2001–02 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team

The 2001–02 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team represented Syracuse University in NCAA men's basketball competition in the 2001–02 Division I season. The head coach was Jim Boeheim, serving for his 26th year. The team played its home games at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. The team finished with a 23–13 (9–7) record, while making it to the Final Four round of the NIT tournament. The team was led by senior Preston Shumpert and juniors Kueth Duany and DeShaun Williams. Seniors Billy Celuck, sophomores Jeremy McNeil and James Thues and freshmen Craig Forth and Josh Pace and Hakim Warrick were also major contributors.

2001–02 Syracuse Orangemen men's basketball
Preseason NIT champions
National Invitation Tournament, 4th Place
Conference	Big East Conference
Record	23–13 (9–7 Big East)
Head coach	Jim Boeheim (26th season)
Assistant coaches	Bernie Fine (26th season) Mike Hopkins (7th season) Troy Weaver (2nd season)
Home arena	Carrier Dome
Seasons ← 2000–01 2002–03 →

2001–02 Big East men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
East
No. 10 Connecticut†	13	–	3		.813			27	–	7		.794
No. 21 Miami	10	–	6		.625			24	–	8		.750
St. John's	9	–	7		.563			20	–	12		.625
Boston College	8	–	8		.500			20	–	12		.625
Villanova	7	–	9		.438			19	–	13		.594
Providence	6	–	10		.375			15	–	16		.484
Virginia Tech*	4	–	12		.250			10	–	18		.357
West
No. 9 Pittsburgh	13	–	3		.813			29	–	6		.829
Notre Dame	10	–	6		.625			22	–	11		.667
Georgetown	9	–	7		.563			19	–	11		.633
Syracuse	9	–	7		.563			23	–	13		.639
Rutgers	8	–	8		.500			18	–	13		.581
Seton Hall	5	–	11		.313			12	–	18		.400
West Virginia*	1	–	15		.063			8	–	20		.286
† 2002 Big East tournament winner As of April 1, 2002^[1] Rankings from AP Poll *Did not qualify for 2002 Big East tournament

Roster

2001–02 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown F 1 Hakim Warrick 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Wynnewood, Pennsylvania G/F 3 Preston Shumpert 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Fort Walton Beach, Florida G 13 Kueth Duany 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Bloomington, Indiana	Head coach Jim Boeheim (Syracuse) Assistant coach(es) Bernie Fine (Syracuse) Mike Hopkins (Syracuse) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster

• Preston Shumpert (20.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg)
• DeShaun Williams (15.9 ppg, 4.1 apg)
• Kueth Duany (12.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg)
• Hakim Warrick (6.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg)
• James Thues (5.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg)
• Craig Forth (4.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg)
• Josh Pace (4.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg)
• Jeremy McNeil (3.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg)
• Billy Celuck (1.9, 2.0 rpg)

Developments

• Syracuse defeated Wake Forest to capture the Preseason NIT Championship.^[2]
• Although Syracuse was ranked as high as No. 7 at one point, Syracuse would lose 9-of-13 games, and would miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 1996–97 season.^[3]
• Syracuse advanced to the NIT Postseason Semifinals, where it lost to South Carolina.^[4]
• Shumpert was named to the All-Big East First Team following the season.^[5]
• Following the season, guards DeShaun Williams^[6] and James Thues^[7] both left the team. Williams transferred to Iona while Thues left for Detroit.

References

1. https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/big-east/2002.html
2. Hermoso, Rafael (November 23, 2001). "COLLEGE BASKETBALL: PRESEASON N.I.T NOTEBOOK; Wake Forest in Finals Thanks to a Hot Tip". The New York Times.
3. "Syracuse Orangemen Basketball 2001-2002". orangehoops.org.
4. http://media.www.dailyorange.com/media/storage/paper522/news/2002/03/27/Sports/South.Carolina.Beats.Su.Advances.To.Nit.Final-223872.shtml ^{[permanent dead link]}
5. "ESPN.com - 2002 NBA Draft: Preston Shumpert Draft Bio". www.espn.com.
6. Williams to leave Orangemen – News ^{[permanent dead link]}
7. "Thues transfers to Detroit Mercy - Sports - The Daily Orange". Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved December 9, 2021.