Syracuse Basketball: Jim Boeheim’s key to playing time is to practice well
By Chuck Fiello
For Syracuse basketball fans, one big topic of conversation over the years is playing time. Whether it’s on social media, at the workplace or with family and friends, it’s likely common to hear “why doesn’t he play…more?” The conversation looms larger when the team struggles out of frustration but it sounds like it’s not going to change any time soon.
Recently in an appearance on Orange Nation on ESPN Radio Syracuse, host Paulie Scibilia asked Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim about how he determines playing time. What he reiterated is if you want to play, practice well and make the most of your playing minutes.
Boeheim talking about practice!
Paulie even went so far as to ask him about “experimenting” with the lineup and after a bit of a chuckle, Coach Boeheim stated, “I play the best players. I’ve never experimented…this isn’t a chemistry lab. There is nobody on our bench who deserves more playing time.” He ended his response with, “You don’t just put people in the game.”
If you get the time, check out the interview yourself for the full conversation and response, which you can find here.
Practice well, and you will play, says Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim.
This is not the first time I’ve heard Coach Boeheim say this as he’s said it in several press conferences and interviews in the past as well. And this isn’t the first season some fans have been vocal about playing players. I can’t check my Twitter stream lately without seeing conversations about former Orange and current Seton Hall guard Kadary Richmond. I remember last season the constant debate of him playing over guard Joe Girard III and some public discussions about his playing time at Syracuse versus his playing time at Seton Hall.
Look, Jim Boeheim is 77 years old (born in 44 so you know he was meant to be at SU) and he’s been the Syracuse basketball head coach now since 1976. The guy has over 1000 wins (I don’t care what the NCAA committee says…he won those games) and has been very successful, which includes as a member of the USA Olympic basketball staff. I’m fairly certain he knows more about basketball than I do anything in my life.
I understand the frustration sometimes but he knows what he’s doing and if you play for him, this is how he runs his program. If you prove it to him, he will let you play. For instance, against Pitt, big man John Bol Ajak played a few minutes because as Coach revealed in the interview he’d practiced the best of the forwards.
Think of it as a job. If your boss needs something done, more times than not, especially in a tough spot, they’re going to rely on the one they know can do it. If you can practice that skill and be able to show your boss that you’re capable, they’ll be more likely to give you the opportunity.
If they’ve seen you laying brick and you’re still not as good as others, they may be worried that the house won’t be built with proper quality and collapse. Coach Boeheim even talks in the interview about a time he “experimented” when they had a large lead, only to have the lead cut to 2.
Love him or not, this is the Syracuse basketball program under head coach Jim Boeheim. He’s going to play the players he believes give him the best opportunity to win and I don’t blame him. The struggles enlarge the frustrations and frustration causes speculation to fix it but that doesn’t always mean it’s the best approach.
And practice makes perfect and the more some of these players prove in practice they can do it, the more opportunities they’ll get. At the end of the day, it’s Boeheim’s job on the line here and I’m more times than not likely to lean towards the guy who has been coaching the same Orange program for over 40 years and been successful rather than my own frustrations.