played in just 21 games in two seasons, but there are high hopes for him, as he was the No. 14 combo guard in the country and No. 3 player from the state of New York in the 2017 recruiting class, according to 247Sports.

Most importantly, Washington is once again healthy, and he said he is "very blessed to be here."

Coaching in his first game since hitting and killing 51-year-old Jorge Jimenez with his vehicle on Wednesday, Syracuse Orange coach Jim Boeheim issued a written statement on the accident.

"This is something that will be with me for the rest of my life," Boeheim wrote, per Yahoo Sports' Pete Thamel.

Prior to a showdown with top-ranked Duke, the 74-year-old coach said all of his previous life experiences "pale in comparison to this," per Syracuse's Matt Park.

Boeheim had previously expressed his remorse in a statement on Thursday, via Syracuse Basketball: "I am heartbroken that a member of our community died as the result of last night's accident. Juli and I extend our deepest sympathies to the Jimenez family. Out of respect for those involved, I will not be providing further comment at this time."

While Boeheim's status for Saturday's contest was in question following the accident, it was announced on Friday that he would be on the sidelines against the Blue Devils. He revealed on Saturday, per Park, that "the University makes those decisions."

Boeheim made his way to the court as tipoff neared, and he received a warm ovation from the Carrier Dome crowd:

Before the game got underway, Syracuse honored Jimenez's memory with a moment of silence, per CNY Central's Justine Marschner:

Boeheim further discussed the situation following Syracuse's 75-65 loss, per DT Sports Media:

"This is never going away. Tuesday it's not going to be better. It's not going to be better next month. It's not going to be better next year," Boeheim said, per Syracuse Basketball. "It doesn't matter how I feel. It's how they feel. There's nothing I can say about it."

According to ESPN.com, Syracuse police said that Boeheim hit Jimenez with his vehicle on I-690 in Syracuse on Wednesday night after a car carrying Jimenez and three other people crashed into a guardrail after hitting a patch of ice. Boeheim struck Jimenez as he attempted to avoid the disabled vehicle, and Jimenez was pronounced dead after being transported to the hospital.

Results from a sobriety test administered to Boeheim came back negative "for any sign of impairment."