#23 Sonny Spera
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6'5" 190 lbs Guard
HS: Union-Endicott Endwell, NY
Born:  
Season Stats
Season Cl Pos G GS Min FG FGA % FT FTA % Asst Reb Fls DQ TO ST BS Pts PPG APG RPG
1981-82 Fr G 26 1 337 33 67 49.3% 20 31 64.5% 27 25 49 0 41 11 2 86 3.3 1.6 1.0
1982-83 So G 29 1 335 29 55 52.7%
22 27 81.5% 37 26 39 1 27 11 3 80 2.8 1.3 0.9
1983-84 Jr G 20 0 159 17 42 40.5%
13 16 81.3% 22 23 15 0 12 4 0 47 2.4 1.1 1.2
1984-85 Sr G 9 0 49 3 10 30.0% 8 11 72.7% 4 6 5 0 2 0 0 14 1.6 0.4 0.7
Career    
57
2
880
82
174
47.1%
63
85
74.1%
87
80
108
1
82
26
5
227
4.0
1.5
1.4

Sonny Spera was a tall guard, a scholarship player, who consistently remained a bench player throughout his career. He played a prominent role as a reserve his freshman season but his playing time decreased each season he played at Syracuse. Spera was respected enough by his teammates to be a co-captain his senior season, despite limited playing time. He was a solid free throw shooter, and an outstanding student.

Sonny Spera - Syracuse BasketballThe most memorable moment of Spera's career came in a lopsided loss against North Carolina his junior season. Syracuse was down big going into halftime, when Spera hit a half court shot as time expired. Against Georgetown in his sophomore year, Spera substituted for Gene Waldron, and scored 10 points in 14 minutes to spark a Syracuse rally, yet to see if fall short on a Hoya buzzer beater.

Spera was a graduate assistant coach at the University of Buffalo from 1985 to 1989. There he earned his DDS, and he became a dentist.

Spera also spent several years working with youth basketball. He was named a Syracuse Letterwinner of Distinction in 2019.

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