The Jim Boeheim Show- After New York | Syracusefan.com

The Jim Boeheim Show- After New York

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Jim Boeheim’s radio show is on Thursdays from 7-9PM on ESPN Radio in Syracuse, which is AM1200 or FM 97.7 on the dial. The show originates from Delmonico’s Italian Steakhouse on Erie Boulevard in Syracuse. The first hour, hosted by Matt Park, the Voice of the Orange, is on their general network. The second hour, which begins with the conference season, is hosted by Gomez, a local radio personality.

The first hour is eventually, (it can take weeks) podcasted on the SU Athletics website on this page:
http://suathletics.com/podcasts.aspx
(Update: the last podcast is a preview of the first Duke game from last year so maybe they have stopped podcasting the show. )

You can call into the show locally at 315-424-8599 or nationally at 1-888-746-2873. For Gomez’s portion, use 315-437-7644. Or you can submit questions from this page:
http://cuse.com/sb_output.aspx?form=4

The show can be heard in Syracuse on FM 99.5. It’s sometime simulcast on AM 1200 or FM 97.7. You can also get it on: http://tunein.com/radio/WGVA-1240-s29191/

I will be posting my rough transcript of the first hour the night of the broadcast and will probably do the second hour the following day.

MY QUESTIONS/COMMENTS

First hour:

“Coach, one of the team’s problems that you and your staff will be working on is our depth at center. You’ve been using forward Chris McCullough as your back-up center. How has Chinoso Obokoh been coming along and will we see him worked into the rotation as the season goes along?”

Second hour:

“Coach, in your book you talk about the three second call and how it’s important to your zone that referees make that call. Is there a specific referee assigned to keep track of three seconds, the way football has a linesman to make offsides calls? Also would you favor there being a defensive three second rule, as well?”

COACH BOEHEIM

(I have, in some instances, put together statements from different parts of the broadcast on the same subject)

They were watching this year’s Maui Classic on TV and commenting on how we were there a year ago. Matt noted that this was the first time since 2008 we hadn’t won our rpe-season tournament and that today is the first time we’ve been out of the top 25 in five years. Coach: “If you want to stay there, you’ve got to win!” They discussed the top teams in the country and who could beat Kentucky. Coach thinks Arizona or Duke could. He puts Wisconsin and Texas right behind them. “But there are lots of other good teams out there.” Matt noted that Texas guard Isaiah Taylor had bene injured and will be out for several weeks. “They were up 20 and he tries to dunk on somebody and got knocked down.”

I called in my first question but first I complimented Jim on getting his team to come back from the California loss to beat Iowa. It wouldn’t have done to have two losses in New York on our resume for March. I told him that merlin couldn’t have gotten his team turned around by 5 O’Clock Friday but then Merlin isn’t in the Hall of Fame. That got a laugh. It also prompted the coach to analyze the team, saying that we hardly have things turned around. “We haven’t been able to get things going in practice in two months. We’ve been getting good shots but not making them. The defense has been OK. They’ve had their moments, like the steal at the end of the Iowa game. It’s not a surprise. Tyler Ennis was a once in lifetime point guard. We don’t have CJ or Baye or Jerami. Chris has had a couple of great games. Tyler has an abdominal strain and it’s bothering him more than he’s letting on. He’s 50-60%. He’s an energy, speed, jump type of player. We’ve got much further to go in 2 months, (at this stage), than any team we’ve had in years. “

I did get to ask my question about Chinoso Obokoh. The coach compared him Baye Keita: “Chinoso is a better rebounder and a better offensive player. Defensively, he’s nowhere near Baye. When Rak comes out we use Chris at center to get the forwards- Roberson, Johnson and Gbinije- going.” (Then didn’t Johnson play against Iowa?). Coach did say that we’d see more of Obokoh as the season goes along.

He also discussed the status of DaJuan Coleman, (whom one caller insisted on calling “Duane”) at length: “He underwent serious micro-surgery and it takes 11-12 months, maybe 16 to get over it. He’s been doing a bit of half-court. He should start running December 1st but we won’t know anything until the middle of December. Torn ACL or MCLs take 6-8 months and you come back with the knee stronger than it ever was before because of all the rehabbing you do.” He said this had something to do with the bone and is “completely different. He’s done everything he can do.”

Someone asked how hard it is to keep an athlete motivated through rehab. Coach said he’s had to rehab his knee and got tired of it after about 2 weeks. DaJuan had 5-6 months of rehab last year and has gone through 11 months on this one and yet he’s one of the most emotional players on the team, always cheering them on from the bench. I’d like to have his voice out there on the court. We’ve had quiet teams in recent years. Scoop was a vocal leader but guys like Fair, Jackson, Wes Johnson were quiet guys. This is a quiet team.”

Another caller wondered if DaJuan, had he been healthy, would have been similar to Arinze Onukau. “He would have been better than AO offensively, similar defensively. He’s a better shooter and passer. If he hadn’t been hurt, he’d have been a pretty good player last year and really good this year. He’s a very, very talent offensive player. Believe me, we’d like to have him on our team. We could use a big man.”

“We’re getting scoring from Rakeem and Chris- 38 points is the most we’ve had from a center and power forward for a long, long time.” Matt pointed out that Chris made the game saving play vs. Iowa. Coach: “They ran that play four times and we didn’t cover it any of those times. We’d either foul or not get there at all. Some coaches teach after the game I like to teach during games. Chris listened and he got there in time to make that play. He was a thin freshman playing his second game in two days, something he’s not used to. Without that play, we probably don’t win the game.” Matt noted that Chris, a New York City native, had been playing in the garden since he was in the 8th grade. JB: “He’s off to a good start. He’s learning the defense. He needs time and game situations.”

Matt mentioned that Kaleb Joseph showed some “indecision” in the games in New York. Coach said that Kaleb “just needs to play. Tyler had always been a point guard. Kaleb was a scoring guard in high school. He’s a work in progress. He’ll get
better. He’s got to get adjusted with his teammates, figure out when he should shoot and when he should pass. And 24 turnovers, 6 per game, is comparable to what we were getting last year.” Except we’ve had 46, which isn’t bad, (11.5 per game but not as good as last year, when we had 306 in 34 games, (9.0). But “he’s a very talented player. We’re all getting better. It’s a young team.“

They discussed Trevor Cooney’s shooting. “He’s our best shooter. We’ve got to get him better shots. Last year they were worried about the other guys and his guy doesn’t play help defense. We’ve got to get more offensive rebounds, more transition baskets and our half-court offense. Has to get better.”

Matt in Hannibal called in to ask “who will be our leader, our go-to-guy this year?” (Those aren’t necessarily the same thing.) JB: “Last year we had CJ, Cooney and Tyler at the end of the year, so we had balance. This year we’ve got Trevor, Rakeem and Chris. We need to get more out of Gbinije and the sophomores.”

Regarding this week’s opponents, Loyola is coached by G. G, Smith, Tubby’s son. He was a guard on Georgia’s 1996 team that we beat in that overtime game in the NCAAs. “They can score. They can really shoot the ball.” Holy Cross “Is undefeated. They beat Harvard in their opener. They are very good. These games are tests and that’s what we need- tests. 50 point wins won’t help us. It’s a good time for us to get a lot better.”



(Tomorrow I’ll post the rest of the notes I made, which focus more on other issues and some humor things, most of which were in the second segment with Gomez. )
 
In a way, it's good to hear that TR is not 100%. We have all been worried about him living up to his potential.

Obviously you never want to see a kid is injured but I hear what your saying. It certainly puts his tentative play in perspective especially that type of injury. Abdominal strain has got to bother you doing everything especially finishing around the rim because you are really reaching your arms up to get it over and he's struggled to make those bunnies. Even mishandling passes and rebounds could be from subconsciously not wanting to really stretch out because of the strain. I don't think its all about the injury as he looks like a kid that needs to get some on court success under his belt to really take off. One thing that gives me confidence that he will get going is that JB doesn't ever seemed worried about him when he is asked. Its always about how he's a good player that needs to get experience not so much he's not ready or can't make the plays.
 
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In a way, it's good to hear that TR is not 100%. We have all been worried about him living up to his potential.

Agreed. We need more positive contributions from Tyler. Not that I'm "happy" he's injured, but that could certainly explain why the productivity hasn't been what we expected from him.
 
Agreed. We need more positive contributions from Tyler. Not that I'm "happy" he's injured, but that could certainly explain why the productivity hasn't been what we expected from him.
The problem is he's 50-60% injured and that's a lot. And we only have 6 players! I sure hope Buss and BJ get some run the next two games and Tyler might be able to rest. It's worrisome.
 
The problem is he's 50-60% injured and that's a lot. And we only have 6 players! I sure hope Buss and BJ get some run the next two games and Tyler might be able to rest. It's worrisome.

One of either Buss or BJ has to become a regular fixture in the rotation if we are going to have a successful season especially if Chino is not going to play in important games and DC2 doesn't play this year. Preferably both of them but at least one is a must. I wasn't one complaining about the rotation Friday but long term there is no way we make it through the ACC playing 6 guys without some major let down.
 
(I think this year my first post will be what was said analyzing the team and the next opponent and the second post will be aobut other things that were talked about, rather than dividing it into the Matt Park and Gomez segments.)

The other things they talked about:

They also discussed the success other Syracuse teams have been having. The Cross Country team finished 5th nationally. JB expressed admiration for Coach Chris Fox, who came here from Auburn, saying “he’s a great coach” and that the team was “amazing”. He said that the women’s field hockey team had “had a great season”, despite their loss to (Grrr….) Connecticut in the final and the soccer team is “still going strong”.

With Gomez they again discussed the various teams around the country, including those they saw on TV at Delmonico’s. “Miami is very good. They should be one of the top teams in our league. They were down 14 with 8 minutes to go against Florida and came back to win.” Gomez noted that Louisville scored the first 29 points of their game against Savannah State. They won 87-26. (Do you ever hear the name “Savannah State” except when they are setting records for a lack of competitiveness?) Kentucky “will have 4-5 guys drafted by the NBA and have some nice complementary players. This is their best team since they won it all.” (A whole three years ago). “Could they go undefeated? I always say ‘No’ but the SEC is weak this year. Florida is down and has some injuries. If Kentucky gets by Louisville, they have a reasonable chance. But the teams in the Final Four will be tough. Duke and Arizona can beat Kentucky.“ Villanova was extending ahead over VCU, (they won 77-53). “Villanova is really good. They have tremendous shooters. VCU is really good and Villanova is really taking it to them. They made 5-6 three pointers in a row.” (We play them in Philly at 12/20.)

The Cleveland Cavaliiers “are having growing pains. It takes a while. They have no shot-blocking center and their guards are scorers.” They noted that Toronto was averaging 107 points a game. “Leo Rautins tweets all the time about the Raptors”, per Matt.

They talked about college football’s final four. JB sees “no scenario where Florida State is not in if they are undefeated. But they have barely escaped so man time. Florida will be fired up and Georgia Tech will be difficult. What if Mississippi beat Mississippi State and Auburn beats Alabama again? The SEC might not have any teams, even though they’ve got 1-2 of the best four teams. There would be yelling and screaming. The that could be dangerous if they had something like the basketball tournament. But you can’t play all those games. It would wear down people. “

Seth Greenburg suggested the NCAA basketball committee should issue a 68 team bracket every week like they issue a Top 25 in football to crate interest. JB: “Joe Lunardi basically already does that. Everybody knows the top teams. It’s about the last 4 in and the last four out. “

A caller asked who Jim would want to take the last shot of a close game of all the players he has had. He picked Carmelo Anthony because he could score inside or out and knew how to get to the foul line. “Sherman could make a play or get to the basket as well as anyone. Gerry McNamara and Pearl Washington could do it. Usually you’d go with a guard because he has more options. “ (For me there’s only one player in Syracuse history I want with the ball if we have to go coast to coast at the end of a game: Pearl Washington.)

Gomez wanted to know: If Jim Boeheim, Rick Pitino, Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams are having dinner together, who picks up the check? “There wouldn’t be a fight for it. But if Mike Fratello was there he’s have already shown them his credit card that afternoon. P.J. Carlesimo is like that, too. “

Gomez noted that ESPN.com had an article on the “Old Guard of Coaches” that feature Jim along with a couple other gray-breads. The question was asked, “Which of these grumpy old men will stick around the longest? JB: “Larry Brown has the most money- he was paid $30 million not to coach by his last two teams- but he loves coach, loves being in the gym. He tells the players to Google him if they don’t know who he is or what he’s done. They don’t have to Google me If they are in interested in coming here, they know who I am. They know all that stuff.”

Jim’s friend Gary Williams was among an 8 man class for the College Basketball Hall of Fame. This is not the basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. It’s the College Basketball Hall of Fame in Kansas City. This was opened in 2006 specifically for the collegiate version of the sport. The one in Springfield is for all levels of basketball. JB was part of a massive initial class:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Collegiate_Basketball_Hall_of_Fame#Inductees
He said that someday Gary “will be in the big Hall”. So I guess there’s a Big Hall of Fame and a Little One.

They also discussed the Frozen Dome Classic. JB wasn’t there but recorded a piece that was shown there and watched some of it on TV. “It’s not easy to get all that ice down. It’s amazing a pipe didn’t burst. It’s a good thing it wasn’t 70 degrees like it was today.

” I’m surprised they weren’t booing me after New York. “New York wasn’t much fun for me. Both games were disappointing . We had one good stretch against Iowa and no good stretches against California. We’ve got to put the ball in the basket better. “

Jim was amazed that we never got touched by the big snow storm. “We’ve skipped the big snow storms for two years now”. Gomez asked if an SU basketball game had ever had to be rescheduled because of the weather. “We’ve had a couple games moved back one day”). I recall Marv Albert complaining back in the 80’s that “Georgetown was here, (at Georgetown), NBC is here but Syracuse isn’t here.” Nice.

Gomez said one of his greatest moments was being there when the US Hockey team got their gold medals at the 1980 Olympics. He noted that the Russian coach just recently died. Jim said “He really died that night. I’ll bet he never coached again.” Gomez asked Jim what he was doing at that time. “Probably preparing for a game.” (We beat BC 85-77in Boston the next night). Did he watch the game on TV? “Maybe some of it. I don’t like to watch games where I already know who won.” (It was shown in prime time on a tape delay basis.”

A caller asked about the confrontation with Dick Vitale after Vitale had said some things about the program that Jim didn’t like in the wake of the previous NCAA investigation. “Everybody should know how you took him apart.” Jim: “He was not a great player so it wasn’t much of an achievement. He does a good job promoting the game and has raised a lot of money for charity.” Basically Vitale is a loud guy but a good one.

The Odell Beckham catch was “a pretty good catch. He has gigantic hands. His father was Shaquille O’Neal’s roommate at LSU.“ Did the Bills 38-3 trouncing of the Jets tell you anything about the importance of practice, (which the Bills couldn’t do because of the snowstorm). JB: “I think it tells you something about the Jets.”

A caller praised Jim’s zone, saying that there are so few good shooters in college basketball and “you’ve got to make them shoot”. He asked why JB has so much success diagraming plays after time-outs. JB: “We use those plays every day in practice. During time outs we like to use one that’s a little different than what we’ve been using in that game. We used to run plays for Gerry McNamara or Andy Rautins. Now we try to go inside.

I called in my second question. “I would be against the NBA rule because then we couldn’t play our 2-3 zone. But we need the referees to call the offensive three seconds. They wait until 5-6 seconds. “ Unless they are Tim Higgins: then they wait 13 seconds- or more:
Jim didn’t say if one ref is assigned to make that call but the commentary on the clip said that the guy behind the basket is supposed to be keeping track of that.

Frank in Syracuse asked about Jim’s golf game. Coach said he’d gotten out exactly twice this year. He hurt his knee and had to have surgery on it, (thus the rehab mentioned previously. It’s then fewest times he’s played since maybe the age of 6. “I didn’t miss it as much as I thought.” He did have one good day fishing- catching walleyes. “But there’s no golf or fishing during the basketball season.”

He discussed his book signings. The crowds have been large. He signed 600 books in Oswego and 1200 at Wegman’s. “It’s keep your head down and write.” Matt suggested that their weekly in jury report should include the coach, whose arm must be limp. Coach said that many people came with multiple books to sign and list of [people to dedicate them to. “I don’t think a lot of those books are going to be read until Christmas. The fans were great. I met people who have been season ticket holders for 20-30 years. There’s the ones I appreciate. I don’t listen to those who yell at their television sets.”

Jim had been asked what he orders at Delmonico’s. “Chicken marsala. I usually stick with my favorite thing at each restaurant I go to. I’ve probably eaten chicken marsala here 200 times.” When I called in, I told him “That’s what you’re known for coach- the zone defense and chicken marsala.” He said “I don’t like change.”
 
The SEC is horrible, but Kentucky has scheduled ambitiously (based on early-season rankings, at least). In addition to the Louisville game, they've also got North Carolina, Texas, and UCLA before the new year. A 34-0 start looks unlikely.
 
The SEC is horrible, but Kentucky has scheduled ambitiously (based on early-season rankings, at least). In addition to the Louisville game, they've also got North Carolina, Texas, and UCLA before the new year. A 34-0 start looks unlikely.

I could see UNC or Lville beating them. Pressure will cause problems and UNC will run up and down the court against them plus both teams have at least a couple guys who aren't going to be afraid to go in and throw down on any of KU's bigs. If they make it through the OOC then yes they are likely undefeated going into the NCAA because the SEC is junk and Florida isn't very big.
 
Huh. When did Coach have a confrontation with Vitale? Did I miss it?

He such a sardonic wit! Very dry, very droll.
 
DaJaun better than AO offensively? I haven't seen that in the limited time from DC, and that is a tall bar for him to clear. Me thinks it is more of coach speak, motivation, because AO was nearly automatic shooting what, 60% his Sr year before the injury?
 
(For me there’s only one player in Syracuse history I want with the ball if we have to go coast to coast at the end of a game: Pearl Washington.)
only one? I think John Wallace & Tyler Ennis, to name two, have proven they should be under consideration, too
 
DaJaun better than AO offensively? I haven't seen that in the limited time from DC, and that is a tall bar for him to clear. Me thinks it is more of coach speak, motivation, because AO was nearly automatic shooting what, 60% his Sr year before the injury?

Yeah, and he could catch the ball and shoot it over players taller than 6'5". With both hands.

Coach-speak.
 

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