Syracuse basketball doesn’t have a ‘succession plan’ in place for Jim Boeheim. Here are all the details and what this could mean for the future.
With the Syracuse basketball team floundering at 14-12 and currently on pace to miss the NCAA Tournament for the third time in six years, questions have arisen about the future.
One of the biggest questions surrounds Orange head coach Jim Boeheim.
Jim is the oldest division one head coach in the country at 75 (will be 76 during the 2020-21 season) and he’s the oldest division one college basketball head coach in history (John Chaney used to hold that title at 74 years of age).
If the Orange miss the NCAA Tournament this season it’ll be the first time ever under head coach Jim Boeheim that Syracuse has missed March Madness three times in any six-year span.
With his age and lack of recent success, a lot of people are wondering what’s next?
In an interview with Syracuse.com’s Chris Carlson, Athletic Director John Wildhack spoke about the future:
"“Coach is going to keep coaching.Is there this elaborate succession plan that’s in my drawer someplace? No. There isn’t.Part of my job, it doesn’t matter what the sport is, you’re always evaluating and looking at other programs having success. That’s the nature of any business. But Jim is going to be here. I think with the work that he and the staff have done and the development of some of our players.”"
With no succession plan in place, could this possibly hurt Syracuse’s chances in recruiting? Wildhack also commented on that in his interview with Carlson:
"“I don’t think so. I think our recruiting has gone well. We’re a young team. You look at contributions from freshmen, sophomores, that type of thing. We like the kids that we have coming in next year. We’ve received some good news (recently). I can’t go beyond that.I think this is a place that is still very desirable for prospects to play at and if you come here you’re going to play in one of the best conferences in the country and in the most unique setting in the country. There’s plenty to sell.”"
It’s good news quite frankly that there isn’t a succession plan currently in place for after Jim Boeheim.
How tantalizing would it be to the fan base if the operation was gift-wrapped to Gerry McNamara, Adrian Autry, or heck even Allen Griffin? I’d imagine that would be pretty underwhelming.
Plus on the recruiting front Syracuse actually has landed some pretty big fish (on paper) over the years.
Darius Bazley (he who normally shall not be named) was a talented McDonalds All-American who decided last second to bypass college in lieu of the G-League and then eventually joined a promising internship.
The latest talented recruit is 5-star point guard Dior Johnson who has verbally committed to the Orange ahead of the 2021 class. Obviously there’s a lot of time from now until then, but that future is promising.
On the same token, it’s fair to criticize Syracuse for its lack of success with big men over the years.
The long list of failed big men who didn’t live up to the hype is atrocious: Bourama Sidibe, Paschal Chukwu, Taurean Thompson, Dajuan Coleman, Chinonso Obokoh, Baye Moussa Keita, and the list goes on and on.
Obviously that has been an Achilles heel for this year’s Syracuse squad and will continue to be until something changes on the coaching staff or on the recruiting front.
Long story short there is good and bad with Jim Boeheim and whether you like it or not, he’s here to stay for the foreseeable future.