Syracuse basketball: All-time starting 5 lineup

LOUISVILLE, KY - FEBRUARY 19: Head coach Jim Boeheim of the Syracuse Orange looks on during a game against the Louisville Cardinals at KFC YUM! Center on February 19, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville defeated Syracuse 90-66. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

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Carmelo Anthony (Photo by Nate Shron/Getty Images) /

Syracuse basketball has an outstanding tradition and many great players, but who would represent an all-time Syracuse starting five?

There are great debates on who is the greatest of all time or who would fit onto a Mount Rushmore of sports athletes, but the basketball equivalent is filling out an all-time starting five. Here at FanSided, we are looking at the greatest five-man lineups for some of the premier college basketball programs in the country, including today’s look at Syracuse.

The Orange have had a historic basketball tradition, so cutting down over a century of players into a starting five was extremely challenging. Great players like Vic Hanson, Rony Seikaly, Dennis Duval, Louis Orr, Wilmeth Sidat-Singh, Billy Owens and Gerry McNamara just missed the cut, but without further ado let’s take a peek at our all-time Syracuse starting five.

5. F Carmelo Anthony (2002-2003)

The fact that Carmelo Anthony spent just one year at Syracuse was the biggest thing working against him, but if you look at pure impact there’s no way you can have an all-time starting five without Anthony. The Orange have won just one national championship in the modern era and they wouldn’t have it without Anthony.

As we have previously reviewed, Anthony’s impact was so strong that he put the team on his back and carried them to the promised land. Anthony accomplished everything he wanted to in one year of college, but he may be the most memorable athlete to wear Syracuse colors in the past 25 years.