Syracuse basketball record matters for media & ‘Internet people,’ JB says

Syracuse basketball, after losing at Miami by one point on Wednesday night, stands at 7-7 overall, and 1-2 in Atlantic Coast Conference competition.

The Orange’s 7-7 record is the team’s “worst start in 50 years,” according to a headline from a story by Mike Waters of Syracuse.com. Needless to say, ‘Cuse coaches and players aren’t happy with these results, and so many Syracuse basketball fans are unfortunately blasting the program on social media.

My personal take is that, yes, Syracuse basketball might be headed to its first losing stanza during head coach Jim Boeheim’s long-time tenure on the Hill. But there are a lot of games remaining in the 2021-22 term, so we’ll have to see how everything plays out.

In his post-game press conference following the Orange’s setback to the Hurricanes, Boeheim was asked about the squad’s current record. His response was, needless to say, interesting.

Syracuse basketball has lost two-straight ACC contests.

This coming Saturday afternoon, the ‘Cuse travels to Wake Forest for a league encounter at the LJVM Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C. Boeheim says all that he’s focused on is the Orange’s battle with the Demon Deacons.

“We play Wake Forest Saturday, and we’re going to try to play that game,” Boeheim said in his post-game presser after Syracuse basketball fell, 88-87, to Miami at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Fla. “I don’t ever look at the record whether it’s 14-0 or 7-7. None of that matters. That’s for all you people (the media) and the Internet people.”

Internet people? I guess that I fall into that camp. This is classic Boeheim. I always admire, appreciate and respect his candidness. However, I do not entirely believe him when he says that the team’s record doesn’t matter to him.

Now, I understand what he’s saying. He’s focused on the next game, and he’s focused on Syracuse basketball improving, one affair at a time.

But the Orange is 7-7, and that has to matter to him and the players at least a little bit, right? When the ‘Cuse raced out to a 25-0 start during the 2013-14 campaign, its first in the ACC, did that not matter? When Syracuse basketball finished the 2011-12 regular season with a 30-1 mark, did that not matter?

The Orange is nowhere near the conversation for a Big Dance berth this spring, at least for now. The ‘Cuse could end up suffering its worst overall mark in Boeheim’s 46 years at the helm in Central New York.

I so want this group to succeed, because I adore watching senior shooting guard Buddy Boeheim and graduate student forward Jimmy Boeheim suit up for their father.

And Jim Boeheim may not care all that much at this juncture what his team’s record is. For him to say he doesn’t care at all, though, seems far-fetched and a little silly to me.