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Within the last month, Syracuse guard Buddy Boeheim has been named to preseason watch lists for the 2022 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy, the NABC’s 2022 Player of the Year and the 2022 Jerry West Award. He was selected to the preseason first-team Atlantic Coast Conference, and his name has been floated among lists for All-American honors.

And on Tuesday, hours before the Orange open their season, Buddy was named to the Preseason Top 50 Watch List for the prestigious John Wooden Award, which is presented at the end of the season to the sport’s national player of the year.

He’s the first SU player to make the preseason watch list since Tyus Battle for the 2018-19 season and Tyler Lydon ahead of the 2016-17 season. Buddy’s one of six ACC players included — joining Keve Aluma (Virginia Tech), Armando Bacot (North Carolina), Paolo Banchero (Duke), Dawson Garcia (North Carolina) and Mark Williams (Duke) — giving the conference the fourth-most members, trailing the Big Ten, SEC and Big 12.

Buddy, a 6-foot-6 guard, averaged 17.8 points per game last season — his third with the Orange — and keyed Syracuse’s run to the Sweet 16 with a stretch in March where he scored at least 25 points in five of seven games. He made 38.3% of his 3-pointers, the highest conversion rate by an SU player since the 2016-17 season, where Andrew White III, Tyler Lydon and John Gillon all made 39.5% or more of their shots with at least 100 attempts from beyond the arc.

This season, Buddy will reunite with his brother Jimmy in the Syracuse lineup, coached by their father Jim, and pairs with Joe Girard III in the backcourt for another season. They face Lafayette to open their campaign on Tuesday in the Carrier Dome before hosting Drexel and Colgate ahead of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.