Meet Boeheim’s Army: Hakim Warrick
Daily Orange File Photo
Hakim Warrick's epic block helped Syracuse win the 2003 national title. Now, he'll try and help Boeheim's Army win a title, too.
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.
Hakim Warrick
Before LeBron James pinned Andre Iguodala’s layup against the backboard in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, “The Block” belonged to Hakim Warrick. With 0.7 seconds left in the 2003 national championship game, Warrick got a hand on Michael Lee’s corner 3 to help seal Syracuse’s first and only national title in an 81-78 win over Kansas.
Warrick has had the most NBA success out of anyone on Boeheim’s Army. He stayed in the league until 2013, playing for the Grizzlies, Bucks, Bulls, Suns, Hornets and Bobcats after being taken 19th overall by Memphis in the 2005 draft. Warrick’s best season in the NBA came in his sophomore campaign, when he averaged 12.7 points and 5.1 rebounds while playing in all 82 regular season games for the Grizzlies. He has played for four teams overseas since, most recently Olympiacos in Greece in 2016.
In his four years under Boeheim, Warrick averaged 15.4 points and 7.6 rebounds. In his senior season he scored 21.4 points per game and grabbed 8.6 boards per contest en route to Big East Player of the Year honors. Warrick has arguably the best resume of any player on Boeheim’s Army and has the potential to be a dominant force down low in his second summer playing for the team. In four games for Boeheim’s Army last year, Warrick averaged 15.3 points and 7.5 boards a game.
Published on July 16, 2016 at 11:32 am
Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman
