In the Paint: Georgia Tech

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For 50 years, Neal Gold has attended nearly every SU game as one of the team’s biggest fans. See page 3

In one month, Syracuse fans stormed the court three times. Find out how security braced for those events. See page 5

SU’s press struggled at the start of the year. But it’s gotten the Orange back into games recently. See page 9

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1 1. NEIL GOLD has only missed four Syracuse basketball games in the past 21 years since becoming a season ticket holder in 1996.

He’s been a fan since his freshman year at SU in 1967. 2. Gold received this championship ring after SU won the national title in 2003. SU beat Kansas, 81-78 to claim Jim Boeheim’s, and the program’s, first national title. jacob greenfeld asst. photo editor

GOLDEN

FAN-NIVERSARY 2

Season-ticket holder Neil Gold bleeds Orange for 50 years

Invitational Tournaments, win five conference tournaments and claim one national title. In 21 seasons as a season-ticket holder, he has been to four NITs, three Final Fours and the 2003 national championyracuse has played 724 games since Neil Gold became a season- ship game. ticket holder in 1996. He’s missed During Gold’s half-century of fandom, fewer than five of them.

Syracuse has failed to qualify for the NCA A The people of central New York all live Tournament only 12 times (excluding 1993 with one thing in common: a rabid obsesand 2015, when SU was banned from postsion with Syracuse. Specifically, the men’s season eligibility). This season, SU may basketball team. More than 18 million people not receive a ticket to the Big Dance for have passed through the Carrier Dome turnwhat would be only the fifth time since stiles since 1980, perhaps none more loyal Gold became a season-ticket holder in 1996. than Gold. Even in SU’s mediocre years, this Still, Syracuse basketball remains a part of season included, he arrives to the Dome two Gold’s identity. hours before tip, sits courtside on the same “It’s just painful sometimes,” Gold said. seat across from the visitor bench and roots “It’s very hard to enjoy myself unless it’s a for the Orange. He travels with the team for 20-point blowout. But I love it. I’m passionevery away game, too. ate. Going to all of the games creates a bond.

Neil Gold This season marks his 50th as an official Last year, we didn’t know we’d get into the syracuse superfan SU fan, a title he’s held since he first stepped Tournament and look what happened. I think foot on the SU campus as a freshman mathwe could do that again.” ematics major in 1967. Gold, a 67-year-old At 17, Gold begged his friends to join him retired businessman from Brooklyn, New York, has rooted for the for freshman and varsity basketball games in Manley Field House. In Orange since current head coach Jim Boeheim served as a graduate the years since, Syracuse basketball has undergone changes big and assistant. He’s witnessed SU reach six Final Fours and nine National see gold page 4

By Matthew Gutierrez asst. sports editor

S

If Syracuse loses, it usually takes me a few days to get over it.

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SU opponent preview: What to know about Georgia Tech

By Matt Schneidman senior staff writer

To avoid playing in the opening round of the conference tournament next Tuesday, Syracuse (17-13, 9-8 Atlantic Coast) needs to beat Georgia Tech (17-13, 8-9) on Saturday in the Carrier Dome. The Yellow Jackets topped the Orange, 71-65, two weeks ago in Atlanta, and SU will get a chance to avenge that loss when the ball tips at 4 p.m. on Senior Day. Here’s everything you need to know about Josh Pastner’s team.

All-time series: Tied, 4-4 Last time they played: Syracuse let a

nine-point lead in the first half turn into another double-digit second half deficit at McCamish Pavilion. Tyler Lydon hit a free throw to bring SU within two with under a minute remaining. But the

Orange couldn’t close the deal after a Tyler Roberson illegal screen prevented the Orange from getting a shot at tying or taking the lead. Taurean Thompson scored a team-high 18 points while Andrew White’s then-seven-game streak of scoring 20 or more points ended as the fifth-year senior only posted 17. Ben Lammers led the way for GT with 23 points, seven rebounds and seven blocks.

The Georgia Tech report: Since beating Syracuse, the Yellow Jackets have won only one of three. Losses to lowly North Carolina State and then-No. 21 Notre Dame, and a win against Pittsburgh, have Pastner’s team presumably on the same ground as Syracuse heading into the last game of the regular season. Georgia Tech has risen in Kenpom.com’s defensive efficiency rating to No. 5 in the country coming off a win

Syracuse was abysmal from 3 against Georgia Tech two weeks ago, shooting 8-for-30 from deep and losing, 71-65. courtesy of danny karnik | georgia tech athletics

Beat writers predict Orange victory over Georgia Tech Syracuse (17-13, 9-8 Atlantic Coast) hopes for an NCAA Tournament resume-boosting win when it takes on Pittsburgh (17-13, 8-9) at 4 p.m. on Sunday in the Carrier Dome. Syracuse lost, 71-65, the last time these two teams met two weeks ago in Atlanta.

Here’s how The Daily Orange beat writers think the game will unfold:

CONNOR GROSSMAN (17-13) BEE CAREFUL SYRACUSE 63, GEORGIA TECH 60

Syracuse shouldn’t think it can waltz into its regular season finale and pry a win away from Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets are on the cusp of their first NCAA Tourna-

ment berth in seven seasons, and a win in the Carrier Dome could get GT on the right side of the bubble. But on its home court, SU’s offense will be markedly improved from the sluggish performance it showed in Atlanta earlier this month. Georgia Tech’s offensive woes will persist, and the Orange comes away with a significant win before heading to the Barclays Center for the conference tournament.

MATT SCHNEIDMAN (13-17) HARMLESS STING SYRACUSE 68, GEORGIA TECH 62

To spare itself at least a little sweat heading into the ACC tournament, Syracuse needs to beat Georgia Tech at home. The Orange’s visit to Atlanta got away in the second half, but don’t expect that same offensively lethargic SU team to show up on Senior Day in the Carrier Dome. The Orange secures a bye in Brooklyn, and more importantly may not even need to win a game there in order to make the Big Dance.

PAUL SCHWEDELSON (18-12) TRENDING TOPICS SYRACUSE 65, GEORGIA TECH 58

The 71 points Syracuse allowed to Georgia Tech on Feb. 19 were the second fewest it’s allowed in a game since Jan. 14. The Orange’s only home conference loss came against then-No. 8 Louisville. Entering the final regular season game, the trends are clear. For whatever reason, SU is a different team at home. Whether or not Saturday is Syracuse’s last game in the Carrier Dome this season — if SU plays in the NIT, it would likely host games — the Orange is good when it plays there.

against the Panthers in which GT only surrendered 52 points. Lammers still leads the way, but freshman Josh Okogie and junior Tadric Jackson are capable of jumpstarting an offense that hasn’t done much damage during conference play.

distance as well.

much better from 3-point range to avoid the offensive slump that plagued it at the beginning of the second half the last time the two teams met. As SU saw in Atlanta, Lammers and company are one of the best defensive frontcourts in the country and taking the ball to the rim won’t work out that often.

An 8-for-30 mark from 3 simply won’t get it done against GT, especially when buckets are hard to come by inside. That means Andrew White needs to shake his slump from deep and a host of others may need to chip in from

Player to watch: Josh Okogie, forward, No. 5

How Syracuse beats the Yellow Jackets: The Orange will need to shoot

Stat to know: 11 – Syracuse only scored

11 points off 15 Georgia Tech turnovers two weeks ago. The Yellow Jackets are one of the worst teams in the country at taking care of the ball, and SU needs to convert more of those chances gifted to it if it wants a firstround bye next week.

A potential All-ACC Freshman honoree, Okogie has flown under the radar behind Lammers this season. Okogie managed 13 points and six rebounds in Atlanta and is the most-used player on the team in Kenpom’s possessions used category. He has scored in double figures in each of the last nine ACC games and has posted over 20 points five times in league competition. mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman

GOLD’S basement is filled with memorabilia like Jim Boeheim’s jacket that he ripped off after C.J. Fair’s charge against Duke in 2014. jacob greenfeld asst. photo editor from page 3

gold

small, with the jump to the Carrier Dome, a pair of NCAA investigations, a No. 1 overall draft pick, back-to-back NIT appearances, a move to a new conference and two Final Fours in the last four years.

Gold’s most vivid memories are the championships. He attended Syracuse’s six-overtime game at Madison Square Garden in 2009. He flew to Houston for last year’s improbable Final Four run. He has sat in every Atlantic Coast Conference and Big East arena. He’s traveled to Hawaii, the Bahamas and Los Angeles for games. By many accounts, SU hoops is his lifeblood.

“If Syracuse loses,” Gold said, “it usually takes me a few days to get over it.”

For about 15 years, Gold logged hundreds of nights at the Sheraton Hotel on University Avenue and hundreds of f lights from Syracuse-Hancock International Airport to see SU play. He’d leave his Long Island home at around 3:30 p.m., hop on a 4:30 f light out of John F. Kennedy International Airport to Syracuse and walk into the Carrier Dome during warmups. He’d watch the game, then crash at the Sheraton, whose concierge books his nights shortly after the annual release of the basketball schedule. The next day, Gold rises at 4 a.m. to f ly back to New York for work at 8. Other times, he replaces the f light with a road trip up Interstate 81.

“It was very draining to do all of that,” Gold said. “It really took away from some of the enjoyment of the games.”

The total travel over 21 seasons, he estimated, exceeds 500,000 miles. He recalled being the only passenger on some planes due to either ice storms or wee-hour flight times. For years, he rode the team charter to away games because he is an SU donor. And, in 2011, Gold moved into a 4,200-square-foot home in Manlius. His basement doubles as half man cave, half Syracuse haven. A Carrier Dome sign sits on the stairwell. Memorabilia like photos, jerseys, sneakers and tickets hang on

the walls. His leather couches are orange, vodka orange and blue, the layout spread throughout a few rooms.

After Syracuse won the 2003 national title, SU Athletics asked Gold for his ring size. He didn’t know, so he hopped in the car and drove to a local jewelry store to find out.

In the next few years, he wore the ring to games. Now, it sits in a case.

Across the room hangs Boeheim’s famous ripped-off jacket, from an ejection after a controversial charge call at Duke in February 2014. Gold, a member of the SU Board of Trustees, won the coat with a $14,000 bid at a Syracuse basketball program charity event. Near that lies the national title ring, 2003 national championship game ball, Carmelo Anthony autographed jersey and Hakim Warrick signed poster of his championship-winning block. There’s also a Gerry McNamara “Overrated?” T-Shirt, referring to a 2006 poll of Big East assistant coaches voting him the league’s most overrated player.

A Sports Illustrated cover featuring Anthony also hangs near glass from Arinze Onuaku’s smashed backboard, and the bathroom’s bath rug mimics a court, its towels blue and its light a basketball-hoop fixture. One of Gold’s favorite pieces is a 2007 thank you letter from Boeheim, which included a reference to the Gold family’s horseradish business.

“You don’t try to give me points on how to coach the team,” Boeheim wrote to him.

“You and I have an understanding. I don’t give you tips on how to improve your mustard or horseradish relishes and you don’t give me tips on when to play zone or switch to man-to-man.”

Boeheim has yet to see the shrine, but the pair chat at team events and before games. Once the clock turns on, Gold points at referees, extends his arms in jubilation and throws them aside in frustration, gesticulations revealing the fan within. He has cheered on Syracuse for 50 years, and he will give another reminder of that when he sits courtside in the Carrier Dome on Saturday for game his 720th game. mguti100@syr.edu | @MatthewGut21

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Syracuse fans storm the court after the team’s upset win over Virginia back on Feb. 4. It’s one of three times fans have stormed the court on the season, with the other two coming against Duke and Florida State. jessica sheldon staff photographer

BRACING THE STORM SU security guards handle 3 court storms in span of a month

By Matt Schneidman senior staff writer

I

nside Syracuse’s locker room after its Feb. 4 win over then-No. 9 Virginia, John Gillon wished he could be the center of a court-storming celebration.

For the second time in a week, fans rushed the Carrier Dome floor — after head coach Jim Boeheim’s unofficial 1,000th victory.

It came seven days after Syracuse’s upset of then-No. 6 Florida State, which triggered the first of three court stormings this season — all in the span of a month.

“I want to be in the middle of it and people holding me up,” Gillon said. “… Me dancing with everyone.”

Gillon’s wish almost came true last Wednesday. His banked-in, buzzer-beating 3-pointer against Duke gave the Orange its third win against a Top 10 opponent at home.

Fans rushed the court again. After Gillon finished mean-mugging near the scorer’s table and averting the mob of teammates, he headed for the celebration engulfing the hardwood.

Fans waited with outstretched arms.

Unfortunately for Gillon, a line of Carrier Dome staffers stood between him and the swarm. Live on ESPN with sideline reporter Allison Williams waiting to interview the fifth-year senior, he darted for the crowd before Syracuse director of athletic communications Pete Moore pulled Gillon’s shoulders to bring him back to isolation. Even though he was the hero, Gillon would not have made it to the fans with a Red Rover-like wall in front of him.

As much as these moments highlight players in the spotlight, it’s the security staffers

outside it whose arduous job has been to maintain civility during a court storm not once, but three times this season.

“They can’t do that,” Chief Facilities Officer Pete Sala said. “The last thing we need as an institution is one of our players get into something after the game … God forbid they don’t play in the next game.”

For security, court-storming preparations begin well before tipoff. If Syracuse hosts a game Saturday, as it does this week against Georgia Tech, Sala holds a Tuesday meeting to discuss security measures for the game. Protecting against a court storm is especially important if an unranked Syracuse team hosts an opponent ranked as high as Florida State, Virginia and Duke.

Sala then meets with referees and game operations staff an hour before tipoff, before meeting with Syracuse Fire Department members to ensure safety protocol is followed in the case of a court storm.

There are four security groups represented at the Carrier Dome during any given game: yellow-shirted Dome staffers (“yellow shirts”), city fire department members, Department of Public Safety officers and Syracuse Police Department officers. The size of each group fluctuates based on the magnitude of the game and size of the crowd. For example, DPS Chief Bobby Maldonado assigned 40 officers to the Duke game, the most he’s staffed at a home game this season.

If a court-storming seems possible with five minutes remaining in a game, Sala radios his yellow shirts to move into position. DPS officers, some coming down from the stadium’s upper levels, do the same. Neither Sala nor Maldonado revealed their group’s court-

storming formation.

“I can tell you that there are specific positions that we have our people in place,” Maldonado said. “… It’s our job, really, to keep people at bay.”

Security prohibits students from filling the aisles before the buzzer sounds. When students walk on the court, about 30 yellow shirts form a wall aligned with the Carrier emblem.

This way, teams can shake hands if desired and players, coaches, officials and scorer’s table equipment are protected.

After Gillon’s buzzer-beater, Syracuse team security guard and DPS sergeant Andy Clary scrambled in front of the players’ mob to ensure it had gone untouched. Sala and other officers surrounded Gillon and ESPN cameras after he maneuvered into space and the team filtered back into the locker room. Security won’t order students to leave the court, as long as they allow players, coaches and officials to safely exit the floor.

“We just celebrate and get out of there before somebody loses a leg or something,” Syracuse freshman forward Taurean Thompson said.

Through three court storms there has been no damage, save for Boeheim’s chair after the Duke game, when Eric Devendorf threw it aside to join the celebration. Students and elder fans have been as civilized as those in charge of protecting against court storms have hoped. In turn, security hasn’t had an issue fulfilling its main goal: Monitor the court storm, don’t restrict it.

“I think my staff does one of the best jobs in the country,” Sala said. “… You can’t stop it, so how do you manage it?” mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman

TYUS BATTLE t h e i n de pe n de n t s t u de n t n e w s pa pe r of s y r ac us e , n e w yor k

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Q&A with Georgia Tech beat writer Ken Sugiura

By Matt Schneidman senior staff writer

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Syracuse (17-13, 9-8 Atlantic Coast) and Georgia Tech (17-13, 8-9) will play for a second time this season in the Carrier Dome at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution Georgia Tech beat writer Ken Sugiura spoke with The Daily Orange to preview the matchup.

The Daily Orange: Jim Boeheim won’t acknowledge SU’s standing,. What does Josh Pastner say when it comes to NCAA Tournament possibilities?

Ken Sugiura: Pastner is fairly open (and optimistic) about the Tournament and where Georgia Tech stands. From a standpoint of deserving to get in, he feels like the Yellow Jackets should be in (surprise) on the basis of winning eight games in the ACC, the point being that, in a conference this tough, any team that wins eight games should get in. I think he recognizes, though, that in reality, the Jackets still have a bit more work to do.

The D.O.: Ben Lammers and Tadric Jackson are the big names, but what should SU fans know about freshman Josh Okogie?

K.S.: Josh Okogie is likely to be on the ACC allfreshman team. Buzz Williams, the Virginia Tech coach, said recently that he thought he was the best freshman in the league outside of the one-and-done players like Dennis Smith and Harry Giles. His game is mostly attacking the basket and scoring in transition, and he’s a better rebounder as a guard than you’d think.

He’s also fantastic at winning loose balls, which isn’t exactly something you hear much about but it’s something that Tech coaches value and keep track of. One huge part of Tech’s success this season has been its effort, and that kind of exemplifies it. Also interesting about Okogie – he was a three-star recruit coming out of the Atlanta suburbs and ESPN didn’t even include him among its list of top players in the state (which ran 19 deep, I believe) last year. For a

couple of reasons, he was under the radar and the old Tech staff deserves credit for identifying him and jumping on him.

The D.O.: If you were on the selection committee, would you put this GT team in the NCAA Tournament? How much depends on what happens on Saturday and in Brooklyn?

K.S. It’s hard for me to say, because I don’t know nearly enough about who else is on the bubble to give an educated opinion. Just from a resume standpoint, they have some really, really good wins – North Carolina, Florida State, Notre Dame and VCU (and Syracuse) – but all but the VCU win have been at home, and I know the selection committee looks hard at road and neutral-court wins, and Tech only has one noteworthy road win (VCU). They hurt themselves by scheduling soft in the non-conference (expecting the team to be weak) and that should hurt them, too. Plus, 13 losses is a lot. For me, I’d want to see them win Saturday and win at least one game in Brooklyn, ideally two.

The D.O.: I’m not sure if you’re in the prediction business, but do you have one for Saturday?

K.S.: I think it’s going to really tough for Georgia Tech to win Saturday. So much is in Syracuse’s favor — extra rest, Senior Day, payback for the first game, simply just being at home — on top of the Orange’s roster being better. It’s also worth noting that of the other three teams that the Jackets have played home-and-home — Clemson, N.C. State and Notre Dame — Tech won the first game and lost the second, and I imagine the added familiarity with what the Jackets do — they’re a little unconventional on both ends — probably helped their opponents. Georgia Tech is not a very good offensive team, and will have to be at the top of its game to have a shot, which means taking advantage of transition opportunities, making free throws, not turning the ball over.

I think the Jackets have a shot, but I’d expect Syracuse to come away with this one. mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman

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PRESSING NEED Syracuse has turned to its press to climb back into games all season

JOHN GILLON AND ANDREW WHITE have used the press to help initiate comeback wins against opposing teams. The press has improved since the beginning of the season, when head coach Jim Boeheim said it was ineffective.

jacob greenfeld asst. photo editor

By Paul Schwedelson senior staff writer

J

im Boeheim isn’t afraid to let everyone in an arena know when his team is desperate, when he has no other choice but to change his defense.

Then, he turns to the press.

It propelled the Orange to the Final Four last year, overcoming a 14-point deficit with 10 minutes left in the Elite Eight. And it’s what has led to three comeback wins in the past month.

“At that stage, you’re desperate. You’re just trying to fly around and make a play,” said Syracuse’s head coach. “It’s been at the end of games. … You’re down 10, it’s a desperation situation and you just try to make the play and make something happen. … There’s no other chance but to force a turnover.”

The Orange (17-13, 9-8 Atlantic Coast) has trailed by double digits in eight straight games.

Outside of a 20-point loss at then-No. 7 Louisville, the contests were decided by an average of 4.3 points and SU went 4-4 in the eight-game stretch. Even in the three games Syracuse lost, the press made it close.

In many ways, the full-court press salvaged the Orange’s entire season. Boeheim applies the tactic sparingly and knows a good team can figure out a way to beat it easily once it adjusts. But in short segments, SU has relied on the press to climb back into games in which it previously had no chance.

“It catches (opponents) by surprise. They don’t expect it,” freshman forward Taurean Thompson said. “We don’t use it all game and then all of a sudden they take a breath. They’re not ready for it. I don’t think they prepare for it as much in practice.”

At the start of the season, Boeheim said his team would likely press more because of the depth he had at his disposal. SU used it in nonconference play to test out what he had. Early on, his players didn’t execute the scheme to his standard.

After a season-opening 28-point win over Colgate

on Nov. 11, Boeheim said the press was horrendous.

“I guess they can’t do it,” Boeheim said when asked why it was ineffective. “Why did Donald Trump become president? I don’t know.”

A week and a half later, Boeheim explained Syracuse would need the press at some point later in the year. That’s why he was experimenting in games such as a 42-point win over South Carolina State. Even as late as 14 games into the year, Boeheim cited it as an area for concern. After a 15-point loss at Boston College, he described the press as something “we can’t do.”

We don’t use it all game and then all of a sudden they take a breath. They’re not ready for it. I don’t think they prepare for it as much in practice.

Taurean Thompson su forward on the press

Two months later, the press is a key reason SU is still in the mix for an NCAA Tournament bid.

Instead of playing the nine or 10 players like Boeheim expected, Syracuse uses only six or seven each game as a result of injuries. The starting lineup now consists of four first-year players and a sophomore. Once they meshed together, the press improved, too.

Sophomore forward Tyler Lydon attributes the press’ success to the urgency with which he and his teammates play it. Tactically, not much changed from the full-court approach, graduate transfer Andrew White said. Except recently, Syracuse’s press is causing turnovers unlike in the beginning of the year.

“I’m amazed at how effective it is and how

infrequently they use it,” Pittsburgh head coach Kevin Stallings said. “I wish I could do that is what I’m trying to say.”

With SU down 10 against North Carolina State late in the second half, Boeheim flipped to the press from his traditional 2-3 zone. The Orange forced four turnovers down the stretch, pushing the game into overtime and eventually winning.

A week later, SU pressed with the same amount of time remaining against Clemson. The Tigers committed three late turnovers and Syracuse won at the buzzer.

“They take away the primary pass, they get you in the corner, they take away the second pass to the guy taking it out, they take away the middle pass,” Louisville head coach Rick Pitino said.

“You’ve got to attack it quickly or you’re going to be in trouble. It’s an outstanding press.”

Georgia Tech head coach Josh Pastner said opponents can’t simulate it in practice. The Orange ranks as the 12th tallest team in the country, per Kenpom. com. As opponents try to play cautiously to protect leads, SU pounces when it should be squirming.

Considering Syracuse’s short rotation, playing defense for 94 feet isn’t an option for more than a few minutes at a time. Lydon and White both have played every second in the Orange’s last 10 games.

They can only go so far until fatigue sets in.

But the infrequency with which Boeheim uses the press is part of what makes it so effective. In short spurts, it accomplishes what it needs to.

SU’s hopes of reaching the NCAA Tournament are dangling. But with only one regular-season game left and the ACC tournament remaining, the press is why Syracuse is never out of a game.

“We work on it all the time. Every year,” Boeheim said before the season. “We work on our press every year a lot. Almost every practice. And some years we just don’t use it much at all and other years it’s been very important for us.”

This year it has been the latter. pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds

10 march 3-4, 2017

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dailyorange.com sports@dailyorange.com

In his name Corey Heyward‘s father died at 39. Now, he and his two brothers play sports to honor him.

COREY HEYWARD originally devoted himself to basketball to be different and benefit from air conditioning in the oppressive Georgia heat. Now, he and his brothers, Cameron and Connor, play sports in memory of their father, Craig “Ironhead” Heyward. courtesy of danny karnik | georgia tech athletics

By Andrew Graham asst. copy editor

T

welve-year-old Corey Heyward and his AAU basketball team had just advanced to the tournament championship in Richmond, Virginia, when he received the news. His father had died. Craig Heyward, an 11-year NFL veteran who had battled a brain tumor for seven years, was just 39.

Heyward had a choice: Return home the next day or stay and play for the tournament title on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth.

The AAU team won the championship and Heyward helped lead them there. He had decided to stay because he thought his dad would’ve wanted him too. But the trip home to Georgia remained, where Heyward had to face reality.

“The next night going home,” Heyward said, “taking it all in. … It was obviously hard. It was at a young age.”

The now-23-year-old redshirt senior guard at Georgia Tech and his two brothers grew together through sports after the death of their father. Cameron plays defensive line for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Connor will soon play football at Michigan State. The three are hundreds of miles apart, but stay connected for their father by playing the games he had loved to watch. “(The boy’s) sports were an outlet for him,” Charlotte Heyward, their mother, said, “and all of us to get away from what he was going through.”

That nature stems from their father, the Pittsburgh Panthers’ fourth all-time leading rusher. He scored 30 rushing touchdowns in more than a decade with stops in New Orleans, Chicago, Atlanta, St. Louis and Indianapolis. The 5-foot-11, 265-pound bruiser bullied his way to 1,083 rushing yards in the 1995 season.

Later, even when cancer confined Craig to a wheelchair,

he ended up on the sidelines of his son’s games to cause the ruckus he had managed so well in the NFL. He attended every football and basketball game, to jaw with and heckle the referees. Craig showed up to his son’s school assembly in a gold satin suit. It was the same Craig who, as a young boy, earned the nickname “Ironhead” from the time someone snapped a pool cue over his head in a fight at the Boys & Girls Club.

During his playing days, Craig always towed his sons along and later passed on his same mindset and physicality on smaller fields. He raised the three boys in youth football, AAU basketball and Peachtree Ridge (Georgia) High School athletics. Sports became pillars at home in the Atlanta suburb of Duluth.

The Heyward family grew accustomed to sports on the biggest stage. At the Colts facility, Ashley Thompson, franchise quarterback Peyton Manning’s thengirlfriend and now-wife, supervised the Heyward children as their dad played. Craig showed his sons how to prepare like a pro, introduced them to teammates and frequently brought them to Atlanta Hawks games.

During one game against Milwaukee, Craig kept hollering “Jesus!” to Bucks shooting guard Ray Allen.

Heyward, confused at the time, only later realized the heckling referenced Allen’s character, Jesus Shuttlesworth, from the Spike Lee movie, “He Got Game.”

“My dad was more like a friend than an actual father figure.” Heyward said. “He was like our best friend.

“He’d do anything for us.”

Cameron followed his dad’s football footsteps first, becoming a dominant defensive lineman for Ohio State.

Connor is following a similar path by signing with the Spartans to play football.

Corey wanted to be different. He started enjoying basketball around age 11 while watching Cameron play AAU. The pace of basketball appealed to him. Plus, he escaped the swel-

tering sun. “You get your AC,” Heyward said. “I was inside of a gym instead of your Georgia heat, so I decided to go with basketball.” Craig went to almost every basketball practice.

By the time Heyward made it to junior high, cancer robbed Craig of the strength to go for full practices. Sometimes, he couldn’t even pick them up as he always had. The Heyward brothers drew inward, driving directly home to see and care for their dad. One week, Craig felt fine. The next, he returned to the hospital. The brothers looked to Cameron, the oldest, who played the role model the best he could.

Now, the brothers remain close though separated by both geography and athletic schedules. When all three brothers get home, usually for the holidays, it’s like the old days again, almost.

The three play video games like NBA 2K, or backyard football, which amuses Heyward because now they’re all grown men. Charlotte enjoys the rare opportunity to see her sons all in the same place at the same time. “(It’s) maybe once or twice a year,” she said.

The brothers also return home to a bigger family.

Charlotte remarried, to former NBA player Cory Blackwell, and though they divorced, the family remains close with Blackwell’s son and two daughters. Charlotte also adopted another daughter, Meagan.

“We were like ‘The Black Brady Bunch,’” Heyward said.

As the end approaches for Georgia Tech’s season and Heyward’s career, uncertainty remains while the Yellow Jackets teeter on the edge of the NCAA Tournament bubble. Until the final buzzer sounds, the senior will put on a “Heyward” jersey and play to keep the memory of “Ironhead” alive a little longer.

“We’re just kind of living his legacy through us,” Heyward said.

“It’s been a blessing so far, for my brothers and I.” aegraham@syr.edu | @A_E_Graham

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