The 2017-18 campaign gets going this Friday night, when the Syracuse basketball squad hosts Cornell in a truly enticing family affair.
Head coach Jim Boeheim begins his 42nd term at the helm of the SU hoops program on Nov. 10, as the Orange welcomes Central New York neighbor Cornell to the Carrier Dome.
The ‘Cuse and the Big Red have battled 122 instances before, however, this Friday evening’s clash takes on much deeper significance. That’s because one of JB’s sons, Jimmy Boeheim, is a freshman forward at the Ivy League school.
We should also note here that the elder Boeheim’s other son, 2018 three-star guard/small forward Buddy Boeheim, has verbally committed to suit up for Syracuse a year from now.
This really is a juicy match-up, due to the Boeheim family angle. Although, it’s also a tricky situation. Who the heck does JB’s wife, Juli, as well as Jimmy Boeheim’s siblings, including Buddy, root for when SU and Cornell face off?
Jim Boeheim, in a recent Syracuse.com article, had this to say about the upcoming contest:
"“I try to think about my team. This is a little bit different. I’ll try to think about the team. Same thing if Buddy’s playing for me, I’m going to be thinking about our team. I’m not going to be thinking about him. His mother will be thinking about him, trust me. But I won’t. Trust me. You know, I hope Jimmy plays well. As long as we win, I’ll be happy. It’ll be tough, though. I won’t lie.”"
I firmly believe JB here. He is ultra-competitive and won’t let the family dynamics involved distract
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him from acting laser-focused on one objective: coming away with a victory over the Big Red.
Boeheim & Co., furthermore, want to kick off 2017-18 in a positive manner. A stanza ago, the Orange disappointingly bowed out in the NIT’s second round, with JB recording the most total losses (15) and non-conference setbacks (5), I believe, in his career.
The ‘Cuse didn’t perform super sharp in its pair of exhibition games, and our young roster will likely succumb to a bunch of growing pains in the out-of-conference slate, if not longer.
With that as a backdrop, perhaps Cornell is a favorable opponent at the onset. Consider this: SU has produced 37 triumphs over the Big Red in a row, according to Orangehoops.org.
In late December of 2016, Syracuse thumped Cornell, 80-56, at home, with then-sophomore Tyler Lydon netting 20 points and 10 boards. That result pushed the ‘Cuse’s all-time series lead to 91-31, says Orangehoops.org.
Big Red head coach Brian Earl finished 2016-17, his inaugural season with Cornell, at 8-21 overall and 4-10 in the Ivy League. While that mark may not seem impressive, Earl knows how to succeed.
The 1999 Ivy League Player of the Year at Princeton, he helped the Tigers to a league-record 95 wins during his tenure there, which included three March Madness appearances, according to Cornell’s official athletics Web site.
Look, the Orange should best the Big Red in this duel, but SU better not get complacent. Let’s see if our inexperienced group will commence to gel as a cohesive unit.
Regardless of what Jim Boeheim has quipped, there is extra emotion attached to this event. I can only imagine what will go through the heads and hearts of JB, Jimmy Boeheim and the entire Boeheim family, for that matter.
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My son, Kethan, is only 16 months old, so I can’t completely relate to the Boeheims’ predicament. I do empathize, and I can tell you this: if I ever coach against Kethan, I want him to score a million points.
And I want my crew to collect a million – and one.
Settle in, ‘Cuse Nation. Hoops are no longer on the horizon. They are here to stay.