It is believed that Pearl Washington brought Syracuse basketball to national prominence and helped usher the Big East into the national spotlight in the mid-1980s . In the Carrier Dome 's first three years , Syracuse 's highest attendance mark was a mere 20,401 in the 1982-83 . In 1983 , Pearl 's freshman year , Syracuse 's attendance increased to 22,380 per game . As as sophomore , Syracuse led the nation in attendance for the first time in school history . Syracuse would be the NCAA 's attendance leader for the next ten years . By the time Washington was a junior , Syracuse 's average attendance had jumped to 26,225 . Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim , who has long said that there would be no Syracuse basketball program as we know it without Pearl , he once said : '' He 's the only guy who could just overnight fill the place like that . He had an unbelievable effect on our program . Everybody says that Patrick Ewing and Chris Mullin made the Big East , but I think Pearl made the league . They were the best players , but Pearl was the player that people turned out to see and turned on their TVs to watch . We had the highest-rated games every year that Pearl was here . He was a guy who everybody wanted to see play . He not only helped make our program , he helped make the Big East and he helped college basketball . '' In 2016 , at the December 17 Georgetown game , joined alongside Washington 's family , friends and former teammates , SU Director of Athletics John Wildhack helped unveil the No. 31 logo at center court to honor Washington . Washington died from brain cancer eight months earlier that year after a long fight with the deadly disease . Syracuse basketball legend Pearl Washington has a street named after him in the Brownsville section of his native Brooklyn , New York
Big East
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
Syracuse Orange men's basketball