Minutes after his 700th career victory, Jim Boeheim spoke to the Carrier Dome crowd with emotion rarely seen from the 29-year Syracuse men’s basketball head coach.

In an impromptu speech he thanked the crowd for its support, but toward the end, he stopped. Boeheim has never liked the spotlight, so naturally, he attempted to take it off himself.

He didn’t want Syracuse’s 91-66 victory to be about him. Then again, he never wanted any of the previous 699 wins to be about him either. It was Senior Day, and Boeheim had to heap praise on what he later called Syracuse’s greatest senior class.

Sure, Boeheim will do almost anything to escape attention. And though his 700th win put him in elite company, adding one more accolade to his Hall of Fame resume, Boeheim couldn’t have been more right.

‘We’ve had a lot of great senior classes here,’ Boeheim told the crowd, ‘but not one as great as Hakim Warrick, Craig Forth and Josh Pace.’

Syracuse may never see a greater graduating class than the one that said goodbye to the Carrier Dome on Saturday. Warrick, Pace and Forth are the backbone of one of the greatest three-year runs in Syracuse basketball history.

The group won a national title as sophomores and went to the Sweet 16 last season. Who knows where the road will lead the Orange this year? Each has overcome difficult struggles along the way.

Warrick almost never made it to Syracuse. The Orange wanted Julius Hodge. Warrick held out and when Hodge chose North Carolina State, Boeheim snatched the skinny kid from Philadelphia. Few schools wanted him. Even his hometown Big 5 schools lacked interest.

Boeheim first saw Warrick at a workout for high schoolers in Indianapolis. He saw a tall, skinny kid who could fly. He weighed only 170 pounds. Of course, Boeheim was nervous because no other schools wanted him. He listened to his gut. Four years later it’s paid off.

Early on, Warrick struggled. He averaged just six points and five rebounds as a freshman. But as a sophomore he became a second scoring option behind Carmelo Anthony. By junior year, he’d become the Orange’s most explosive offensive threat. He nearly left for the NBA. He didn’t and now he’s a Big East Player of the Year candidate.

‘Four years ago if you would’ve asked me if I could’ve ever dreamed of ending my career or accomplishing the things I’ve accomplished here,’ Warrick said, ‘I probably would’ve thought it was a dream.’

And there’s Pace. A star high-school player from Griffin, Ga., Pace rode the bench most of his freshman and sophomore years. He’d made a commitment to his mother, June, that once he chose a school he’d stay for four years.

He stuck with it and became a key bench contributor during SU’s national championship run. Now, he’s arguably SU’s most important contributor. For his career, when Pace scores in double figures, Syracuse is 38-7.

‘He’s a special kid,’ Boeheim said. ‘He never says a word. He just plays.’

Of SU’s three seniors, Forth has easily struggled the most. Still, he’s started every game of his college career. His 131 straight games started lead the nation.

Forth’s been one of the few SU players who fans have booed at home. While he struggles with offensive consistency, his defense, rebounding and leadership are invaluable, and unfortunately, often go unnoticed.

After a rough first half Saturday, Forth finished his home career in perfect fashion, throwing down an alley-oop from Gerry McNamara.

‘It was a great feeling to go out there and dunk in front of 32,000 and have everyone pretty much playing well,’ Forth said.

Sure, each of these players has accomplished great things on the court. Let’s forget about that for a moment, though. When Senior Day introductions began, the first thing said was all three would receive their diplomas.

In an ideal world, all college basketball players would do the same. But it’s simply not the case. Many leave school early. Others play for four years and never graduate. In 1997-1998 only 44 percent of players nationwide graduated. It’s become such a problem that the NCAA has imposed sanctions on programs that don’t graduate enough players.

Warrick, Pace and Forth have all defied the odds, and their younger teammates have taken notice.

‘We’ve got some great character guys,’ said sophomore guard Louie McCroskey. ‘We all work hard, try to be pretty good students. Everything’s about character. On the court, everybody did great, but everyone does well off it as well. I think that’s the biggest thing.’

Seeing three players with such great on-the-court credentials graduate together is rare. But three players who have been just as good off the court as on it, may not be seen for quite some time.

And for that, Boeheim was right on the mark.