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From a resurgent women’s basketball season led by Dyaisha Fair to the football program’s historic first campaign under Fran Brown, 2024 was an action-packed year for Syracuse Athletics. The Daily Orange’s sports section covered the most noteworthy stories at SU, like Felisha Legette-Jack’s March Madness matchup against legendary UConn coach Geno Auriemma and men’s soccer player Ernest Bawa’s journey from humble beginnings in Ghana.

As the year comes to a close, here are our top 10 sports reads of 2024:

Courtesy of SU Athletics

IMMORTAL: Paul Gait’s revolutionary lacrosse life encapsulates jersey retirement at SU

Alongside his twin brother and current Syracuse head coach Gary Gait, Paul Gait became a catalyst behind the program’s three NCAA titles from 1988-90. Following his illustrious career at SU, Gait enriched his place as one of the most influential lacrosse figures of all time by totaling 712 points through 13 seasons in the National Lacrosse League.

Shortly after retiring, Gait became a revolutionary mind behind modern lacrosse equipment, founding the high-end Gait Lacrosse brand. In 2022, he was paralyzed from his T6 vertebrae and below after suffering a 20-foot fall in the Gait Lacrosse warehouse in Altamont, New York. Gait underwent spinal fusion surgery following the accident. He can no longer walk and primarily moves by wheelchair.

The story of lacrosse can’t be told without Gait. On April 20, Gait’s No. 19 jersey was immortalized in the JMA Wireless Dome’s rafters 34 years after his career with the Orange concluded.

“It was an exceptional life experience as well because of the fact that I went from being a player to working in the industry that I grew up loving,” Gait said.

Nick Luttrell | Staff Photographer (left), Courtesy of UConn Athletics (right)

Geno Auriemma recruited Felisha Legette-Jack out of high school. Now, they face in the NCAA Tournament for the 2nd time.

Ahead of the 2022-23 season, Hall of Fame UConn head coach Geno Auriemma reached out to Syracuse Director of Athletics John Wildhack and advocated for him to hire Felisha Legette-Jack. Since trying to convince her to join Virginia’s 1984 recruiting class, Auriemma has kept close tabs on Legette-Jack’s playing and eventual coaching career.

Following struggles early in her coaching career, Legette-Jack took off as the University at Buffalo’s head coach from 2012-22, even facing Auriemma in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. When the Orange needed a new head coach, Auriemma maneuvered behind the scenes, eventually landing Legette-Jack the keys to her alma mater.

“I tried really, really hard to get Felisha the (Syracuse) job before, and they finally realized the obvious thing for them to do,” Auriemma said.

Joshua Chang | Daily Orange File Photo

An oral history of Tyler Ennis’ 2014 buzzer-beater against Pitt

No. 1 Syracuse entered a hostile Petersen Events Center attempting to win its 24th straight game to begin the 2013-14 season on Feb. 12 against No. 25 Pittsburgh. After Talib Zanna made two free throws with 4.4 seconds remaining, the Orange trailed 56-55.

Following a Pitt timeout, SU inbounded the ball to freshman point guard Tyler Ennis. He dribbled through a double team at halfcourt before nailing a buzzer-beating deep 3-pointer. Here is the story of that night from the players, coaches, team employees and media members who witnessed it.

Courtesy of SU Athletics

BOWS UP: Freshman Elijah Moore brings signature elbow celebration to SU

Syracuse freshman Elijah Moore, 247Sports’ No. 58 player in the class of 2024, has a marksman-like shooting ability. So, adding a bullseye on his elbow made perfect sense to complete his left arm tattoo sleeve. Shortly after getting the tattoo, pointing his bullseye to the sky after draining a 3-pointer became Moore’s signature celebration.

The celebration and Moore became viral sensations. Before playing for Syracuse, the guard amassed 143k Instagram followers. Whether it’s Carmelo Anthony’s ‘3’s to the Dome,’ Stephen Curry’s ‘Night, night’ or Trae Young’s ‘Ice Trae,’ signature celebrations are synonymous with elite shooters. Moore’s elbow is no different.

“A big part of my game is my ability to shoot,” Moore said. “Having the elbow tattoo just goes hand in hand with it.”

Courtesy of SU Athletics

‘MISSING PIECE’: Ohio State transfer QB Kyle McCord is primed to unlock SU’s offense

Following Dwayne Haskins, Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud as Ohio State’s starting quarterback in 2023, Kyle McCord had nearly impossible shoes to fill. Though he notched 11 wins while completing 65.8% of his passes for 3,170 yards and 24 touchdowns, a loss to Michigan resulted in head coach Ryan Day not naming him the Buckeyes’ 2024 starting quarterback.

It resulted in McCord’s “last-minute” decision to enter the transfer portal. While Ohio State wasn’t willing to commit to McCord, Syracuse viewed him as a potential program-altering quarterback. Instantly, head coach Fran Brown and quarterback coach Nunzio Campanile flew to Columbus to meet with the signal-caller. Thirteen days later, SU had its guy.

“Me coming in here, I feel like I was the missing piece to tie it all together,” McCord said.

Courtesy of SU Athletics

Kayla Treanor’s coaching aspirations derive from father’s storied career

Syracuse women’s lacrosse head coach Kayla Treanor’s coaching career began in elementary school. Her father, Mark, was Niskayuna High School’s (New York) longtime boy’s basketball coach. So, he often took Treanor with him to practice.

As she ascended into a top lacrosse recruit, Treanor told schools she wanted to coach after college. After a historic four-year run at Syracuse, she joined Harvard’s coaching staff as an assistant before joining Boston College’s staff.

Then, Treanor returned to SU when Gary Gait moved to the men’s team and she took over the women’s side. Across her three years as a head coach, Treanor has led the Orange to two Final Four appearances. While roaming the sidelines of the JMA Wireless Dome, her father’s philosophies that she harnessed from a young age take over.

“I completely look at lacrosse in terms of basketball,” Treanor said. “I always have. It’s the way that I’ve understood the game.”

Jacob Halsema | Staff Photographer

Growing up in Ghana, Ernest Bawa never stopped chasing his dreams

All Ernest Bawa had when he arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport in 2016 on a flight from Kotoka, Ghana, was a backpack. After beginning his soccer career on dirt roads without cleats in Ghana, Bawa moved to the United States with dreams of playing college soccer.

Playing four years at Right to Dream Academy, a soccer program for underprivileged kids in Ghana, gave him the chance to play for Taft Boarding School (Connecticut). There, he became its all-time leading scorer, resulting in a scholarship to play at North Carolina. Following four seasons with the Tar Heels, Bawa transferred to Syracuse for his final year of eligibility as a graduate student in 2024.

“It was very surreal for me, that I was actually living the life that I wanted,” Bawa said.

Joe Zhao | Design Editor

3,000 points later, Dyaisha Fair, Felisha Legette-Jack’s connection has come full circle

Dyaisha Fair scoring her 3,000th point was just as meaningful to her head coach as it was to her. Throughout Fair’s five-year NCAA career, Felisha Legette-Jack was right by her side, becoming a motherly figure to Fair while at Buffalo and Syracuse. Legette-Jack was one of few people to believe in Fair, who was under-recruited in high school due to her small stature.

Upon Fair’s 2022 transfer to SU, the two became nationally recognized as one of the best coach-player pairings in the country. And in a 2023-24 season where the two put Syracuse women’s basketball back on the map, Fair becoming just the 16th woman in NCAA history to score 3,000 points signified that her connection with Legette-Jack had come full circle.

“Before getting to this level, everyone doubted me. Everyone doubted my size. Everyone doubted me entirely because of how small I am,” Fair said. “I’ve always said I didn’t care.”

“As coach (Legette-Jack) always says, I kept my head down and just was true to myself.”

Courtesy of D’Nia Freeman

COMING HOME: Donovan Freeman is slated to be SU’s newest star forward

When he committed to Syracuse, Donovan Freeman was the program’s highest-ranked recruit since 2012. The McDonald’s All-American possesses intangibles akin to SU’s best point forwards of all time, a position that’s legacy is spurred by the successes of Derrick Coleman, Jerami Grant and Carmelo Anthony, among others.

This latest mold encapsulates Freeman perfectly. The 6-foot-9, five-star forward signed with SU because of an unwavering trust in head coach Adrian Autry and his staff to sculpt him into a program great.

“I can do anything on the floor,” Freeman said. “Historically, that’s what Syracuse’s forwards do. I’ll come in and find any way to become a winning player.”

Courtesy of USA Lacrosse

Joey Spallina searching to lead USA Box Lacrosse to 1st-ever gold medal

Since middle school, Joey Spallina has been a lacrosse phenom. Pressure is synonymous with the star Syracuse attack, who became the No. 1 player in the country before committing to SU and donning the program’s historic No. 22 jersey. Still, he didn’t feel any pressure when trying out for Team USA’s Box Lacrosse National Team in September 2023.

Spallina was the youngest player in a 66-man field trying out to earn a spot for the World Box Lacrosse Championship, which was played in Utica in September 2024. Despite his youth, Spallina used his polished box lacrosse skillset to carve a spot on the team, immediately emerging as one of Team USA’s marquee players.

“He just made plays, and didn’t seem to make many mistakes. So we certainly drew our attention to his consistency,” Team USA offensive coordinator Brian Hobart said of Spallina.

Published on December 31, 2024 at 4:01 pm