SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Jim Boeheim mural in downtown Syracuse is expected to be finished by the weekend, much to the excitement of Syracuse basketball fans.
Originally from Philadelphia, Chris Murray spent his childhood years in Upstate New York and considered Syracuse basketball as part of his identity.
“Being a small-town kid, having somebody from your neck of the woods walk amongst giants and be one of those giants?” said Murray. “It was the representation that we all kind of needed.”
The mural features all the different emotions and eras of Jim Boeheim’s legendary basketball career as the coach of the Syracuse men’s basketball team.
Painting on the mural started in September 2025, with a GoFundMe established to help Murray fund the project.
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The mural is also Murray’s biggest piece of art completed to date.
According to him, the game taught him so much about life, including key values such as hard work, empathy and dedication, something that he puts into his artwork.
“The game of basketball has taught me so much about life,” said Murray. “Hard work, empathy, dedication, all of those things that you learn from a sport, I’ve kind of taken those things and applied them to my career as an artist.”
Local residents are also feeling pride for the former coach.
“I just love that it has like every emotion of Jim Boeheim,” said Syracuse resident Trent Arnold. “You got the emotion of him winning, you got the emotion of him being stern with his players, joyfulness. It’s just showing everything you’d want out of a coach.”
Murray says that he is hoping to have the piece completely finished by Friday, Oct. 17 with a ribbon cutting ceremony held on Saturday, Oct. 18. to celebrate the mural.