Syracuse Basketball: Respect for Jim Boeheim saying was “foolish” to play

Syracuse basketball shouldn’t have played Bryant after lack of practices, Jim Boeheim says.

Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim, always candid and upfront, says that his team shouldn’t have suited up on Friday afternoon inside the Carrier Dome against Bryant after not having practiced virtually at all in close to two weeks.

The Orange, which managed to escape its 2020-21 term opener versus the Bulldogs with a one-point victory in an offensively minded contest, had to pause its basketball activities on Nov. 15, due to Boeheim and another member of the program testing positive for Covid-19.

After the required 14-day quarantine period for the entire squad, the ‘Cuse was allowed to practice just once, on Thanksgiving, before suiting up for its first official game on Friday.

Having only one practice certainly would help explain why the Orange looked so rusty against Bryant. Credit the Bulldogs for playing well, but Boeheim said during the post-game press conference that, in essence, you can’t play basketball when you don’t practice.

He says the ‘Cuse was playing “really well” in practice around two weeks ago. Syracuse basketball then held a mere one practice and went out to face a solid, smart and well-coached opponent.

The Orange dug itself a big hole, amounting to a 13-point deficit in the second half. It showed “unbelievable character” and “resilience” to make a comeback and ultimately pull out an 85-84 triumph.

Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim is taking responsibility for a game he says his team shouldn’t have played.

It’s “unusual” for the ‘Cuse to put forth such a poor performance and still win, Boeheim says. He adds that his group “never” should have suited up versus Bryant, it’s “100 percent my fault,” Boeheim didn’t try to reschedule, and he says that it was “foolish” and “not smart” to compete on Friday.

Boeheim notes that while it proved a “foolish call on my part” to move forward with the game, he is glad that his players “overcame it” and pulled out a successful result.

The Bulldogs, Boeheim says, are a tricky foe to battle. Bryant presses some, and it switches up defensive schemes. The Orange fell behind early, it enacted a full-court press, and ‘Cuse guys were a little winded due to the dearth of practices. Bryant will win “a lot” of encounters in 2020-21, Boeheim says.

In the post-game press conference, senior power forward Marek Dolezaj and junior shooting guard Buddy Boeheim both agreed with their head coach that the inability to practice for so many days made things tough.

To be able to notch a victory despite playing so bad, that is a “good sign, I guess,” Boeheim said.