Syracuse Basketball: Jim Boeheim says he has to recruit bigs better

Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim, ever candid, acknowledges that he must put further focus into recruiting physical big men.

Syracuse basketball is likely going to miss the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the past six years, and some Orange fanatics are calling for head coach Jim Boeheim’s head. That’s fine, as we all are entitled to our opinion.

For me, a proud ‘Cuse alum and frenetic follower of the Syracuse hoops program, I’m a tad less drastic in my feelings on this topic. The Orange only returned one starter from a stanza ago and has a roster filled with underclassmen.

I believe that Boeheim, now in his 44th campaign, has done a terrific job in guiding his ‘Cuse line-up to vast improvements since the current term commenced. More than that, I just admire Boeheim for his honesty and openness, through his team’s ups and downs.

Case in point, Boeheim, in a radio interview earlier this week, admitted that the ongoing concern of Syracuse’s frontcourt getting into foul trouble too often is his responsibility.

"“Well the foul problem has been a big issue,” Boeheim said on The Sports Bar with Mike Danger and Gene Battaglia on ESPN Rochester, according to comments published via Ben Burrows of Syracuse.com. “I’ve done a bad job recruiting physical guys inside. We need a couple of physical guys inside. Obviously that’s all recruiting, that’s on me, I gotta do better there.”"

Kudos to JB for his thoughts here. Some critics say that Boeheim is snarky, even sometimes rude. Okay. That’s fair. But Boeheim is also upfront in his missteps, and I respect this.

"“We just haven’t been physical enough inside in some situations and the big guys that we do have committed some really bad fouls that you’d think they could avoid,” Boeheim continued. “At the end of the day this team – they’re doing everything they can.”"

I 100 percent concur. Yes, the present Orange crew sits at just 15-12, and 8-8 in Atlantic Coast Conference competition. However, since the league calendar came into full force, the ‘Cuse has found itself in virtually every contest, save for recently getting blown out by highly rated Louisville.

If a couple of things had transpired differently, Syracuse could have a few more victories in its back pocket, and the Orange could have found itself in contention for a March Madness invite. The ‘Cuse still may have the ability to land a No. 5 or No. 6 seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament. Even during a sub-par season for the conference, that’s something to applaud.

Additionally, looking ahead, Syracuse has 2020 four-star power forward Woody Newton coming on board this fall. The Orange is reportedly in the mix for power forward/center Patrick Tape, a Columbia graduate transfer. And the ‘Cuse is recruiting multiple centers in the 2021 and 2022 classes.

The future could prove bright for the Syracuse frontcourt. Boeheim is owning up to rectify the existing circumstances, and no one – I repeat, no one – can fault him for that.