Congratulating the Syracuse University men's basketball team for winning the 2003 NCAA Division I men's basketball national championship.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Education and the Workforce be discharged from further consideration of the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 142) congratulating the Syracuse University men's basketball team for winning the 2003 NCAA Division I men's basketball national championship, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Brooklyn, New York (Mr. Towns); pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Syracuse University's Orangemen. Monday night, our university laid claim to the school's first Division I men's basketball national championship after defeating the University of Kansas 81 to 78 in a heck of a game. In addition to the players and coaching staff, many deserve recognition, including school administrators, faculty, staff, alumni, students, and one of the most loyal fan bases in collegiate athletics.

Mr. Speaker, as you may know, Syracuse has been to the Final Four before. Monday night's championship game proved for Head Coach Jim Boeheim that the third time is the charm as his team came full circle to defeat the national powerhouse of Kansas in the Louisiana Superdome, avenging a heartbreaking loss in 1987 to Indiana in the same facility. Preparing for a championship match-up against a senior-led Kansas team is not easy, and Coach Boeheim deserves much of the credit for his young team's outstanding determination and accomplishment. His team got back on defense and slowed down the Jayhawks' ferocious fast break.

Knowing Coach Boeheim personally, as I do, I would like to congratulate him sincerely today from the House floor. He is Syracuse basketball. Coaching his alma mater for 27 years, and being part of Syracuse basketball for more than half of his life, this championship is deserved not only for all of Syracuse's supporters and community but certainly for the coach himself. Also deserving praise this afternoon is Assistant Coach Bernie Fine, who has been with Jim Boeheim for many, many years and the rest of the fine Syracuse coaching staff.

Syracuse's championship team was led by Final Four Most Outstanding Player, Freshman Carmelo Anthony, and with outstanding support from Gerry McNamara; another freshman, Bill Edelin; Kueth Duany, a senior; Hakim Warrick, a sophomore; Craig Forth, a sophomore; Jeremy McNeil and Josh Pace. This young team demonstrated poise, presence, and pride in their performance throughout the tournament and all season long.

This was really a fine year for this team, a very interesting team with great team chemistry. The first game of the year they lost to Memphis in the NIT preseason tournament. It was the only loss they had in the first 2 months of the season. It was a young team that jelled very, very quickly, led by Freshman Gerry McNamara, Carmelo Anthony, who many believe is perhaps the best basketball player in the country, certainly the best freshman. But it was the chemistry of the team that was really outstanding.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to single out a couple of the individuals who did not get a lot of credit during the year, but I think they deserve it. One is Bill Edelin, who is a young man who came to Syracuse University, made a mistake, and instead of getting negative and sour, he took his medicine. He was suspended from the team. And when he finally did come back, he missed the first 12 games of the year, but he contributed immediately when he came back. He stayed positive, he stayed focused, and he did a remarkable job.

The other is Josh Pace, a young player, a greatly talented player who did not get a lot of playing time, but he stayed positive, he stayed focused, he practiced hard, played his role; and when tournament time came, he lit it up. He played great basketball.

This team won all the tough road games this year. They beat Michigan State at Michigan State, which is pretty tough to do. That was an elite 18. They beat Notre Dame at Notre Dame, a Sweet 16 team. And they beat Georgetown at Georgetown, and they were an NIT finalist. In fact, the only team to beat Syracuse in the last 2 months of the year was Connecticut, another Sweet 16 team. Very, very solid team.

This was an interesting tournament, in that for Syracuse they had to play all of the great teams out of the Big 12 out west, arguably the best conference in the Nation this year. During the regular season, Syracuse played Missouri at Syracuse and defeated them. A very good Missouri team, a well-coached team, talented team. In the tournament, in the second game, they played Oklahoma State, one of the top teams in the Nation, certainly one of the top teams in the Big 12, and defeated them rather easily. The last three games of the tournament they beat three of the best five teams in the Nation and the three top teams in the Big 12, Oklahoma, Texas, and finally Kansas.

This was a remarkable run through the tournament. They made us proud. Everybody in our community is excited. It is a small community. Syracuse is a city of about 150,000 people. It is sort of like Green Bay winning the Super Bowl. We have long winters, we have hardy souls who brave those cold days to go out, we have great fans, and we have very spirited and talented athletes. We are very proud of them. This is a great accomplishment for them and a great accomplishment for our community.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Boehlert), my next-door neighbor from Utica and a Syracuse University graduate.

(Mr. BOEHLERT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Quinn), a fine former basketball player from Siena University.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I reserve the right to close.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank all of my colleagues from all across the State who came here this evening to enjoy this pleasurable event. It has been a little time to gloat perhaps, certainly enjoy and bask in the glow of victory.

New York State from time to time has these upstate-downstate differences. Clearly there is no difference here. We have Brooklyn and Hudson Valley and Buffalo and Utica, Syracuse; all of the way across the State, people have been very supportive. The East Regional Tournament was in Albany, and they turned Albany orange. It has been a great run for our school team.

This is a championship season. It is something that not everyone gets to enjoy.

I had a daughter who played on a State championship soccer team in high school, and there is a special feeling that comes from that, not just for the players and the coaches, but for the community, for the people who watched them and suffered their losses and bit their fingernails and turned their knuckles white when they had close calls. This really unified our town.

Syracuse has had this basketball tradition for over 100 years, but we have never gotten to the national championship and won it. We have been there. We lost to Indiana back in 1987, a last-second shot by Keith Smart. Everybody in Syracuse knows where they were when Keith Smart made that shot. It was a defining moment. But to have this team go back to the Superdome and to see that last-second shot by the Kansas player, Lee, from the same spot that Keith Smart let that shot go from, it just shows there is justice in this world.

The team chemistry was terrific. These young people did not know how good they were, but they found out. The country had no idea how good they were, but the country found out. Their egos did not get in the way. They played team basketball. The coach had them playing together beautifully, and everyone up home is enjoying it.

I wanted to come before the House and take the privilege that I have to share that moment. My family is tied up inextricably with Syracuse. My father was the mayor of Syracuse. He was a Member of Congress from Syracuse. I am second generation. I am from Syracuse.

Somebody said a long time ago that victory has a thousand fathers, loss is an orphan. There are thousands of fathers and mothers and brothers and sisters who are enjoying the heck out of this week. I hope they continue to enjoy it for a long time to come. We may never get a championship season again. We may get one next year, or in 15 or 20 years. The fact is, we have one now; let us enjoy it and thank God for it.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I also rise to honor the Syracuse Orangemen on winning the first- ever NCAA men's basketball championship title.

I had Syracuse in the championship bracket, and I am proud to say that I was on board on the bus before they left Syracuse. I felt that they would be able to do it. I did not wait until they got to Bourbon Street. I felt they would be able to do it.

I must admit that in 1996, I think it was, they were in the Meadowlands and they were playing Kentucky, and of course we thought that Syracuse would be able to be successful that night. Kentucky ended up winning, and Syracuse ended up finishing second. But Coach Boeheim did not give up. He stayed with it. He continued to recruit and bring in great athletes; and, Mr. Speaker, I applaud the efforts of these young men and coaches and wish them much success.

As I think about the Syracuse team, I am reminded of a team that Coach Cal Irvin coached, because he reminds me so much of Coach Boeheim in terms of his commitment and dedication to his athletes and to winning. Of course, he had some great players. As Syracuse had Carmelo Anthony, Cal Irvin had Al Attles. And of course when I look at the character and the attitude of the players, I think about Carmelo Anthony and also the attitude of Al Attles.

And then I look at the other players on the team that Cal Irvin had during those days: a guy by the name of Herb Gray, another guy by the name of Joe Howell, Hank Marshall, Charlie Harrison, Hugh Evans, Gerry Powell, and the list goes on. And then I look at the Syracuse roster and I look at each player and I can sort of compare them

with those players that Cal Irvin had back in those days, and they were outstanding players.

Let me just say that I think that Syracuse can be extremely proud of their accomplishments. I know that Coach Boeheim is proud. I met him many, many years ago. I was introduced to him by a gentleman by the name of Al Wooten, who was a football player at Syracuse. He introduced me to Coach Boeheim and said that Coach Boeheim was a person that had a winning spirit and of course had a winning attitude. And of course after 27 years he has demonstrated that. Because most people would not wait around for 27 years, but he did, and I think that he needs to be applauded for that. Today, with the competition being what it is, it is not easy to win a national championship. But winning a national championship with quality players, with people that have character, I think that is the key.

So I would say to Syracuse and to the basketball team, you were able to win on the basketball court, now all you have to do is win in the classroom. And I am certain that as a result of that, you will do well in life.

I know someone mentioned earlier, my friend, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh), that Carmelo Anthony was probably the best freshman in the country. I would like to say that he is the best basketball player in the country, bar none. There is no doubt in my mind. To watch him and to realize he is a freshman and being able to do the kinds of things he did, there is no doubt in my mind that he is the best basketball player in the NCAA today. There is no question about it.

I think the thing I really like about him is his character. He is a man who really is going to go places because he has the right attitude. I think more young people need to have that kind of attitude today. If they had that kind of attitude, I think a lot more of them would be much more successful. So I salute Carmelo Anthony for demonstrating to other young people in the world that you can have the proper attitude and still be good at what you do.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Hinchey), who is a great Syracuse fan and his district goes almost to Syracuse, New York.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, let me say that basically a lot of my friends in particular thought that Syracuse was going to lose. After watching Kansas destroy Marquette, they felt if Kansas could destroy Marquette that way, Syracuse has no chance. But they did not realize that Coach Boeheim was able to make adjustments and basically shut down the fast break for the first half because of the fact that he was able to get back, and he stressed it with his team. So as a result of making adjustments, he proved one thing, that he is one of the greatest coaches in the country today.

I think that any time a coach can make those kinds of adjustments and shut down a fast break like Kansas had, that shows that they know what they are doing.

I would like to salute Coach Boeheim for his outstanding leadership and the fact that he was able to make the adjustment and show that coaching is very, very important. I want to salute him for that, and also to say to him, in terms of his players, it is always good if you have players that will respect you and will follow your lead, as his players did. It was very obvious that they listened to him and made adjustments, and as a result, they were successful. I would like to salute him for that.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.

I really feel that the Syracuse team was an outstanding team, and it shows what can be done when you work real hard.

I was just comparing Coach Boeheim with Coach Cal Irvin, who coached North Carolina A&T University for many, many years, how he always stressed working hard. When I look at the results of the Syracuse team and I look at the results of the North Carolina A&T team from many, many years ago, I can see the similarities between the two teams, the coaches as well as the players. I think that today means more than anything else.

Al Attles is one of the finest individuals I have ever met, and they tell me, and from what I have seen and heard, that Carmelo Anthony is the same kind of individual. When I look at the outstanding players he had, going right down the roster, I think this is what it is all about today, having players that have character, having players that understand how important it is to follow rules and regulations.

I am hoping that all of the young people in America were able to look at them and see in terms of the type of attitude that they demonstrated in this play that night as they won the championship. They won it with pride. They were proud. They were not people who were always arguing with the referees and arguing with each other. I think when teams work together, it shows what they can accomplish.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by not only commending the Orangemen of Syracuse on their terrific win this past week, but also to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh) who is probably, beyond all people, more proud of his city of Syracuse and the university for not only what they do on the athletic field, but also academically, than any other person around.

My district is probably as close to Syracuse as the district of the gentleman from New York (Mr. Towns) in the Bronx, but that does not make us any less proud of what Syracuse accomplished on their basketball team when they beat Kansas Monday night. They played the entire tournament showing the youth and their opponents, as they played them, that the notion that seniors win championships is incorrect.

Led by super-freshmen Carmelo Anthony, Jerry McNamara and others, they allowed Syracuse and Coach Boeheim, after 27 years, his shining moment as a national champion in the NCAA.

I have had to listen in my office to two Syracuse grads, Mike Tetuan and Katy Carter, all year long about how often they are going to win; and I thought that this win by Syracuse would put all of that to rest, and I would not have to hear the comparisons of that other super- college power in Upstate New York, Siena College. However, on the opposite side, what this win has done is not quieted them down; that is all I hear from these two staffers now, that their young team will be back again and again.

We hope that they are back because, down the road, we are hoping that this win and this kind of enthusiasm moves down the Thruway to Buffalo for our NFL Bills this coming season, and we can bring the NFL championship back to our great city.

Syracuse, the Salt City, like Buffalo, which I represent, are sometimes known for two things: snow and snow. Some people ask, Why would young men and women go to Syracuse to play basketball? And as Steve Thompson, a former Syracuse basketball player

liked to say, ``It never snows in the Carrier Dome.''

For many years, I have said that Coach Boeheim is probably the best recruiter in the United States to get great players to Syracuse, New York, inside that dome on a Saturday afternoon, where I have been many times, sometimes with the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh), where Coach Boeheim has 30,000 people on a Saturday and takes down those Big East opponents, people outside the conference, and comes home a winner.

The answer why people would want to go to Syracuse to play basketball is more simple than ever now, because Syracuse is the 2003 National Champion, headed by the longest-tenured coach in the NCAA, Jim Boeheim, and supported by alumni and fans everywhere, including Buffalo and western New York. We believe what Jim believes in, that Syracuse is where basketball ended this year, and it is where it will start next year.

I am proud to add the voice of all of our friends and neighbors in western New York to the voice of the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh) as a proud New Yorker, and say congratulations to the team, the staff and university, and most importantly, to Coach Boeheim for a job well done.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.

Who would have thunk it? The Syracuse Orangemen, not even rated in all the preseason polls, are national champions. And they provided a thrill a minute as they made the journey from being out of sight and out of mind to number one.

Ever since its first season, the Syracuse University's men's basketball team has been winners. In its inaugural season, Syracuse held opponents to a combined 51 total points and went on to a winning record. That inaugural year was 1900, and the record was two wins and one loss; 103 years and 1,462 wins later, the Syracuse basketball team has reached the promised land: NCAA national champs.

Head Coach Jim Boeheim has 653 of those wins over 27 seasons. That kind of record and longevity says something about this superior coach and decent human being. He is a winner; no one can dispute that. As Casey Stengel would say, ``You can look it up.'' But most of all he is a teacher, a man with a proven ability to transform raw talent into skilled practitioners of the game. He does it with his measured and methodical and patient and persistent approach. Yes, he is a winner, but that is a team endeavor. More than that, he is an inspired and inspiring teacher. And we all know that is a solo act. And that is what produces champions.

Further, he is the embodiment of an upstate New Yorker. He has remained loyal to his school and loyal to his community. For 27 years, he and Syracuse have been synonymous. That loyalty and longevity, combined with hard work, have paid off big time, not just for Jim Boeheim and not just for Syracuse University, but for all who love the game and watch with admiration and respect when the underrecognized and underappreciated come out on top. They got to that lofty position the old-fashioned way: they earned it.

Congratulations, Coach Boeheim and Syracuse University. Pardon our pride, but so many of us are bleeding Syracuse orange; and we are all, in the phrasing of that colorful commentator Dick Vitale, 'cuse crazy.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Towns), for yielding me this time; and I also want to express my appreciation to my good friend and colleague, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh), for bringing this resolution to the floor this evening so that we can have an opportunity to congratulate this wonderful basketball team.

We all recognize and admire the very justified pride that our colleague, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh), feels in this basketball team from the university that bears the name of his hometown. But all of us in New York share in that pride as well. Syracuse University is not a very large school, by some of the national standards; but it is a university in which we all share a great deal of pride.

It is a university that is known for its academic achievements and for its athletic prowess, and that athletic prowess was demonstrated earlier this week, as anyone who knows basketball and loves the game of basketball recognized as being one of the best basketball games that any of us have ever seen. It was played by two teams, each of which had great talent, and they played with all their heart, each one wanting to win.

But it was the mighty Men of Orange from Syracuse University who emerged the victor, and tonight we share in their achievement and in their pride and we take this opportunity, along with their Congressman, to offer our deep congratulations for this terrific effort.