Syracuse, N.Y. – Nick Giancola found out that he had a spot on the Syracuse basketball team’s roster as a walk-on during a FaceTime conversation with his cousin.

When Giancola didn’t believe the news, his cousin turned his phone around to show his uncle.

“We’ve got a spot for you,’’ Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said.

For Giancola, cousin to SU sophomore Buddy Boeheim and nephew to Syracuse’s head coach, it was the realization of a life-long dream.

“It’s amazing to have followed the team for so long and now I’m really a part of it,’’ Giancola said during a recent interview. Looking up at the wall with photos of past Syracuse greats, he added, “To wear the same uniform that these guys wore is unbelievable to me. I walk in the locker room and see the names of the team captains over the years and think ‘I’m really here’.’’

Giancola is the son of John Giancola and Janet Greene. His mom and Juli Boeheim are sisters.

Although he was born and raised in Lexington, Ky., he grew up a Syracuse fan, wearing Orange gear to school in the heart of Big Blue Nation.

“Imagine being the only Syracuse fan in the city of Lexington,’’ Giancola said, adding that his friends understood his love of the Orange. “They know my connection to this program. There’s no hiding it. I’m the biggest Syracuse fan that there is.’’

This will be Giancola’s first season as a walk-on, but it’s his second as part of the SU basketball program.

Two years ago as a freshman, Giancola worked as a team manager. He had enrolled in SU’s prestigious Newhouse School of Public Communications.

“I didn’t love my major,’’ he said. “I felt like, ‘Well, if I don’t love it here, why am I so far away from home?’ So I went back home just to re-evaluate what I wanted.’’

Giancola returned to Lexington and began his sophomore year at the University of Kentucky. He had selected finance as a major in part because his father is an accountant.

“I didn’t love that, either,’’ he said.

Giancola’s thoughts kept drifting back to Syracuse. In his freshman year at Syracuse, one of the team’s managers had been majoring in sports analytics in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics.

“I was trying to find a field or a job that I could see myself loving going to work every day,’’ Giancola said.

On a trip to Syracuse to see the Orange play Duke last February, Giancola talked with Kip Wellman, who was then SU’s director of basketball operations. Giancola told Wellman he wanted to return to Syracuse, but he also wanted to be on the team as a non-scholarship player. Wellman said he would mention it to Boeheim.

It wasn’t until the spring before Giancola would have the chance to speak to the SU coach.

Boeheim wanted to make sure Giancola really wanted the thankless job of being a walk-on. Giancola assured him that he was ready to make the commitment.

“He said, ‘Let me talk to some people and I’ll get back to you’,’’ Giancola said. “I’m thinking he’s going to call back in an hour or two hours. I’m checking my phone and checking my phone.’’

Two weeks later, Buddy Boeheim called via FaceTime from the passenger seat of his dad’s car.

“He didn’t believe it at first,’’ Buddy Boeheim recalled with a smile.

Giancola and Boeheim have been close since they were young. They served as ball boys together when Giancola’s family would make their annual trip to Syracuse. When Syracuse was in the NCAA tournament, Giancola and Boeheim would sit together and cheer on the Orange.

“We’ve been going to Syracuse games together and going to the (NCAA) tournament every year since 2008,’’ Giancola said. “If there’s a tournament game, I’m there. And he’s obviously there. We have a lot of memories together. Huge wins and hard losses and teams throughout the years.’’

Giancola arrived in Syracuse on July 1 and immediately began working out with his new teammates. He joined the Orange on the team’s four-game trip to Italy in August.

During practices, Giancola usually works with the Syracuse forwards. Giancola, who stood 5-foot-6 as a high school freshman, is now 6-foot-5.

“He works hard,’’ Buddy Boeheim said. “He’s here working hard every day. He’s great for the locker room. The guys love him. He’s a perfect walk-on. He comes in and puts his head down and works and is a great influence for the guys.’’

Giancola said his year of experience as a manager as a freshman has helped him adapt to being a walk-on.

“Being at practice every day, I knew what the drill was," he said. "I knew what the players did and overall expectations. It really helped.’’

With Giancola’s return to Syracuse, Jim Boeheim will now have the distinction of coaching both his son and his nephew this season. But Giancola said that on the court, Boeheim is his coach, not his uncle.

“I’m treated like everyone else here, and that’s what I wanted,’’ Giancola said. “It’s the same thing with Buddy. He’s treated like everyone else. I like that. I’m not getting special treatment and I’m not being made an example of. I’m like everyone else.’’

Mike Waters is a reporter for the Syracuse Post-Standard and Syracuse.com. Got a comment or idea for a story? He can be reached via email at mwaters@syracuse.com.

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