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Former Syracuse men’s basketball player Chuck Richards died Sunday. He was 82 years old. Richards played for SU from 1963-65 and was a key part of turning around the Orange’s program.

We mourn the passing of Chuck Richards, a key member of the '63-64 & '64-65 teams that set a new path for the program with teammates Dave Bing and Jim Boeheim.

We're grateful we got to spend time with him last season when those teammates were reunited. pic.twitter.com/Mul29sv0x9

— Syracuse Men’s Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) June 24, 2024

In SU head coach Fred Lewis’ first year at the helm, he brought in a recruiting class headlined by Dave Bing and Jim Boeheim. But he also gained Richards, a transfer who averaged 15 points and 9.4 rebounds per game across his lone season playing for Army.

Richards is a Poland, New York native and attended Manlius Military Academy — located just outside Syracuse — before enrolling at Army West Point for two years and finishing his last two years of college at SU.

Richards, a 6-foot-8 big man, averaged 18.4 points and 9.1 rebounds per game across his two seasons at Syracuse. Both totals ranked second on the team behind Bing, a future inductee to the National Basketball Hall of Fame.

Coming off a 2-22 1961-62 campaign, the Orange went 9-13 in 1962-63 before notching a 17-8 record — their first winning season since 1959-60 — in 1963-64. Following his basketball career, Richards spent over three decades with the FBI as a special agent, per syracuse.com.

Published on June 24, 2024 at 4:48 pm

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon