Craig Forth stood at a lectern in front of the Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club this past fall and delivered a speech.

The crowd expected a lengthy narrative about what it’s like to play for the Syracuse men’s basketball team. They figured a few stories from the hardwood would be mixed in, maybe even a behind-the-scenes look at the 2003 National Championship season.

And for the first three minutes, Forth did just that, appeasing the crowd by talking basketball.

But for the final 27 minutes, Forth spoke about the rest of his life.

He discussed being a Big Brother and helping others. He talked about student teaching at local elementary schools. He spoke about what it was like having a younger brother with autism and having another brother involved in sports.

‘Obviously winning a national championship is a big part of my life, and playing for Syracuse is a big part of my life,’ Forth said, ‘but if I didn’t play for Syracuse, I’d still be active outside basketball.’

Forth will start his record 132nd consecutive game for Syracuse on Saturday when it plays its regular season finale at Connecticut. Over the past four years, Forth has started every game for the Orange.

The only recognition Forth usually gets at games is when he’s booed. He quietly averages his five points and 20 minutes.

Off the court, Forth was a third-team Academic All-American last season. He’ll earn at least that same recognition this season and quite possibly be named to the first team. But when he graduates in May with a degree in inclusive education, fans won’t be longing for the Craig Forth days anytime soon. That, said his high school coach Jim Obermeyer, will be a mistake.

Obermeyer compared Forth to a teenager’s first car. It wasn’t always pretty to look at and you always wanted something better. But it was reliable and always delivered you where you needed to be.

‘You really didn’t appreciate it, but you were lucky to have those wheels at the time,’ Obermeyer said. ‘Craig does a lot of things that don’t show up in the box score.’

Obermeyer points to the screens Forth sets. The passes he delivers from the high post or down low. The fouls he absorbs. Basically, Obermeyer said, the things an average fan doesn’t see.

‘Craig would never say to me whether (the fans) did or didn’t bother him,’ Obermeyer said. ‘It’s got to upset you a little bit. You’re not trying to do bad.’

Throughout the year, Forth’s family has been contacted by a few professional agencies trying to represent him after the season. They’ll arrange a few NBA tryouts and Forth will try to latch on somewhere, maybe in Europe or a development league somewhere in the United States.

It’s clear that Forth doesn’t want to give up on basketball quite yet.

‘I want to take basketball as far as possible,’ Forth said. ‘I’ll just see what happens after the season.’

But when Forth finally does make that decision, he’ll have a great back-up plan in his education.

Jason Forth, Craig’s older brother, and a junior at Syracuse, said that he first noticed Craig’s desire to help others in the sixth grade.

Forth had surgery on his foot because his heel bones were hollow. He was out for the entire basketball season. Instead of playing video games and goofing off, Forth stayed with his team. He helped his teammates and he observed and learned.

Forth, unable to play, still sat on the bench for the entire season.

‘That was an early sign of it,’ Jason said.

In high school, Forth volunteered to be a peer mediator, helping other students solve disputes. He also excelled in the classroom.

At one point during his senior year, Forth, with a 95 average in the classroom, struggled with a few problems in his calculus class. So he approached the teacher and asked for help. The teacher was so shocked that Forth even bothered to ask for help when he easily could have slacked off like a lot of high school seniors. She was especially shocked because Forth had already accepted a scholarship to Syracuse.

Forth still goes back to Columbia High School in East Greenbush every summer to help Obermeyer and former Columbia Athletic Director Bob Smith run a yearly basketball camp. In the morning, Forth works with the younger kids. In the afternoon, he takes some of the older boys and girls down to a different elementary school to practice.

Forth doesn’t stop at basketball, though. He also talks with the kids about the importance of education and life outside of basketball. His own life is a testament to that.

‘He’s been a real big part of that,’ Obermeyer said of the camp. ‘Craig does a great job with that. The kids are just mesmerized by him. He’s been a huge hit.’

Forth was a huge hit on the basketball court in high school, too, averaging nearly 20 points his senior season at Columbia. The school retired Forth’s jersey this fall and it hangs on a gym wall to remind everyone of how Forth’s play attracted hoards of local media and college recruiters.

Though many things came naturally for Forth, when colleges began recruiting him in high school, he had to ask for help.

‘Coach, what conference is St. John’s in?’ Forth asked Obermeyer after receiving a letter from the school.

‘That was all new to him,’ Obermeyer said. ‘He wasn’t an ESPN junkie.’

Forth’s recruiting ultimately came down to Syracuse and Boston College. BC told Forth they could build the team around him, Jason said. BC wanted Forth to dominate games.

Instead he chose Syracuse for its education program.

Forth could have gone to Boston and played more. But like he always has, Forth didn’t want basketball to consume his life. His ultimate goal is to start his own school. Obermeyer joked that he could ask for money from former SU star Carmelo Anthony or soon-to-be NBA millionaire Hakim Warrick.

But don’t expect that to happen. Forth doesn’t mind helping others and doesn’t mind having to do it himself.

‘I don’t throw anything out that I don’t believe is possible,’ Forth said. ‘(Starting a school) definitely is something I want to do. I don’t know the exact specific things I want to accomplish, but I want a school of my own at some point.’

Published on March 1, 2005 at 12:00 pm