Syracuse Basketball: Would prove beautiful if Jimmy Boeheim joined ‘Cuse

Jimmy Boeheim will surely have many schools to choose from for next season, and hopefully Syracuse basketball is one of them.

Jimmy Boeheim, a Cornell forward and the oldest son of Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim, has entered his name into the transfer portal, per numerous media reports, and it looks like he will focus his hoops career on the campaign after the upcoming one.

In a tweet, The Athletic’s Matthew Gutierrez says that, according to the elder Boeheim, his son Jimmy “plans to remain at Cornell and earn his finance degree in spring 2021 from the Ivy League school. Then he’ll consider which schools to play for next season. Boeheim (the coach) says they haven’t discussed him joining Cuse.”

The 6-foot-8 Jimmy Boeheim entered into the transfer portal after Ivy League officials canceled their winter sports, including basketball, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Once word broke that Boeheim could transfer from the Big Red, social media heated up, as Syracuse basketball fans understandably began to speculate on whether Boeheim might consider teaming up with his Dad and his younger brother, Orange junior shooting guard Buddy Boeheim.

Who knows at this juncture whether that could feasibly transpire, but, without question, it would certainly prove fun to see the three Boeheims on the Hill together for one stanza, or perhaps even two.

In 2019-20, as a junior, Jimmy Boeheim averaged 16.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists per contest, while shooting 43 percent from the field, per ESPN. He also collected 30.6 minutes of court time a game.

Since the Ivy League doesn’t typically allow student-athletes to have a fifth year of eligibility, this forces players like Boeheim to find a new squad to suit up for as graduate students. This policy by the Ivy League is so ridiculous, by the way.

Could Jimmy Boeheim make Syracuse basketball his new home? We’ll have to wait and see.

In 2020-21, the Orange has 13 scholarship players, including two seniors in power forward Marek Dolezaj and center Bourama Sidibe. The present ‘Cuse line-up also features six forwards.

Both Dolezaj and Sidibe conceivably can come back for another term, since the NCAA is granting all winter-sport athletes an extra season of eligibility due to the pandemic.

Next year, the ‘Cuse has one commit in five-star small forward Benny Williams. If both Dolezaj and Sidibe move on, the Orange would have one scholarship open that could go toward the transfer market, and Boeheim might be an option.

Additionally, if Syracuse basketball fills that scholarship slot with someone else, Boeheim could join the team as a walk-on. It’s entirely possible, as Jim Boeheim recently said, that the ‘Cuse could see some guys transfer after 2020-21, or potentially leave for the professional ranks.

What this means is that Jimmy Boeheim, should he strongly consider the Orange, could have an opportunity to log some decent amount of run if he joins his father’s rotation next year.