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.

Rick Jackson

Jackson returns for his second summer with Boeheim’s Army after playing in the third and fourth games of last year’s tournament. After missing the opening two rounds, he averaged 10 points and five rebounds in the Round of 16 and Elite Eight, starting one game and coming off the bench in the other.

In his four years at Syracuse from 2007-11, Jackson averaged 8.8 points and 6.6 rebounds while shooting 58.5 percent from the field. He’s played for nine teams since graduating, including stints with three different teams in the NBA D-League and most recently Provence in France.

Jackson missed the first two games last year while he was trying out for the Korean Basketball League in Las Vegas. This year he’ll be with the team from the start and add depth to a frontcourt that boasts some of the most sturdy Orange bigs of the last decade.

Meet Boeheim’s Army

Terrence Roberts

Baye Moussa Keita

Donte Greene

Daily Orange File Photo

Published on July 12, 2016 at 10:50 pm

Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman