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After not hearing their names called at the 2022 NBA draft, Buddy Boeheim signed with the Detroit Pistons, according to Mike Waters of syracuse.com, while Cole Swider joined the Los Angeles Lakers, per Dan Woike.

No Syracuse player was picked in this year’s draft, making it five straight seasons without a first-round pick from the school. The last SU player to be drafted was Elijah Hughes in the second round of the 2020 draft by the New Orleans Pelicans. 

Buddy was named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference’s First Team after leading the conference with 19.2 points per game and 613 total points. He had at least 20 points in three of his last four games to close the regular season, finishing with the sixth-highest minutes percentage in the country at 93.5, per KenPom.

The guard received an NBA G-League Elite Camp invite back in May. The camp took place in Chicago on May 16-17, allowing prospects to showcase their skills in five-on-five games in front of scouts. He recorded 20 points, including six 3-pointers during one scrimmage. 

Buddy climbed NBA draft boards in 2021, averaging 26 points per game on 48% shooting from deep in March. He had a 27.5% 3-point percentage in the first 11 games of the season, but that jumped to 47.3% in the second half of the season.

“That’s crazy to me, to be honest,” Buddy said of NBA praise. “I never thought about being an NBA player even once.”

Swider decided to forgo his final season of NCAA eligibility and declare for the draft. He finished the year first on the Orange with 6.8 rebounds per game and second with 13.9 points per game. Swider and Scotty Pippen Jr. took up the Lakers two spots, according to Shams Charania. 

“It was a 50-50 decision, but after the season, I got some really good information from the NBA guys … it made it hard to turn down that option,” Swider told Cuse Sports Talk at the time. “Coach (Jim) Boeheim relayed that message to me of, ‘If you’re going to go make some money playing basketball, coming back would only be for what you want to accomplish in college, it wouldn’t be for your professional (career).’”

The Lakers invited Swider to two workouts, according to Woike. Swider also prepared for the NBA draft with the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament — an annual, four-day tournament for 64 of the top college seniors in front of NBA and overseas scouts. But since he expected to play in the summer league, Swider reduced his offseason workload, according to his strength coach Anthony Tingley.

Swider’s best performances came near the end of the 2021-22 season, including a career-high 36 points with seven 3-pointers against North Carolina. Swider followed that up with 28 points against Florida State and 15 against Duke in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

 

Published on June 24, 2022 at 9:35 am

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu