Syracuse athletics: who would be your ultimate Orange dinner guests?

Dinner for four, not fourty-four

We’re starting to hit that point in the calendar where Syracuse Orange sports slow down and we have to dig into the content crates for some ideas.

Thankfully Jim Boeheim and the Cuse Sports Talk crew delivered on Friday with this question: what three Syracuse University Athletics figures would you like to have dinner with? Here’s what Boeheim said:

Now we pose the question to our staff and to you our TNIAAM readers: which three SU athletics figures would you invite to dinner?

Kevin: Katherine Switzer, Vic Hanson and Sherman Douglas

I’ve heard stories about Switzer’s Boston Marathon run, but it would be great to hear more about the lead up to challenging the Boston Athletic Association’s ban on women. Vic Hanson is the forgotten legend in Syracuse history. He’s the only player to be inducted into both the College Football and Basketball Hall of Fame, not to mention he starred on the Orange baseball squad. Sherman Douglas is another figure that seems to be under-appreciated. We don’t hear much about The General and it would be interesting to hear how it felt to follow Pearl and be part of the most talented Syracuse teams under Jim Boeheim.

Dom: Dave Bing, Rony Seikaly and Jim Brown

I’ve briefly introduced myself to him and wrote a story about Dave Bing before, but he would certainly be a top pick for me. Bing’s NBA peak is so underrated historically and he played at such a fascinating time for the league. He also has a fascinating and very impactful post-playing career resume. Sticking with hoops, Rony Seikaly is a sneaky pick for me because he was part of that ‘87 team along with Douglas and his NBA career saw him play with a handful of teams with plenty of notable names during the nineties. My last choice is Jim Brown purely because he would have so many on- and off-the-field stories to tell.

Max: Ernie Davis, Larry Csonka and Carmelo Anthony

It’s hard to turn down dinner with Ernie Davis, who was a trailblazer for African-American athletes and one of the greatest collegiate running backs of all-time. As a lifelong Miami Dolphins fan, our only relevancy was thanks to Csonka, a NFL Hall of Famer and a total bruiser who won back-to-back Super Bowls with the Fins (and Super Bowl VIII MVP). He’s also a somewhat forgotten Orange legend who overlapped his time with Floyd Little in the mid-1960s. I’d pick Melo because he’s had arguably the greatest impact of any SU basketball player ever.

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Now it’s your turn, which three Syracuse Orange sports figures would you invite?