Some Syracuse basketball fans are hoping that the 2021-22 campaign is the last one for Jim Boeheim as the Orange’s head coach.
These fans cite the squad’s struggles in the present season, which is understandable. They lament about what they perceive as a downward spiral in recruiting over the past few years, even though the ‘Cuse brought in a five-star prospect in 2021 and has a solid five-member class in 2022.
Additionally, some fans say that Boeheim’s use of the zone defense is outdated, and that a few nice Big Dance runs since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2013-14 don’t outweigh the fact that the team has by and large struggled in regular seasons following its move out of the Big East Conference.
All of these arguments, as I said earlier, are understandable. Some are valid. Some I don’t entirely agree with, even though I respect the opinions of my fellow Orange fans.
However, Jim Boeheim has earned the right to retire from Syracuse basketball when he chooses.
The ‘Cuse is one of the winningest programs in the history of college basketball, and that is primarily due to what Boeheim has done in Central New York over the course of the last four-plus decades.
Regardless of what the incompetent NCAA says, Boeheim has delivered losses more than 1,000 times to his opponents. Under his guidance, the Orange has captured a national championship, reached five Final Fours and journeyed to 20 Sweet 16s, including a stanza ago.
So while Syracuse basketball may be teetering around the .500 mark in the 2021-22 term, and the team could endure its first losing season under Boeheim in the present campaign, I emphatically believe that Jim Boeheim wholeheartedly deserves the right to hang up his whistle when he decides.
To that end, ‘Cuse athletics director John Wildhack discussed Boeheim’s remarkable coaching tenure earlier this week in an interview on ESPN Radio Syracuse.
"According to an article by Syracuse.com’s Chris Carlson, Wildhack said in part, “I think anybody who does something for 46 years and, maybe, one year it’s not up to your expectations and the expectation of others. … Coach has earned a heck of a lot of equity. … You don’t win well over 1,000 games and suddenly lose the ability to coach. I’ve got tremendous confidence in Jim. I’ve got tremendous confidence in his staff. If we don’t make the tournament, obviously, it would be a disappointment. … Our margin of error is very, very slim, but let’s go play and see what happens.”"
Even should the Orange finish below .500 in 2021-22, I can’t imagine a scenario where Boeheim is let go. As Wildhack said, a losing season would prove a disappointment, but what Jim Boeheim has done throughout his head-coaching career more than makes up for it.