After 47 seasons leading the Orange, Jim Boeheim will no longer be the head coach of the Syracuse men's basketball team. The school announced via release that it will be moving on from the legendary coach. Current associate head coach Adrian Autry will take the reins from Boeheim.
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Over the course of his long, very long, probably too long career, Boeheim compiled a 1,015-441 record. He is No. 2 on the all-time Division I wins list, one spot behind former Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski. Prior to taking over as head coach in 1976, Boeheim served as an assistant at Syracuse for seven seasons. And from 1963-1966, Boeheim played at Syracuse. So really, we're talking about the end of a 60-year relationship between Boeheim and Syracuse University.
Coach Boeheim's Syracuse Legacy
Photo by Isaiah Vazquez/Getty Images
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Boeheim's teams reached the Final Four five times in his tenure at Syracuse, winning one national championship behind one-and-done freshman phenom Carmelo Anthony in 2003.
Under Boeheim, Syracuse developed a reputation as a power in the Big East Conference, deploying a suffocating zone defense as its calling card. Many teams play zone — typically, a 2-3 or a 3-2. But no team played them quite like Syracuse. It was a cross between a typical 2-3 and a matchup zone, and it operated with such tenacity and tightness that with the right personnel and commitment, scoring against Syracuse in the half court felt impossible.
Eventually, Syracuse University followed the football money to the ACC, part of a wave that reshaped the Big East and disrupted some of the best college basketball rivalries in the sport.
Boeheim could always be counted upon to deliver a spicy sound bite in a postgame press conference. Just recently, he got into a bit of a spat with other ACC coaches, accusing Pitt, Wake Forest and Miami of "buying their teams." It seems Boeheim was not a fan of the changes wrought by the new name/image/likeness (NIL) rules and the increase in players transferring between programs.
In classic crotchety Boeheim fashion, this is not a clean and clear retirement announcement.
Jim Boeheim: "I've been very lucky to coach this long. I think everyone missed my retirement speech last week. Nobody picked up on it... it's up to the University" pic.twitter.com/XbnTV1Zsuj
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) March 8, 2023
When asked if he was announcing his retirement, he responded, "It's up to the university." The reporter followed up, asking, "So you wanna come back." Boeheim's response, "I didn't say that."
Well, apparently the university has made its decision, and college basketball loses another long-tenured coach. In the last few seasons, Coach K, Boeheim and Roy Williams have all stopped coaching.
Is this the last we see of Boeheim? Hard to imagine him coaching anywhere else. But it's also hard to imagine him not coaching. I mean, how else is he going to get the chance to berate student reporters about their tone?
