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Syracuse took a chance on Andy Rautins. As the son of former Syracuse player Leo Rautins, Andy wasn't heavily recruited out of high school. The coaching staff told Rautins they weren't sure how much he would play if he came to Syracuse, but Rautins was adamant about being a Syracuse Orange. Joining the Syracuse basketball program in the 2005-2006 season, Rautins would only play in 20 games behind senior Gerry McNamara and talented freshman guard Eric Devendorf.
In order to earn minutes, Rautins would need to improve his body to play in the Big East. He'd do just that and Rautins would continue improve at a rapid rate throughout his Syracuse career.
As a dual-citizen, Rautins was able to compete for the Canadian National Team during summers. In 2007, Rautins led Team Canada in scoring until he tore his ACL; he would redshirt the 2007-2008 season at Syracuse.
Rautins would cement himself in Syracuse history during his junior campaign. He made the most important three-pointer of his career against UConn at the end of the third overtime in the six overtime classic at the Big East Tournament.
Rautins came in as primarily just a shooter; in his senior year he was the jack-of-all-trades, master of the jumpshot on a very talented Syracuse team that featured Brandon Triche, Wesley Johnson, Rick Jackson, Arinze Onuaku, Scoop Jardine and Kris Joseph. If not for an Arinze Onuaku injury, the 2009-2010 team had a great chance to compete for a national championship.
Rautins averaged 12.1 ppg as a senior while shooting 40.7 percent from deep. He also played great defense at the top of the 2-3 zone as he understood exactly where to be almost all of the time -- Rautins would average two steals a game as a senior. He was an underrated passer as everybody focussed on his shooting ability and he was the leader on the court.
Rautins left Syracuse second on the school's all-time list in made three-point field goals with 282, sitting behind only Gerry McNamara with 400. He's also tied with Gerry McNamara, James Southerland and Trevor Cooney for the most made three-point field goals in a single game with nine. We'd say he's in good company.