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Photo Credit: TST & TBT<\/p>\nBuddy Boeheim\u2019s 24 hours leading up to Boeheim\u2019s Army\u2019s TBT tipoff against the Herkimer Originals were nothing short of intense.<\/p>\n
Before boarding a red-eye flight to Syracuse, he wrapped up his final NBA Summer League game in Las Vegas, where he scored six points on two three-pointers. Landing early Saturday morning, Buddy met with his team just hours before tipoff. Despite the whirlwind, he never felt fatigued. He was fueled by excitement.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the adrenaline was there from the start,\u201d Buddy said to FOX Sports. \u201cBeing out there, and the nerves were there. But playing with Elijiah, Jacob Gilyard for the first time, playing with my brother and all these great former Cuse guys\u2026was super fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
That excitement quickly translated into impact. Fans didn\u2019t have to wait long to see that familiar Buddy Boeheim spark. Whether darting around screens for catch-and-shoots, slashing inside with the ball, or pulling up for contested deep shots, Buddy brought the same energy that once lit up the JMA Wireless Dome. He looked every bit the sharpshooter from his Syracuse days, pumping up the crowd with every shot.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt didn\u2019t matter how many hours of sleep I got last night,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The former Syracuse sharpshooter made his TBT debut count, finishing with a game-high 24 points on 7-of-9 three-point shooting. With less than a day to build chemistry, he still clicked with teammates, thanks in part to their deep Orange connection. He played two seasons with Elijah Hughes at Syracuse, including a 44-point combined outburst against North Carolina in the 2019-20 season finale. He also shared the court with his brother Jimmy during the 2021-22 season.<\/p>\n
Photo Credit: TST & TBT<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the chemistry that these guys feel has been embedded into these guys because of Coach (Jim) Boeheim,\u201d BA\u2019s head coach, Allen Griffin, said postgame, who also serves as an assistant coach at Syracuse. He added that Jim Boeheim had joked with him, saying, \u201cJust give Buddy the ball,\u201d to which Griffin replied, \u201cBut I got Elijah.\u201d<\/p>\n
Regardless of the joke, it was clear: when Buddy had the ball, good things happened. His teammates trusted him, and he delivered.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a good thing that we all understand and know each other. You know, especially, we\u2019re familiar with one another. It\u2019s just good to be around,\u201d Griffin said.<\/p>\n
That comfort extended to teammates outside the Syracuse circle. Buddy praised the non-Cuse guys as well, especially his fellow guard.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou got to try finding ways to play with everyone and be flexible. So that\u2019s kind of what I try to do. And, those guys do the same,\u201d Boeheim said.<\/p>\n
After undergoing surgery on the thumb of his shooting hand during the G-League season with the OKC Blue, Buddy was invited to join BA by its GM, Shaun Belbey. Despite experiencing a decline from his deep last season (33.7%) compared to his 2023-24 season with Motor City Cruise (43.1%), Belbey said <\/a>Buddy was \u201cone of the best shooters in the world who was not in the NBA,\u201d indicating how much BA needed a knockdown shooter after past struggles from three.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew I was going to have an off-season (and) be able to (play TBT),\u201d Boeheim said. \u201cI think Belby did a good job here, and Griffin was going to coach, I think it was a no-brainer for me. And you see why it\u2019s super fun out there. It\u2019s as fun as I\u2019ve had playing basketball in a while.\u201d<\/p>\n And, of course, the Orange fans made it even more special. With the SRC Arena buzzing for BA\u2019s TBT opener, and with Jimmy once again in the same jersey, Buddy found all the motivation he needed. In 2023, Jimmy returned for TBT and helped BA reach the regional final. This year, with their father watching from the sidelines, the Boeheim brothers have bigger goals.<\/p>\n \u201cNothing better,\u201d Buddy said of playing with Jimmy again in front of the Orange fans. \u201cI think that was the most fun I\u2019ve had in a long time playing basketball, just because of the environment, the fans, how much Syracuse means to me and Jimmy, and I think it\u2019s awesome. It\u2019s like the whole time.\u201d<\/p>\n With one day to rest before BA faces No. 4 We Are D3 in the Round of 32, Buddy will finally have time to rest. But if his TBT debut proved anything, it was that when the spotlights came on and the Orange fans\u2019 eyes were watching, Buddy showed up, and he was meant to.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m pretty tired now. I\u2019m definitely going to need some sleep,\u201d Buddy said when asked if he was tired. \u201cBut when I got here and saw the fans, it was easy to play for (them) and get up for it.\u201d<\/p>\n Get the latest headlines delivered to your inbox each morning.\u00a0Sign up for our Morning Edition to start your day<\/a>. FL1 on the Go! Download the free FingerLakes1.com App for iOS (iPhone, iPad)<\/a>.<\/p>\n Kevin Lu is a contributor for Fingerlakes1.com. He freelanced for the site during The Basketball Tournament (TBT) in 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Buddy Boeheim\u2019s 24 hours leading up to Boeheim\u2019s Army\u2019s TBT tipoff against the Herkimer Originals were nothing short…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23180,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[402,398,400,401,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-23179","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-basketball","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-ncaa","10":"tag-ncaa-basketball","11":"tag-ncaabasketball","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23179"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23179\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n