In a season that would rival any other in Syracuse basketball history, this surprise Orange team won the hearts and minds of all SU faithful…even after dropping an exhibition game to LeMoyne. Leading that charge was the charismatic, high-flying Wesley Johnson. A quiet kid, with a big smile and even bigger hops wowed fans all season long with improbable finishes and monstrous blocks. We heard good things about this Iowa State transfer before the season began, but couldn’t have expected anything close to what Johnson brought to the table.

Today Wes declared for the NBA draft, and will not waffle as an agent hiring is in the works. We cannot blame him, and must assume he just never got our emails or voice messages imploring him to stay one more year to work on his dribble-drive game. So it goes…guess he can do that next year while on the job.

So, with only 35 games in an Orange uniform, Wesley will go down as one of the greats…and the team as a group of over acheivers that somehow came up just a bit short, if that is possible.

And with that, we close the door on this season and begin looking forward to next. After the US wins the World Cup, of course.

Go Orange.