Eric Devendorf put Boeheim’s Army’s championship hopes in the hands of Keifer Sykes, one of the few non-Syracuse alums on the team. Devendorf stayed in the right corner in case Sykes needed an outlet. But the pass never came.

Sykes hesitated with the ball, his defender looking inside for help. After one crossover between his legs, Sykes bolted to the right wing, stopping at NBA-range to launch a shot. The ball hugged the back of the rim and fell through the net, giving Boeheim’s Army its first ever The Basketball Tournament championship title.

“It was a hard shot, and the fact that it was worth a million dollars made it even better,” Devendorf said.

Confetti fell to the hardwood floor as Sykes jumped onto the scorers table looking at a sea of Syracuse fans in the audience. Head coach Jeremy Pope hugged his mother in the middle of the court. Devendorf found his former head coach — the one who the team’s namesake is inspired from — and wrapped one arm around him and another around his son, Buddy Boeheim.

The million-dollar shot encapsulated Boeheim’s Army’s entire tournament run in one stroke. It ended seven seasons of rough defeats, putting BA over the hump for the first time in team history. But the success of Boeheim’s Army wasn’t possible without the changes the team made before the tournament, including the addition of several non-Syracuse players for the first time in team history.

Adding non-SU alumni was a strategy that worked for other teams in the tournament, general manager Kevin Belbey said. Every alumni team that’s won the tournament in the past had at least two non-alumni players on their squad.

Devendorf, Belbey and Belbey’s brother Shaun put their “general manager caps” on and added four new players. The time had come to “make sure (they) had the best team possible to try and bring home the money,” Shaun said.

Specifically, BA wanted experience. Tyrese Rice, Keifer Sykes, DeAndre Kane and D.J. Kennedy joined the roster. Kennedy and Kane had four and three TBT championship wins, respectively, while Rice and Sykes had years of overseas experience in Europe.

“Without those guys, we wouldn’t have won,” Devendorf said. “Those four guys were the difference makers.”

Boeheim’s Army had to fill a coaching position as well, after head coach and former Syracuse forward Ryan Blackwell stepped down following the birth of his first child. Devendorf and team chairman Adam Weitsman had one man in mind for the position — Jeremy Pope.

Devendorf and Weitsman went to Canada in search of inspiration as they were trying to open a basketball academy in upstate New York. Pope, an assistant coach at Orangeville Prep outside of Toronto, gave the pair a tour of the basketball facilities, leaving a lasting impression on Devendorf and Weitsman.

“We have the talent,” Devendorf said before the tournament. “We just need Pope to give us that organization. He’ll be able to do that. He knows the game.”

With a full roster and an updated coaching staff, Boeheim’s Army was finally prepared for the tournament. Since the team was constructed quickly, they had just one week to practice before the first game. Kennedy and Kane weren’t even able to attend for all seven days, but on Jul. 24, the whole squad took to the court for the first time.

Boeheim’s Army got off to a rocky start in the first game against Forces of Seoul. BA trailed by seven points heading into the fourth quarter, only retaking the lead before the start of the Elam Ending, where, at the first dead ball with under four minutes left in the game, there is a target amount of points set by adding eight points to the leading team’s score. The first to the target score wins the game.

Rice played for Team Challenge ALS in last year’s tournament, and he thrived in the Elam Ending. Rice became the facilitator for BA this season throughout the Elam Ending, bringing up the ball to the top of the key before running plays or trying to create space for himself.

In the first possession of the period, Rice found Malachi Richardson in the left corner for a 3-pointer. Then, Rice banked his own deep 3-pointer from the left wing with the shot clock expiring. He ended the matchup from 3-point range again, even though the team only needed a 2-pointer to advance.

“For him to come out and dominate in the TBT event is huge,” Pope said.

Rice brought a “floor general” presence that the team lacked in its previous tournament runs, Devendorf said. The former EuroCup Most Valuable Player and Boston College star totaled 86 points in the tournament, earning MVP honors.

But Devendorf said that Rice’s abilities were complemented by Sykes’ relentlessness to play like a “bulldog.” In Boeheim’s Army’s second game against Team Heartfire, BA dominated for the entirety of the game with Sykes scoring a team-high 17 points.

Former Syracuse player Eric Devendorf embraces head coach Jim Boeheim after Boeheim’s Army’s first TBT championship win. Courtesy of Ben Solomon

In the second game, Boeheim’s Army made the biggest strategic change it would make throughout the entire tournament — it abandoned the 2-3 zone in favor of a man-to-man defense. For the last seven seasons, the 2-3 zone was something BA used in every game. Pope was familiar with the setup from his time under Hopkins in Washington, but the four newcomers were not.

“When Hopkins took it to Washington, he revamped it himself,” Pope said about that zone. “He was really tactical and technical with the setup. I’ve seen it change and mold depending on who we’re playing against.”

The man-to-man look worked for Boeheim’s Army as it held Team Heartfire to 14 points in the first half. BA was able to press on its opposition, forcing more turnovers rather than allowing the open shots that the team did in the first round.

Boeheim’s Army dominated against Heartfire and in its next game against Always a Brave with its updated defensive tactic, and Sykes and Rice flourished as the team’s dynamic duo on offense. But in the quarterfinals, BA faced the defending TBT champions the Golden Eagles — Marquette’s alumni team — a team that eliminated Boeheim’s Army in the TBT quarterfinals in 2018. With a 37-32 lead at halftime, it looked as if the Golden Eagles were going to do it again. Boeheim’s Army began to get frustrated about defensive play and poor shot selection, Pope said.

“We had a shaky first half,” Pope said. “It was either make or break at that moment.”

At halftime, Pope and the team developed the motto of having “one agenda” — winning the TBT title. Pope said Boeheim’s Army “switched gears” by putting their emotions to the side in the second half.

Final shot from Keifer Sykes. Boeheim’s Army wins $1 million and their first TBT. pic.twitter.com/ULDsTFg9Mu

— Anthony Alandt (@anthonyalandt) August 4, 2021

Rice then repeated his Elam Ending heroics, scoring all but one basket during the period to send BA to the semifinals. He did it again the following game, finishing with 24 points to send Boeheim’s Army to its first finals appearance in team history.

The new “one agenda” approach transformed the team that only knew each other for two weeks. Each setback was something the team was able to comeback from, Devendorf said.

It took Pope two days to go through all the congratulations texts and calls he received after the win. He took the first flight back to Portland, Oregon the morning after winning $1 million to return to his job as an assistant coach at the University of Portland.

As for Devendorf, who’s back coaching youth players with his company, ED23 Hoops, the win has finally settled in almost one month later. Devendorf said the four newcomers are “honorary Syracuse players forever” after the bunch’s unselfishness led to the ultimate prize on Aug. 3.

“It was memorable,” Devendorf said. “No one knows the stuff that we went through, there were some battles in there. We stuck together through the arguing and fighting and we won.”

Published on August 31, 2021 at 11:10 pm

Contact Anish: [email protected] | @anish_vasu