Syracuse, N.Y. — A documentary film about Syracuse basketball’s 2003 NCAA championship team will premiere next month around the 20th anniversary of the team’s historic run.
The film is packed with new and revealing interviews from the players and coaches involved in the most unforgettable period in SU basketball history.
“Will to Win: Syracuse basketball’s unlikely rise from underdog to national champs” tells the story of a team’s struggling start, resurgence and rise to overcome the odds.
Syracuse.com and The Post-Standard will debut the film at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 29 at the Landmark Theatre in Syracuse. Tickets for the event can be purchased here.
The “30 for 30″-style video includes behind-the-scenes accounts from Carmelo Anthony, Gerry McNamara, Hakim Warrick, Jim Boeheim and others, as well as never-before-seen video footage from the season.
The players and coaches tell funny and emotional stories never revealed in news coverage.
They show how a team full of new faces bonded, overcame on-court and personal setbacks, and developed a swagger that made them unbeatable.
“Our will to win was strong,” McNamara told Syracuse.com’s Mike Waters. “And to me that outweighs any other thing. We wanted to win. It’s as simple as that.”
Waters traveled coast to coast to interview every Syracuse scholarship player and coach from that season.
Other key figures such as Juli Boeheim and then-Kansas coach Roy Williams were also interviewed.
Among the highlights:
- Anthony reveals how he rose above the severe back injury that nearly sidelined him in the Final Four.
- Boeheim’s heartfelt reflection on what that season means to his legacy.
- McNamara on his lights-out shooting under the national spotlight of the championship game.
- Warrick on the block that saved a championship.
- The point guard crisis that threatened to disrupt the team but ends up uniting it.
- The player’s personal tragedy that almost ended his season but led to a breakthrough.
Sponsorships, tickets and VIP packages are available now.
VIP ticket holders will have the exclusive opportunity to mix and mingle with former coaches and players from the 2003 team.