Syracuse Basketball: Jim Boeheim could coach until 80, and that works

Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski will coach for one more season, and North Carolina’s Roy Williams has already retired, but Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim says that he could roam the sidelines for a few more years.

Krzyzewski, the all-time wins leader in Division I men’s basketball who also has five national championships, recently announced that he would step aside after the 2021-22 campaign.

Meanwhile, Williams, who himself collected three NCAA titles with the Tar Heels, announced his retirement several months ago after a legendary head-coaching tenure.

The 76-year-old Boeheim, though, who is about to embark on his 46th term at the helm on the Hill, said in a recent interview with college basketball insider Adam Zagoria that he anticipates coaching “for the foreseeable future.”

“I plan to,” Boeheim said in Zagoria’s article on forbes.com. “Absolutely.”

When Zagoria asked Boeheim if he might lead the Orange until he’s 80, Boeheim responded, “I could. I’m going to try. If it works, it works. They said in 2011-12, I’d be done in two years, so I guess they weren’t right, you know?”

Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim isn’t likely to retire anytime soon.

Some ‘Cuse fans have said on social media and in chat rooms of late that they would like to see Boeheim call it quits sooner rather than later. I’m not in this camp.

Yes, since the Orange moved from the Big East Conference to the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2013-14, the ‘Cuse has struggled through some sub-par regular seasons.

At the same time, Syracuse basketball finished 28-6 in that initial ACC term, and the Orange went to the Final Four in 2016, as well as the Sweet 16 in 2018 and 2021.

What’s more, I’ve said on many occasions that I believe ‘Cuse recruiting efforts are trending in a positive direction. The team has a top-20 player in 2021, a top-25 player in 2022, and Syracuse basketball is courting a range of top-flight talents in the 2022 and 2023 cycles.

Boeheim has said in numerous interviews that he isn’t going to actively recruit prospects in 2022 and beyond if he doesn’t plan on being the guy to coach these high-school players.

And the 2022 class, in particular, could be a tremendous one, possibly helping to propel Boeheim and the Orange on another deep run in March Madness.

So for me personally, I’m more than fine if Boeheim is the ‘Cuse head coach until he’s 80 years old – or beyond that, frankly.