What Happens Next For The Syracuse Basketball Team?
After a tough loss to the Louisville Cardinals, the Syracuse basketball team’s hopes of the dance are up in the air. What does the future look like?
So frankly I’m not talking about what happens to the Syracuse basketball team at the end of this season, I’m talking about the eventuality of when Jim Boeheim retires.
No one is quite sure when that will happen. If he hits a thousand wins for the second time (in my eyes he has already made it, screw you NCAA); or brings another National Championship to Syracuse he could go out on his terms like our fellow ITLH writer, Neil Adler documented here: Win The National Title In April, And Go Out On Your Own Terms, JB.
Regardless of whatever accomplishments he attains, eventually Jim will no longer pace the hardwood of the Carrier Dome. And that is where my question begins…what happens next.
This should send shivers up and down the spine of every Orange faithful. Coach Boeheim has been the head coach of Syracuse for … wait for it … 41 years!
In those 41 years the Orange have played in 6 NIT post season tournaments and 32 times have danced for the National Championship.
In that span they have missed playing in the post season twice both were caused by ineligibility as determined by the holier than thou all-mighty NCAA (yes this was intended to be sarcastic for those slow on the uptake).
His career winning percentage is an astounding .718! Which is only more remarkable when I tell
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you that is without the one hundred and one wins that he was forced to vacate.
Over that span he has won a National Championship, played in three National Championship games, five Final fours and seven Elite Eights. His record in the Tournament is a staggering 47-28.
Although this season has overall not been Syracuse’s greatest by far. They’re the bi-polar team that no one wants to see on their dance card during March Madness. Stunning victories over Duke and Virginia have kept the Orange faithful hopeful but a sound beating by Louisville raises questions.
Jim Boeheim has always managed to get the most out of his team even when the talent is lacking.
The 2-3 zone that nobody coaches better and a sprinkle of Boeheim magic keeps the Orange in every game. But back to where we started, when Jim rides into the sunset I fear reality will settle in again on Central New York.
The best talent in the country only comes to play in the dome because of the potential that comes every year with Jim as our coach. When that is gone, the dreary days between November and March loom large and the younger generation turn their eyes to the more appealing South.
Next: Syracuse Basketball: Have Teams Figured Out Andrew White?
And whoever replaces him will have enormous shoes to fill. How long will it take before the record crowds and the fair weather fans stay home to watch the game? Never happen you say? Have you ever tuned into a Syracuse football game? I hope that I’m wrong but just in case I’m crossing my fingers that he reneges on his promise to retire in 2018 and keeps pacing the hardwood that is named after him for many years to come.