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It was a night full of shrugs, snarls and smiles for Buddy Boeheim. He even mixed in some trash talk and the “he’s too little” gesture.

Anything goes during a scorching March run. Buddy, who’s now averaging 26.2 points per game on 49% shooting from 3 in March, is arguably the hottest shooter in the nation. Former SU forward Elijah Hughes called him the best shooting guard in college basketball after Friday night’s 30-point explosion. Jim Boeheim said his son was “crazy today.”

Buddy, though, humbly deflected praise postgame. He pointed to Syracuse’s improved defense and his teammates finding him and springing him open with screens.

“It’s a lot of fun when you can win games, especially in this tournament,” Buddy said. “I don’t even care how many points I score, I just want to win. We want to keep going, keep building off this, and we know there’s still a long road ahead of us.”

On Friday, when SU started slow, Buddy’s hot hand kept it afloat. When the Orange’s second-half lead wavered to 11, he picked his spot to nail two more 3s. The 11-for-15, 7-for-10 from 3 masterpiece lit the Aztecs up and sent them home. Without Buddy, No. 11 Syracuse (17-9, 9-7 Atlantic Coast) wouldn’t have upset No. 6 San Diego State (23-5, 14-3 Mountain West) 78-62 to advance to a second-round matchup with No. 3 West Virginia.

“Buddy just had one of those games like he’s been having lately where — I never had one of those, so I don’t know how it feels — but, obviously, it looks like the basket’s wide,” Boeheim said.

In Buddy’s only NCAA Tournament prior to this year, he shot 0-for-6 from the floor and 0-for-4 from deep. But any doubts on how he’d follow that up in Indianapolis’ Hinkle Fieldhouse evaporated almost immediately.

The junior hit his first 3 four minutes and 23 seconds into the game. He then added 13 more points in a personal 16-0 run. At that point, he scored 16 of SU’s 19 points, and the outstanding three came on a Marek Dolezaj and-1 off a Buddy assist. Amateur lip-readers captured some post-bucket bombast. The whole world could see Buddy’s gesture that the 5-foot-8 Terrell Gomez couldn’t guard him after scoring over him in the mid-post.

Buddy, typically soft-spoken on the court, has been much more emotional with his recent play. He’s come out of his shell — both in confidence and improved play — after COVID-19 pauses and a positive test led to an uncharacteristic 27% clip earlier in the season.

The tough shots didn’t just come out of nowhere. Growing up, Buddy could always shoot. That was never his problem. To become a Division I player, he had to grow, both in height and in build. He had to make himself into a big-time player, Boeheim said.

“If he was 6-foot, he’d still be a pretty good player, but it would probably be at Le Moyne or Ithaca or someplace,” Boeheim said.

But Buddy’s growth spurt came, and he started hitting the weight room in eighth grade. Jamesville-Dewitt coach Jeff Ike said he’s not surprised by Buddy’s recent play because he always “worked his butt off.” He shoots and lifts on off days now, Boeheim said. The benefits of being born into the family of a world-class coach with a network of basketball lifers didn’t hurt, either.

“He believed in me before I believed in myself,” Buddy said of his dad. “Seventh, eighth grade, I was never the best player, never the best athlete. But he was always there for me, telling me he believed in me. Thought I could be a good player one day”

Buddy spent summers training with former Syracuse star and current assistant Gerry McNamara. He works with former SU guard Eric Devendorf and plays 1-on-1 with his older brother Jimmy, a forward at Cornell. He likened McNamara and other members of the coaching staff to his family — big brothers or uncles, “whatever you want to call it” — who he’s grown up with.

“Me and GMac have worked 10,000 hours for the last 6-7 years every day,” Buddy said. “It’s someone I looked up to. We had a great week of working out with him, and he’s the best in the business. He pushes me to different levels.”

Once Buddy got going Friday, his teammates looked for him. Once on a fast break, Alan Griffin passed up a shot to kick out to Buddy trailing at the top of the key even though he was covered. Buddy “kept us in it,” Boeheim said, until Joe Girard III started hitting shots and setting up others later in the game. Buddy and Girard, the duo that slaps hands at the top of the 2-3 zone, each converted a four-point play in the first half. Syracuse bolted out to a 32-18 lead.

Buddy scored even as SDSU’s pack-line defense was dedicated to slowing him down. Every time he turned his back to the basket, a help defender came over to double him. He countered that by rising up faster. The junior punished mismatches on switches, taking the bigger Joshua Tomaić off the dribble and shooting over the smaller Gomez.

SDSU made a mini-run early in the second half to cut SU’s lead to 11, but Buddy didn’t let the Aztecs claw any closer. Dolezaj penetrated into the paint and kicked out to Girard, who made the extra pass to Buddy in the corner for a quick release 3. The next possession, Buddy caught a Girard dish while curling off a screen, squared up to the basket and shot all in one motion.

“He got on a hot streak and never looked back,” SDSU senior forward Matt Mitchell said.

Later, with the Orange enjoying a 20-point lead, adding with every bucket to the biggest deficit San Diego State’s faced all year, Buddy poured it on. As the shot clock winded down with 6:30 remaining, Buddy took one spinning dribble and hurled a turnaround 30-footer — likely his furthest attempt of the year. The horn blared. As Buddy walked back on defense, he threw his arms to his side and shrugged. The Syracuse faithful that made the trip to Indiana started a “Bud-dy Boeh-heim” chant. Buddy’s teammates put their hands on their heads in awe.

With one day left in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, nobody’s hit more 3s than Buddy Boeheim (seven) — and he only missed three. His 30 points are the most by a Syracuse player in a Big Dance game since Wes Johnson’s 31 against Gonzaga in 2010. With every game, Buddy’s joining a long list of recent Syracuse March heroes to rise to the pressure.

His last basket also came late in the shot clock. Buddy had Tomaić on a switch, so he crossed over back and forth, lulling the plodding center into a rhythm. Syracuse’s first All-ACC Tournament team selection made his move to his right and created enough space for a pull-up. The high-arcing shot swished through.

When Boeheim subbed his son out, the game was essentially over. Buddy walked over to the bench area and hugged McNamara. He told him he loves him. McNamara keyed the 2003 national title and followed it up with individual runs in 2004 and 2005 — including a 43-point eruption against BYU in the ‘04 Tournament.

Now, it’s Buddy’s turn.

Published on March 20, 2021 at 2:50 am

Contact Danny: dremerma@syr.edu | @DannyEmerman