Here come the hats and the ball and the T-shirts and the gold-embossed, individually numbered commemorative issues.

Reigning national champions for three days now, Syracuse’s men’s players are now America’s most marketable figures.

On Tuesday, an ESPN.com story speculated on Carmelo Anthony’s selling power, all the more powerful, as a president of one marketing firm said, because Carmelo is a catchier name than LeBron.

Even Jim Boeheim, the shy son of a funeral director, is in the mix, as SU’s head coach will appear on Monday’s “Late Show with David Letterman.”

By now, you half expect to see SU guard Gerry McNamara shirtless and grinning on the the cover of next month’s Teen People.

For all their off-court allure, the Orangemen played some decent basketball, too. Here now, the Orangemen’s final report card, along with products each player could market:

Carmelo Anthony

His final averages: 22.2 points and 10 rebounds. But Anthony’s worth to the Orangemen transcends numbers. His confidence was effervescent .

Before the Orangemen’s Elite Eight game against Oklahoma, he turned to his teammates and screamed, “Do you want to go to the Final Four?”

Anthony had, after all, guaranteed SU would make it to New Orleans.

And his smile is as big a selling point as his game.

Grade: A

Salesman for: Crest toothpaste, headbands for whatever shoe company he eventually signs with

Gerry McNamara

Scranton’s favorite Irish lad treats late-game 3-pointers like most Scrantonites treat St. Patrick’s Day.

Which is to say, he craves them.

Golden Boy hit 6 of 10 from behind the arc in SU’s 81-78 national championship win over Kansas, and he hit the game-winning 3 in an 82-80 win over Notre Dame on Feb. 15.

His penchant for long-distance deliveries coincides perfectly with the fact that his parents work at the post office.

Grade: A

Salesman for: United States Postal Service, Clearasil (His baby face would look perfect during commercial breaks for NBC’s Saturday morning shows.)

Hakim Warrick

If The Shot marked 1987, will The Block highlight this year?

“Yeah, definitely,” the agreeable Warrick would likely say.

Warrick stuffing Michael Lee’s last-second 3 on Monday night saved SU and erased Keith Smart’s ghost. The 6-foot-8 Warrick diversified his game this year, adding a turnaround jumper.

Though national talking heads still refer to him as “Warwick,” the forward gained a measure of international recognition March 10, when he received a shout-out at a nightclub — in Negril, Jamaica.

As the Big East’s best dunker, Warrick is pliable, with some meat on his frame. This is too easy.

Grade: A-

Salesman for: Slim Jims

Kueth Duany

At SU’s championship celebration in the Carrier Dome last night, Boeheim took a moment to honor Duany, who missed the ceremony to attend an NBA pre-draft camp.

It was a fitting conclusion to Duany’s five-year stint as Boeheim’s favorite screaming target. Duany averaged 11 points this season and was a calming influence in the Orangemen’s playpen locker room. His teammates called him Grandpa, and they followed his work ethic.

Duany’s basketball skills are average. He’ll give professional ball a shot but will have to rack up plenty of miles — and maybe make a jaunt to Europe — to do it.

Grade: B+

Salesman for: Orbitz.com

Craig Forth

Though Forth regressed from last year, his self-criticism remains comical. Remember, though, that he still has two years left at SU — plenty of time to improve.

With four SU players scoring in double figures, Forth needs to be a defensive presence rather than an offensive threat.

To do that, he must work on his jumping — or lack thereof.

Grade: B-

Salesman for: Pogo sticks

Jeremy McNeil

Memo to SU: Take out an insurance policy on McNeil’s right arm.

The 6-foot-8 center used his intimidating appendage to scare opponents out of the paint in the NCAA Tournament. McNeil had 2.8 blocks per game this year and improved his offensive game, once his greatest liability. McNeil spent last summer slimming down, and, though he shies from TV cameras, he might fit nicely as a pitchman for a new male-targeted weight-loss program.

Grade: B+

Salesman for: Jeremy Craig

Billy Edelin

A guard who attempted two 3-pointers in 23 games? Yep, he exists.

Edelin relies on a quick first step and a floater. If he adds a jump shot, opponents will have an even tougher time stopping him.

The 6-foot-4 Edelin and the 6-foot-2 McNamara are both four-year players who will likely form the nation’s top guard tandem by their junior years. Two suspensions fast-forwarded Edelin’s maturation, and he’ll be the Orangemen’s steady-headed spokesman for the next three years.

Grade: A-

Salesman for: Edelin’s father, William, is already his biggest pitchman. Now all Edelin has to do is buy into marketing that T-shirt his dad wears — the one with Edelin wearing a tuxedo and spinning a basketball on his finger.

Josh Pace

Boeheim heaped plenty of credit on Pace for SU’s national title run. And rightly so.

Pace combined for 20 points in the Orangemen’s wins over Texas and Kansas. The sleepy-eyed sophomore guard will likely be a secondary contributor for most of his SU career, but he’s a good substitute for Edelin, since both guards favor slicing to the hoop. (Pace also attempted just two 3-pointers all year.)

Grade: A-

Salesman for: No Doze

Coaching

In his 27th season, Boeheim pulled off one of his finest coaching efforts. Like a hypnotist, he talked his young players into believing they should play like seniors.

He worked that spin all season with the media. They’re freshmen, he’d say, but they don’t play like it. We doubted him, but he was right.

Flanking Boeheim are assistants Mike Hopkins and Troy Weaver, two of the nation’s hottest recruiters. SU corralled two Parade All-Americans (Terrence Roberts and Demetris Nichols) and the New York Post’s New York City Player of the Year (Louie McCroskey).

Credit the success to Hopkins’ down-to-earth attitude (he listens to the same Jay-Z CDs as his players) and Weaver’s connections (he seems to always have his cell phone pressed to his ear).

Grade: A

Salesman for: Boeheim — Kleenex (He started every postgame press conference by sniffling and clearing his throat into the microphone.) Weaver — Verizon (He must have some monthly plan.) Hopkins — Halls throat lozenges (They’ll sooth his throat, which no doubt gets sore since he playfully jaws with players and media so much at practices.)

Darryl Slater is an assistant sports editor at The Daily Orange, where his columns appear regularly. E-mail him at dpslater@syr.edu.

Published on April 10, 2003 at 12:00 pm