He didn’t join SU hoops lineup but his murals preserve stars

     As a young basketball player, Chris Murray dreamed of playing for the Syracuse Orangemen. As an accomplished adult artist, he has joined the team.

    The 2002 Norwood-Norfolk graduate is completing plans for his second major mural of the Orange in downtown Syracuse. “SU GOATS’’ will capture likenesses of some of the greatest players in the program’s recent history – Carmelo Anthony, Pearl Washington, Gerry McNamara, Hakim Warrick, John Wallace, Rony Seikaly, Derrick Coleman, Lawrence Moten, Buddy Boeheim along with Louis Orr and Roosevelt Bouie.

   But this is 2026, meaning it will rightfully include players from the rising women’s program too – Coach Felisha Legette-Jack, Tiana Mangakahia, Brittney Sykes and Dyashia Fair.

   Like any North Country kid, SU basketball embedded itself in most young player’s hearts. The men’s team reached the Final Four team three times under Coach Jim Boeheim during Murray’s youth – 1987, 1996 and 2003.

   “It was just dream as a kid,’’ Murray said. “I think that I’m on the path that was always meant to be (full-time artist), but man I loved playing ball as a kid. Still do. SU hoops was everything to me.’’

   Syracuse basketball still matters. Murray last fall designed and painted a mural of Boeheim on a building at 215 West Fayette Street. Now his GOATS (greatest of all-time) mural is planned for late July or early August at 327 West Fayette Street on a building owned by Mike Flynn.

     Murray’s first mural was a tribute to Boeheim, the Lyons native who played at Syracuse, coached there from 1976-2023, won a national championship in 2003,  and was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach. It features images of Boeheim on the sideline as he stands above the Carrier Dome and crowds of players and fans.

   “It was 2 years in the making,’’ Murray recalled. “I acquired the funding, the sign offs and approvals on my own. It was a project where I did everything from the ground level and learned so much. I met Jim and his wife Juli many times, alongside other SU greats. People love that mural, but the next one will be even more epic.’’

    He has turned his sights and paintbrushes toward the players that made the program. He enlisted Juli Boeheim to help him make contacts and secure permissions from players. Murray is still finalizing details, but he has donations from local philanthropists, CNY Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts toward the $90,000 budget. Two of the most prominent figures will be former stars, incoming coach Gerry McNamara and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member Carmelo Anthony, who played 19 seasons in the NBA.

     “I haven’t started it yet but this final piece will complete the SU sports mural series,’’ Murray said. “I honored Jim … and now it’s time to honor the players under him.’’

  Murray’s love of basketball led the Norwood native to this point in his life.

  “My ninth-grade season I missed due to a broken ankle,’’ he recalled. “We made it to the Final Four my junior year (should have won). My senior year we lost in the Elite Eight.’’

    Murray made an impression on former OFA basketball coach Bill Merna, now in the state Hall of Fame.

   “I remember Chris as a strong player for Norwood-Norfolk, All-Northern caliber,’’ Merna said. “I think he attended the Potsdam State summer basketball camp where coaches from many schools got to know the players they would see on opposing teams in a different atmosphere.’’

  After his career with the Flyers ended, Murray enrolled at Rochester Institute of Technology and graduated with a degree in fine art and illustration. Occasionally, he’d play pickup games with members of the college team, including Merna’s son, Colin.

  He hasn’t found time lately to get into pickup games near his home in Philadelphia.

  “I have in the past, but with my current schedule it’s too hard to commit,’’ Murray said. “I’m hoping to get back into a league or pick up soon.’’

  He is focused on his murals, his illustrating business and a series of characters he has created for his online website — https://chrisbmurray.com/

   Murray’s “SU GOATS’’ mural will be the third basketball project in downtown Syracuse. Artist Jonas Never completed a compilation in 2023 of Dolph Schayes, Breanna Stewart, Earl Lloyd Jr. and Manny Breland.

Morristown native Jim Holleran is a retired teacher and sports editor from Rochester. Reach him at jimholleran29@gmail.com or view past columns under “Reflections of River Rat’’ at https://hollerangetsitwrite.com/blog/