Jim Boeheim Thoughts

[General20]

In 1976 SU, carrying the nickname "Roy's Runts," made a miracle underdog run to the final four. Roy Danforth, the coach, parlayed that success into a promotion, a move to a better school. That school was Tulane.

I wasn't alive yet. I know this second-hand from my dad.

I'm 44 years old and the team I root for has only had one coach in my lifetime. Since he retired earlier today my mind keeps going back to being eight years old in 1987, and watching Keith Smart hit that shot from my couch with my mom. I couldn't sleep after. I stayed up all night just looking out my window processing my feelings. Watching what I assumed were cars trickling home from bars and watch-parties, and still staying up watching long after everybody got where they were going and the street became totally empty and quiet.

Back then many of the houses in my neighborhood were adorned with homemade SU decorations in honor of their deep NCAA tournament run. Like it was Christmas or something. People were giddy at the thought that SU could achieve something so great. There were no expectations of greatness then. We were honored just to be good. But humans adapt. Its what we do, and we can't help it. 40 years of constant greatness creates expectations in anybody. Every year for 40ish years Syracuse was good enough to make the final four, it was just a matter of waiting 5 or 10 years for the stars to align and the chips to fall our way.

Now instead of being giddy and honored when SU is good enough to make the final four, people become embarrassed and angry when SU is not good enough to make the final four. I, personally, liked it better the other way. I'm not embarrassed or even particularly upset that SU isn't that level of great anymore, maybe because I guessed a long time ago that the basketball team was destined to become what the football team has been for a long time. Or maybe its because my loyalty to Jim Boeheim for building a program that has given me decades of first rate entertainment outweighs my greed for more wins? Who knows. What I do know is I dont expect SU to ever be as great as it used to be, but I do expect to be in the Dome with my daughters watching basketball games, teaching them to love their city, teaching them about the good old days of Sherman Douglas, Lazar Sims, Gerry McNamara, Michael Carter Williams, and Mike Gbinije, and teaching them how to deal with losing gracefully. Its going to be absolutely fantastic! I hope everybody reading this builds fantastic memories like that too.

I fully understand that the vast majority of SU fans want Boeheim to leave because they dont think we are winning enough, but I just can't quite get there. Its not how my mind works. I see Jim Boeheim with 3 starting freshman (an 80 year old with the impossible job of needing to relate to teenagers) and I see him still figuring out how to win more games than he loses (at almost 80!) and I think ... what a badass! You have to admit if it was your grandfather doing that you'd think it was badass. And even though I dont know Jim Boeheim in any meaningful way, I guess I kind of think of him that way. He's just always been there. From when I was a kid using sports to make friends with other kids - playing basketball in the driveway, football in the back yard, and baseball in the streets, but always caring about SU basketball more than the rest. To when I was a young professional being recruited to work in many far away cities but choosing to live in Syracuse and having that choice become the single best choice of my life (just like it was for Boeheim!), to becoming a dad with a demanding job and having no time for sports like I used to and only keeping up with SU basketball and giving up the rest, he has just always been there.

Its a hard thing to wrap your mind around, something as unimportant as basketball, and yet something important enough to make you happy for four plus decades. The thought I am left with, more than any other is Jim Boeheim took over a program so low its coach was poached by Tulane and turned it into a program so great that people get angry when we are not among the elite of the country. Thanks Jim.

1987 wasn't the only time I stayed up all night because of SU basketball. I didn't sleep a wink in 2003, or in 2009 after the 6 overtimes. As I type this I have youtube streaming on my television. Its showing an SU basketball game from 1992, when Adrian Autrey was the point guard. I have a feeling its not going to be the last game I stream tonight. I have a feeling there may be one more SU basketball induced sleepless night ahead of me.

 

[stlorange]

I feel the same. Great observations.

 

[Sherman20]

In

In 1976 SU, carrying the nickname "Roy's Runts," made a miracle underdog run to the final four. Roy Danforth, the coach, parlayed that success into a promotion, a move to a better school. That school was Tulane.

I wasn't alive yet. I know this second-hand from my dad.

I'm 44 years old and the team I root for has only had one coach in my lifetime. Since he retired earlier today my mind keeps going back to being eight years old in 1987, and watching Keith Smart hit that shot from my couch with my mom. I couldn't sleep after. I stayed up all night just looking out my window processing my feelings. Watching what I assumed were cars trickling home from bars and watch-parties, and still staying up watching long after everybody got where they were going and the street became totally empty and quiet.

Back then many of the houses in my neighborhood were adorned with homemade SU decorations in honor of their deep NCAA tournament run. Like it was Christmas or something. People were giddy at the thought that SU could achieve something so great. There were no expectations of greatness then. We were honored just to be good. But humans adapt. Its what we do, and we can't help it. 40 years of constant greatness creates expectations in anybody. Every year for 40ish years Syracuse was good enough to make the final four, it was just a matter of waiting 5 or 10 years for the stars to align and the chips to fall our way.

Now instead of being giddy and honored when SU is good enough to make the final four, people become embarrassed and angry when SU is not good enough to make the final four. I, personally, liked it better the other way. I'm not embarrassed or even particularly upset that SU isn't that level of great anymore, maybe because I guessed a long time ago that the basketball team was destined to become what the football team has been for a long time. Or maybe its because my loyalty to Jim Boeheim for building a program that has given me decades of first rate entertainment outweighs my greed for more wins? Who knows. What I do know is I dont expect SU to ever be as great as it used to be, but I do expect to be in the Dome with my daughters watching basketball games, teaching them to love their city, teaching them about the good old days of Sherman Douglas, Lazar Sims, Gerry McNamara, Michael Carter Williams, and Mike Gbinije, and teaching them how to deal with losing gracefully. Its going to be absolutely fantastic! I hope everybody reading this builds fantastic memories like that too.

I fully understand that the vast majority of SU fans want Boeheim to leave because they dont think we are winning enough, but I just can't quite get there. Its not how my mind works. I see Jim Boeheim with 3 starting freshman (an 80 year old with the impossible job of needing to relate to teenagers) and I see him still figuring out how to win more games than he loses (at almost 80!) and I think ... what a badass! You have to admit if it was your grandfather doing that you'd think it was badass. And even though I dont know Jim Boeheim in any meaningful way, I guess I kind of think of him that way. He's just always been there. From when I was a kid using sports to make friends with other kids - playing basketball in the driveway, football in the back yard, and baseball in the streets, but always caring about SU basketball more than the rest. To when I was a young professional being recruited to work in many far away cities but choosing to live in Syracuse and having that choice become the single best choice of my life (just like it was for Boeheim!), to becoming a dad with a demanding job and having no time for sports like I used to and only keeping up with SU basketball and giving up the rest, he has just always been there.

Its a hard thing to wrap your mind around, something as unimportant as basketball, and yet something important enough to make you happy for four plus decades. The thought I am left with, more than any other is Jim Boeheim took over a program so low its coach was poached by Tulane and turned it into a program so great that people get angry when we are not among the elite of the country. Thanks Jim.

1987 wasn't the only time I stayed up all night because of SU basketball. I didn't sleep a wink in 2003, or in 2009 after the 6 overtimes. As I type this I have youtube streaming on my television. Its showing an SU basketball game from 1992, when Adrian Autrey was the point guard. I have a feeling its not going to be the last game I stream tonight. I have a feeling there may be one more SU basketball induced sleepless night ahead of me.

“…maybe because I guessed a long time ago that the basketball team was destined to become what the football team has been for a long time. …What I do know is I dont expect SU to ever be as great as it used to be.”

You really believe we’ll never be great again in basketball?! Good grief. I guess we’ll just have to sit back and watch tiny Catholic schools like Xavier, Marquette,Providence, oh and freaking Gonzaga, enjoy top 25 seasons while we rot in the bottom of the ACC… Unbelievable that someone with this much passion and history as a Syracuse fan has become so psychically connected to Boeheim that he cant see Syracuse succeeding without him. You know who made this program? The players, first and foremost. And the loyal fans who packed the Dome for decades, including during these years of diminishing returns. I love JB but Syracuse basketball is bigger than Boeheim and will survive and thrive after he’s gone. I wish coach Autry the best and I’m excited to see him prove you wrong.

 

[SoBristol]

Great post. Now, when Danford got poached by Tulane, we weren’t in the Big East and we were playing in a dusty field house. The games were exciting in a small venue, with seating close to the court, but it wasn’t big time and big money. The program was not lowly (we just had a big run to a final four!) but maybe Tulane seemed attractive. Soon we were playing before 16,000 fans in the Dome with Bruin and Rautins, then Boeheim landed the Pearl. And so on.

Maybe people at this point don’t appreciate what Boeheim accomplished. Or maybe they do, but also know a great leader knows how to let go and turn the role to the next leader. Basketball is a game for younger guys, and the new era begins.

 

[General20]

In

“…maybe because I guessed a long time ago that the basketball team was destined to become what the football team has been for a long time. …What I do know is I dont expect SU to ever be as great as it used to be.”

You really believe we’ll never be great again in basketball?! Good grief. I guess we’ll just have to sit back and watch tiny Catholic schools like Xavier, Marquette,Providence, oh and freaking Gonzaga, enjoy top 25 seasons while we rot in the bottom of the ACC… Unbelievable that someone with this much passion and history as a Syracuse fan has become so psychically connected to Boeheim that he cant see Syracuse succeeding without him. You know who made this program? The players, first and foremost. And the loyal fans who packed the Dome for decades, including during these years of diminishing returns. I love JB but Syracuse basketball is bigger than Boeheim and will survive and thrive after he’s gone. I wish coach Autry the best and I’m excited to see him prove you wrong.

I dont think losing Boeheim is the problem and I dont think any of the small schools you mention will even be D1 for much longer. The big conferences are going to build something that does not include them soon. Its the trend to of the big state schools with money to splash taking all the power that I think is the problem.

 

[oTTo113445]

might sound crazy but wonder if ND would be interested in grabbing him for a couple of years.

 

[JustPherU]

might sound crazy but wonder if ND would be interested in grabbing him for a couple of years.

Why in the hell would any school want to hire a 78 year old as their new head coach?

 

[blust2i3d4]

SU forced Jim Boeheim out. I think there is a good chance that Notre Dame will grab Jim as their next head coach for the next three or four years.

 

[Newhouser]

SU forced Jim Boeheim out. I think there is a good chance that Notre Dame will grab Jim as their next head coach for the next three or four years.

Seriously?

 

[CousCuse]

Jim is still vital and though he has 78 years, his level of mental and physical ability is that of a man in his 60's. The supposed slide into mediocrity is due to injuries of key players and the totally unjustified and over the top NCAA penalties that were incurred for a lot of nothing.

 

[SoBristol]

Jim is still vital and though he has 78 years, his level of mental and physical ability is that of a man in his 60's. The supposed slide into mediocrity is due to injuries of key players and the totally unjustified and over the top NCAA penalties that were incurred for a lot of nothing.

Yes, Jim is in good shape for 78. He should do well on the golf course and in whatever he may do with his foundation and in support of the community.

But let’s be realistic. SU recruiting has declined because we have a coach well into his golden years and who plays zone as his exclusive defense. There are other factors, of course, with the rise of the SEC and NIL money and location. It is past time for a new era of leadership. Jim took over at 31 years old. Let the new era begin.

 

[newmexicuse]

In 1976 SU, carrying the nickname "Roy's Runts," made a miracle underdog run to the final four. Roy Danforth, the coach, parlayed that success into a promotion, a move to a better school. That school was Tulane.

I wasn't alive yet. I know this second-hand from my dad.

I'm 44 years old and the team I root for has only had one coach in my lifetime. Since he retired earlier today my mind keeps going back to being eight years old in 1987, and watching Keith Smart hit that shot from my couch with my mom. I couldn't sleep after. I stayed up all night just looking out my window processing my feelings. Watching what I assumed were cars trickling home from bars and watch-parties, and still staying up watching long after everybody got where they were going and the street became totally empty and quiet.

Back then many of the houses in my neighborhood were adorned with homemade SU decorations in honor of their deep NCAA tournament run. Like it was Christmas or something. People were giddy at the thought that SU could achieve something so great. There were no expectations of greatness then. We were honored just to be good. But humans adapt. Its what we do, and we can't help it. 40 years of constant greatness creates expectations in anybody. Every year for 40ish years Syracuse was good enough to make the final four, it was just a matter of waiting 5 or 10 years for the stars to align and the chips to fall our way.

Now instead of being giddy and honored when SU is good enough to make the final four, people become embarrassed and angry when SU is not good enough to make the final four. I, personally, liked it better the other way. I'm not embarrassed or even particularly upset that SU isn't that level of great anymore, maybe because I guessed a long time ago that the basketball team was destined to become what the football team has been for a long time. Or maybe its because my loyalty to Jim Boeheim for building a program that has given me decades of first rate entertainment outweighs my greed for more wins? Who knows. What I do know is I dont expect SU to ever be as great as it used to be, but I do expect to be in the Dome with my daughters watching basketball games, teaching them to love their city, teaching them about the good old days of Sherman Douglas, Lazar Sims, Gerry McNamara, Michael Carter Williams, and Mike Gbinije, and teaching them how to deal with losing gracefully. Its going to be absolutely fantastic! I hope everybody reading this builds fantastic memories like that too.

I fully understand that the vast majority of SU fans want Boeheim to leave because they dont think we are winning enough, but I just can't quite get there. Its not how my mind works. I see Jim Boeheim with 3 starting freshman (an 80 year old with the impossible job of needing to relate to teenagers) and I see him still figuring out how to win more games than he loses (at almost 80!) and I think ... what a badass! You have to admit if it was your grandfather doing that you'd think it was badass. And even though I dont know Jim Boeheim in any meaningful way, I guess I kind of think of him that way. He's just always been there. From when I was a kid using sports to make friends with other kids - playing basketball in the driveway, football in the back yard, and baseball in the streets, but always caring about SU basketball more than the rest. To when I was a young professional being recruited to work in many far away cities but choosing to live in Syracuse and having that choice become the single best choice of my life (just like it was for Boeheim!), to becoming a dad with a demanding job and having no time for sports like I used to and only keeping up with SU basketball and giving up the rest, he has just always been there.

Its a hard thing to wrap your mind around, something as unimportant as basketball, and yet something important enough to make you happy for four plus decades. The thought I am left with, more than any other is Jim Boeheim took over a program so low its coach was poached by Tulane and turned it into a program so great that people get angry when we are not among the elite of the country. Thanks Jim.

1987 wasn't the only time I stayed up all night because of SU basketball. I didn't sleep a wink in 2003, or in 2009 after the 6 overtimes. As I type this I have youtube streaming on my television. Its showing an SU basketball game from 1992, when Adrian Autrey was the point guard. I have a feeling its not going to be the last game I stream tonight. I have a feeling there may be one more SU basketball induced sleepless night ahead of me.

Wow, what a great fantastic post in so many respects, but I just couldnt give you a "like" because you stated that you could not get to the point of seeing why Jimmy needed to leave.

I will not get into those reasons as so much, that I am sure you have already read, has been posted about that over and over again on this forum.

But, I think the bottom line here is that when the Administration finally saw that Jimmy needed to go, there just isn't a lot more to be said on that topic.

I also want to let you know how much I appreciate your thoughts and comments even though I just couldnt bring myself to "like" them.

 

[AlaskaSU]

In

“…maybe because I guessed a long time ago that the basketball team was destined to become what the football team has been for a long time. …What I do know is I dont expect SU to ever be as great as it used to be.”

You really believe we’ll never be great again in basketball?! Good grief. I guess we’ll just have to sit back and watch tiny Catholic schools like Xavier, Marquette,Providence, oh and freaking Gonzaga, enjoy top 25 seasons while we rot in the bottom of the ACC… Unbelievable that someone with this much passion and history as a Syracuse fan has become so psychically connected to Boeheim that he cant see Syracuse succeeding without him. You know who made this program? The players, first and foremost. And the loyal fans who packed the Dome for decades, including during these years of diminishing returns. I love JB but Syracuse basketball is bigger than Boeheim and will survive and thrive after he’s gone. I wish coach Autry the best and I’m excited to see him prove you wrong.

Reality. Beast of the East = fertile recruiting.
Least of the SE = tough sledding.
We will have ups and downs, but the 40 year dynasty will not be repeated.

 

[OCESIP]

The one aspect that was unique to JB is that he embraced and defended not only the university, but also the community of Syracuse. He loves the area, as do I. That is not always an easy thing for outsiders to understand. I'm a lifelong upstate NY resident who has spent 6 months a year in SC for the last 8 years.

I always knew that Syracuse had a national reputation of being only slightly more desirable than Siberia. Down here it's a given that you need to be a little bit unhinged to make that choice. Taking that one step further, regarding the basketball program, the negative aspects of the community would preclude any reasonably talented coach from considering Syracuse.

That is unfair to the extreme, but it represents how much of an outsider SU is in the eyes of the ACC fanbase. And JB, as an avid cheerleader for Syracuse and the northeast, is target number 1.

 

[CousCuse]

Yes, Jim is in good shape for 78. He should do well on the golf course and in whatever he may do with his foundation and in support of the community.

But let’s be realistic. SU recruiting has declined because we have a coach well into his golden years and who plays zone as his exclusive defense. There are other factors, of course, with the rise of the SEC and NIL money and location. It is past time for a new era of leadership. Jim took over at 31 years old. Let the new era begin.

I don't lump people into groups. To me, Jim is still capable.

 

[Col. Bleep]

Very interesting stuff.

But the '74-'75 Final Four team was not "Roy's Runts"...notwithstanding articles that give them the nickname.
"Roy's Runts" were earlier in the 70's.

The 1974-75 Final Four's frontcourt:
PF 6-9 Rudy Hackett was an absolute monster who should be in the conversation of best all-time Syracuse forwards.
Chris Sease was "only" 6-5 but could jump at the other forward.
And center Ernie Siebert was anything but a "runt."
Not much of a player but at 6-9 or 10 and seemingly about 500 pounds...certainly no runt.

 

[Newhouser]

Very interesting stuff.

But the '74-'75 Final Four team was not "Roy's Runts"...notwithstanding articles that give them the nickname.
"Roy's Runts" were earlier in the 70's.

The 1974-75 Final Four's frontcourt:
PF 6-9 Rudy Hackett was an absolute monster who should be in the conversation of best all-time Syracuse forwards.
Chris Sease was "only" 6-5 but could jump at the other forward.
And center Ernie Siebert was anything but a "runt."
Not much of a player but at 6-9 or 10 and seemingly about 500 pounds...certainly no runt.

Yeah Rudy Hackett does get lost in the shuffle. Great player.

 

[blust2i3d4]

Seriously?

Jim is not good enough for Syracuse but good enough for Notre Dame. The man do still want to coach, doesn't he?

 

[blust2i3d4]

Jim is still vital and though he has 78 years, his level of mental and physical ability is that of a man in his 60's. The supposed slide into mediocrity is due to injuries of key players and the totally unjustified and over the top NCAA penalties that were incurred for a lot of nothing.

A lot of people, most SU haters, conspire and try to force Jim out. I cannot believe Syracuse University falls to this trap.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Jim is still vital and though he has 78 years, his level of mental and physical ability is that of a man in his 60's. The supposed slide into mediocrity is due to injuries of key players and the totally unjustified and over the top NCAA penalties that were incurred for a lot of nothing.

Don’t ruin this thread please.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

SU forced Jim Boeheim out. I think there is a good chance that Notre Dame will grab Jim as their next head coach for the next three or four years.

Goofy

 

[Deleted member 8116]

SU forced Jim Boeheim out. I think there is a good chance that Notre Dame will grab Jim as their next head coach for the next three or four years.

Yeah, they are going to hire an almost 79 year old coach when there are many good young coaches. Most absurd thing I’ve read today haha.

 

[dollarbill44]

The one aspect that was unique to JB is that he embraced and defended not only the university, but also the community of Syracuse. He loves the area, as do I. That is not always an easy thing for outsiders to understand. I'm a lifelong upstate NY resident who has spent 6 months a year in SC for the last 8 years.

I always knew that Syracuse had a national reputation of being only slightly more desirable than Siberia. Down here it's a given that you need to be a little bit unhinged to make that choice. Taking that one step further, regarding the basketball program, the negative aspects of the community would preclude any reasonably talented coach from considering Syracuse.

That is unfair to the extreme, but it represents how much of an outsider SU is in the eyes of the ACC fanbase. And JB, as an avid cheerleader for Syracuse and the northeast, is target number 1.

Well, I feel the same about living full time south of NC. I love visiting there, but H to the he11 no about living there.

And I lived in NC for a couple of years.

 

[billsin01]

Great post. Now, when Danford got poached by Tulane, we weren’t in the Big East and we were playing in a dusty field house. The games were exciting in a small venue, with seating close to the court, but it wasn’t big time and big money. The program was not lowly (we just had a big run to a final four!) but maybe Tulane seemed attractive. Soon we were playing before 16,000 fans in the Dome with Bruin and Rautins, then Boeheim landed the Pearl. And so on.

Maybe people at this point don’t appreciate what Boeheim accomplished. Or maybe they do, but also know a great leader knows how to let go and turn the role to the next leader. Basketball is a game for younger guys, and the new era begins.

Think this is a fair summation of the basic point that at some moment in time we all have to recognize our limitations. 78 and coaching at the highest level of college basketball isn't impossible -- JB did it without a Patrick Ewing like swoon at least -- but it's really, really tough particularly when the 'future' is brought up every 5 seconds by every opposing coach. I don't think there's too much of an argument that, at the end of the day, it was time.

 

[Sherman20]

Reality. Beast of the East = fertile recruiting.
Least of the SE = tough sledding.
We will have ups and downs, but the 40 year dynasty will not be repeated.

Excuse me, why can’t we be the Beast of the East again? Aren’t we still located in the East? You think because we don’t play Providence and Seton Hall regularly anymore we can’t be relevant? Lol. That’s just silly. As long as we’re still playing Gtown, St John’s, and Nova (we need to get them back in a regular rotation), we’ll still be playing in our key recruiting areas.