Syracuse Basketball: Jim Boeheim says goodbye, thanks fans for passion

SU leaders held a press conference on Friday morning to officially introduce Adrian Autry as the new head coach of Syracuse basketball, but candidly, Friday to me was all about Jim Boeheim saying goodbye.

This is meant as no disrespect to Autry, the team’s associate head coach until now, and the right person to lead the Orange moving forward, in my humble opinion.

In fact, numerous analysts and other pundits said this week that they expect Autry to have a successful head-coaching career on the Hill, even if it will prove impossible to replace Jim Boeheim, who was the squad’s boss for 47 years.

At Friday morning’s press conference, as a new era under Autry got ushered in, Jim Boeheim said goodbye. I believe, given the team’s sub-par seasons each of the last two years, that it was time for Boeheim to hang up his whistle.

But I’m still really, really sad about it. Some ‘Cuse fans may feel differently, and I respect that. This is, however, the end of an era at the Orange hoops program.

Syracuse basketball legend Jim Boeheim thanked the fan base for its collective passion.

At the press conference, Boeheim and athletic director John Wildhack called his departure a “retirement,” even though things were kind of odd, confusing, and disappointing this past Wednesday when Boeheim danced around the topic following the team’s loss in the 2023 ACC Tournament’s second round to Wake Forest.

Then, not long thereafter, SU officials didn’t include quotes from Boeheim when they announced that Autry was the Orange’s new head coach.

"According to an article from Hank Domin of Syracuse.com, at Friday’s press conference, Boeheim said in part, “for most of this year, I really didn’t think about retirement, which is true of every year. Obviously, when we hit the stretch that we hit, I didn’t coach very good. We didn’t play very good. When we lost those four games, I felt that this was the time. … I’m thrilled to be retired. I’ve felt better in the last two days than I have in the last 47 years.”"

Boeheim also took to Twitter, issuing a statement just before 11 am EST on Friday. He said in part that his experiences at Syracuse were beyond anything that he could have imagined.

Jim Boeheim said that he came to Syracuse in 1962 and gave everything he could to a game that he loves, and to a city that showed up to support Orange hoops by the thousands.

Boeheim wrote that developing young talented players and positively affecting their lives meant more to him than wins and NCAA Tournament appearances.

As the ‘Cuse head coach for the past 47 stanzas, Jim Boeheim leaves as the second-winningest head coach in the history of Division I men’s basketball.

He captured a national title, went to five Final Fours, journeyed to 20 Sweet 16s and, in those 47 years, landed berths in the Big Dance on 35 occasions.

Jim Boeheim thanked Orange fans for their passion, which is a little ironic, given a contingent of the ‘Cuse fan base that has absolutely trashed him on social media in recent years.

Regardless, Boeheim said that he looks forward to cheering on Syracuse basketball alongside other fans in the future. And he also looks forward to spending more time with his family while continuing to support the Syracuse community.

Love you, Coach B. You’re one of a kind.