Syracuse Basketball: Does Jim Boeheim face “pressure” to win this term?

In the 2021-22 season, Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim endured his first losing campaign in his 46 years at the helm of the Orange.

A stanza ago, the ‘Cuse finished things up at 16-17, and don’t think it was lost on Syracuse basketball fans that Boeheim’s first and only losing season so far on the Hill came when his two sons, former senior shooting guard Buddy Boeheim and former graduate student forward Jimmy Boeheim, were in the starting rotation.

Some of my fellow Orange fans continue to spin the narrative that Jim Boeheim played his sons extended minutes in 2021-22 at the expense of other players on the roster, and that the team suffered as a result.

While I acknowledge that 2021-22 was a disappointment in terms of wins and losses for the ‘Cuse, respectfully, I do not agree with this sort of tired tale.

Jim Boeheim is way too competitive to forsake victories on the court just so that his sons, or anyone else for that matter, can get more run. It’s hogwash, to me.

But still, Syracuse basketball fans are frustrated, and they’re pointing a lot of blame at Orange boss Jim Boeheim.

To me, the fact that Boeheim has roamed the sidelines in Central New York for nearly five decades, and only possesses one losing season, is a testament to his sustained excellence.

Now, has the Orange suffered through a bunch of so-so regular seasons since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference from the Big East Conference in 2013-14? Absolutely.

Have a few deep March Madness runs (hi, 2016, 2018 and 2021) helped to mask those sub-par performances? You bet.

Heading into the 2022-23 campaign, which begins in early November, Syracuse basketball has a revamped roster that includes several seniors, a six-member 2022 recruiting class, and a big-man transfer.

It remains to be seen how the Orange will fare in 2022-23, but make no mistake about it, ‘Cuse fans are clamoring for Syracuse basketball to get back to its former glory days, when stellar regular seasons were the norm, and the team was a significant contender for Final Four berths.

Matt Norlander of CBS Sports recently published an interesting piece where he looked at a variety of storylines and themes for the upcoming college hoops season.

One thing that he discussed is how two Hall of Fame head coaches, Boeheim and Kentucky’s John Calipari, might be facing pressured-filled stanzas.

Calipari, who year after year crushes it on the recruiting trail for one of the sport’s blue-blood programs, saw his squad flame out in the NCAA Tournament this past spring, losing as a No. 2 seed to No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s in the round of 64.

The year before that, amid the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Wildcats went an awful 9-16.

"Turning to Jim Boeheim with Calipari’s situation as the backdrop, Norlander wrote: “The more I think about it, I think something sort of similar could be in play at Syracuse. No, Jim Boeheim cannot be on a true “hot seat” there. But: SU hasn’t finished better than two games above .500 in league play, nor won more than 19 games in a regular season, since 2013-14, which was the last time the program received a seed better than No. 8 in the NCAAs. Syracuse fans are hungry and fidgety. Maybe the Orange surprise people this season.”"

I wholeheartedly agree with what Norlander says here. Even if Boeheim puts up another losing term in 2022-23, he’s not getting fired, regardless of whether a legion of ‘Cuse fans would like that to occur.

I’m a proud Syracuse University alum, and I love Orange hoops like it’s nobody’s business. But I’m ready for the ‘Cuse to right the ship. Boeheim has earned the right to coach for as many more seasons as he wishes to, regardless of what records his teams put forth on the court.

However, do I think that there is some pressure on Jim Boeheim to get back to his winning ways in 2022-23? I 144 percent believe that is the case.