I know what you're thinking..."Springfield...what took so long?!?!" It might surprise you however to know that former SU center Craig Forth will not be entering the actual Basketball Hall of Fame but the Capital District Basketball Hall of Fame. Apples and oranges, if you ask me.
Former Syracuse University center Craig Forth, a member of the program's 2003 NCAA Championship squad, is scheduled to be part of the first class inducted into the Capital District Basketball Hall of Fame.
The ceremony is scheduled for June 28 at the Terrace Restaurant in Troy. Speakers at the event include Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim and Peter Vecsey, a sportswriter for the New York Post.
The 50-person induction class also includes former North Carolina and NBA star Sam Perkins and...a lot of other people.
Obviously Hall of Fame plaques have been in Craig Forth's future ever since his illustrious Syracuse career where he finished with a 4.7 PPG and 4.6 RPG average. Just listen to the poetic way his career is encapsulated by OrangeHoops:
Forth unfortunately, was a soft player with little sustained aggression on the court. He was not a particularly good rebounder, and was slow in the transition up and down the court. He often would miss easy layups that he should have been able to take stronger to the hoop. While he started every game of this career, by the end of his senior season he often was only playing eleven to twelve minutes a game.
Well...he WAS on the 2003 National Championship team, so that's something.
Plus he was a smart guy, a two-time Academic All-American. He ended up putting that Education major to good use after his SU career...he's currently teaching and coaching junior varsity girls basketball for his hometown Columbia High School in East Greenbush. He's also happily married and has the blog to prove it. So I guess hometown boy made good after all. Mazel Tov, Craig.