Jim Boeheim remembers humble beginnings as an assistant coach, lobbying for practice time inside the crammed Manley Field House.

‘I started on the dirt floor of Manley Field House,’ said Boeheim, Syracuse head men’s basketball coach. ‘And (former football coach) Ben Schwartzwalder sometimes used to let us practice in there. Some days, he opened up all the doors when we were in the middle of practice. He’d open up all the doors and let the entire football team inside, thinking it really wasn’t that cold.’

But with the official opening of the $19 million Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center Saturday morning, most of Boeheim’s practice facility woes have been absolved. The 54,000-square foot building vaults Syracuse to the top of the Division I facilities race with the new ultra-modern complex, adjacent to the coaches’ wing of Manley.

Boeheim, accompanied by SU Director of Athletics Daryl Gross, Chancellor Nancy Cantor, women’s basketball head coach Quentin Hillsman, the men’s and women’s teams and former player George Hicker, staged a ceremonial net-cutting in front of the newly opened facility in an event emceed by SU Athletics multimedia director Roger Springfield. The early-morning ceremony allowed top donors and friends of the program to tour the inside of the building.

‘This is a great day, obviously, for our program,’ Hillsman said. ‘For us, it’s the best facility in the country. Not many programs in the country can say they have a practice facility of this magnitude.’

Walking in through the facility’s front glass double-doors, the corridor leads in one of two directions. Straight ahead, in the new foyer between the coaches’ wing of Manley and the facility, sits the Hall of Fame Room.

Arched by a trio of banners featuring former SU forward Carmelo Anthony (one in each of his Syracuse, Denver Nuggets and Team USA uniforms), the Hall of Fame Room serves as the prodigious trophy room for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams.

The 2003 national championship trophy sits in glass casing midway through the left side, surrounded by old photographs, placards and a litany of plasma screen televisions, which, on this day were replaying Syracuse’s six-overtime victory over Connecticut in the 2009 Big East tournament.

Hang a left in the ‘Melo Center’s front doors and you reach the facility’s paramount – two full-length basketball courts. Known as a fixed-resilient type floor, the three-quarter-inch maple court rests on a two-layer base of plywood and rubber, designed to reduce physical strain on an athlete.

The orange borders on each of the courts – reminiscent of the Carrier Dome floor – segue straight into a glass-encased workout room that sits in the foreground of the two courts. Packed with free weights, flat benches and squat racks, as well as an area for agility drills, the workout room is supplemented by a full-sized athletic training room.

‘I can’t imagine a better basketball facility around,’ SU forward Wes Johnson said. ‘We plan to take full advantage of all the opportunities this has to offer.’

Stairwells and elevators at both ends of the basketball court section lead to the Center’s second floor. At each end sits a tiered meeting room for the teams, both packed with leather seats and a projection screen to watch film. The film and meeting rooms are powered by a central control room further down the hallway.

The opposite sides of the halls are highlighted by the administrative areas for both teams, as well as the coaches’ offices. Seemingly identical in size, the administrative areas both have reception tables and four large-scale offices for the coaching staffs.

Large windows are the focal point of these offices, facing inward to give the coaches an opportunity to look down on the basketball courts.

The offices – eight in total along the court wall – are caddy-corner to a glass perch that also overlooks the court, providing the coaches an opportunity to film practice from a variety of angles. Or, in men’s assistant coach Mike Hopkins’ case, a place to strike a pose for oncoming supporters and photographers.

In total, the facility embodies everything that Manley Field House lacked for the basketball team. Though Manley has a rich history, the ‘Melo Center is versatile, basketball-specific and state-of-the-art.

And for Boeheim, it will make all the difference looking forward,. Though he’s visited the Center countless times throughout the building process, he couldn’t help but crack a wry smile as he was about to usher in the next group touring the new facility. Thirty-four years and one new facility later, it feels pretty good.

‘Jim, what’d you have an office the size of a bedroom closet to start?’ Springfield said. ‘And now it’s got its own bathroom – phenomenal.’

AAU team highlights SU prospects

Fab Melo, who committed to Syracuse last month, will reportedly play a stint with a Long Island-based AAU team started by Torell Harris, the father of highly-touted Orange prospect Tobias Harris, according to a story on SNY.tv.

The team, the Unique All-Stars, already contains 2010 Syracuse commits C.J. Fair and Dion Waiters, and plans to add Melo for its playoff run.

The addition could foreshadow a possible commitment from Tobias Harris – the No. 5 overall prospect on Rivals.com – who made his first official visit to Syracuse the weekend of Sept. 26, and recently narrowed his search to seven schools.

Harris’ high school coach, Bill Mitaritonna, talked at length last week about how influential the players surrounding Harris can be in his eventual commitment decision, which should come in the early signing period.

Adding Melo to a team with two Orange commits already could be a make-or-break situation for Harris as it will give him the best possible preview for a potential future at SU.

‘That’s a big deal,’ Mitaritonna said. ‘It goes a long way with him. He wants to be with guys he likes and doesn’t want to go play with someone he doesn’t get along with or hogs the ball, or whatever the case may be.’

ctorr@syr.edu

Published on October 5, 2009 at 12:00 pm