Syracuse basketball boss Jim Boeheim says of this season, ‘you don’t quit’

Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim is hopeful that a 2020-21 season will occur.

The novel coronavirus pandemic will make the upcoming campaign for Syracuse basketball and its peers around the country a season unlike any other in the sport’s history, but Orange head coach Jim Boeheim says despite many challenges, he and his team are looking forward to playing in 2020-21.

On a Zoom call with media members on Thursday afternoon, Boeheim said things such as “you don’t quit,” “you don’t give up,” and “you don’t sit still.”

Whether it’s the assumed 27 regular-season contests, or another number of encounters, “Let’s play the games,” Boeheim said, and he detailed an abundance of protocols to reporters as it pertains to safety measures that the ‘Cuse squad is taking amid the pandemic.

“We’re trying to minimize contact as much as we can” during practices, for example. “It hurts us a little bit,” as there is not as much unity, Boeheim said, adding that there are also no meetings or film sessions.

Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim and his team are taking every precaution possible during the pandemic.

Masks are worn virtually all the time by coaches and other staff members, and social distancing is the norm. Covid-19 testing is conducted once a week now, Boeheim said, and that will increase to three times weekly – for both the Orange and its opponents – once the upcoming stanza commences.

Even though there are promising early signs that a Covid-19 vaccine, or vaccines, could prove available in the near term, Boeheim said it’s important to continue utilizing health and safety protocols, as well as operate with a mindset that “we won’t have a vaccine” for the foreseeable future.

We all just have to “find a way to work through this,” and go one day at a time, Boeheim said.

As far as the Atlantic Coast Conference schedule that got announced earlier in the week for the ‘Cuse and its conference peers, Boeheim said that the docket for the Orange is challenging. The non-conference slate hasn’t fully become public, but he mentioned foes like Georgetown and Rutgers.

“I have absolute hope that we won’t lose any games” to the pandemic, Boeheim said, acknowledging that “it’s a really difficult time for the players. … They’re ready to play.”