Syracuse Basketball: Jim Boeheim coach longer due to recruiting success?

Syracuse basketball has some strong momentum for its next few classes, and some Orange fans wonder if that could extend the coaching tenure of Jim Boeheim.

Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim hasn’t given any indication of when he might retire after a Hall of Fame career on the Hill.

Orange athletic-department officials and school administrators also haven’t provided any information about when Boeheim could call it quits, and whom might replace him – although let’s face it, no other coach out there can fully replace JB.

Boeheim’s son, Buddy Boeheim, is a junior shooting guard on the ‘Cuse roster, and a lot of reasonable folks out there speculate that perhaps Jim Boeheim could ride off into the sunset once his son graduates from Syracuse University.

The elder Boeheim is in his 70s, that’s true, but he’s said more than once that he’s in great health and loves coaching, with no near-term plans to retire.

What I find fascinating is that Buddy Boeheim will likely exhaust his eligibility in two years, unless he takes advantage of the extra season of competition that winter-sport athletes are allowed by the NCAA amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, and coming in the stanza after that is the Syracuse basketball 2022 class, led by five-star point guard Dior Johnson.

As we’ve noted on countless instances, the Orange is pursuing a bevy of additional top-flight talents in this cycle, and Johnson has said that he expects to bring other stellar recruits with him to the Hill.

So with the excitement that surrounds these ‘Cuse recruiting efforts, could that lead Jim Boeheim to extend his coaching tenure beyond when his son departs the Hill?

Well, I have no way of knowing, because I’m not in Boeheim’s inner circle, he doesn’t share details about his future plans with virtually anyone in the media, and Boeheim himself may not even know at this juncture what his future holds.

I simply would love to find out, though, what Boeheim and the other Syracuse basketball coaches are saying on the recruiting trail, to Johnson and other prospects in the 2022, 2023 and 2024 classes.

Is Boeheim telling these high-school players that he will still be coaching after his son graduates and when these prospects arrive in Central New York?

JB clearly loves coaching and the game of basketball. He seems like he could coach for years and years to come. The recruiting buzz that the Orange boasts, spear-headed by Johnson, undoubtedly has the ‘Cuse primed for contention in the Atlantic Coast Conference along with possible deep March Madness runs.

That has to enthuse Boeheim, and I for one hope this translates into him roaming the sidelines for many more campaigns.