Syracuse Basketball: Please pair Jim Boeheim, Sean McDonough at ESPN

Former long-time Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim recently said that he was eyeing a potential move into broadcasting, and it looks like that is coming to fruition.

College basketball insider Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, citing a source, reported on Wednesday that the Hall of Famer Boeheim “is finalizing an agreement to join ESPN for the 2023-24 season.” At ESPN, Boeheim’s duties are expected to include working in the studio as well as calling games, which is awesome.

Additionally, Rothstein reported, citing a separate source, that Jim Boeheim “will also join Westwood One as a radio analyst for the 2024 NCAA Tournament and could do some additional games during Championship Week.”

The 78-year-old Boeheim, this past March, retired as the head coach of the Orange after 47 seasons at the helm of the ‘Cuse. He handed over the reins to former Syracuse basketball player and long-time assistant Adrian Autry, who in early November will begin his first campaign as the Orange’s head coach.

At the beginning of October, in a chat with famed sportscaster Bob Costas, who attended Syracuse University, Boeheim said he’s “just thrilled to leave the (‘Cuse) program where it is.”

Former Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim is venturing into broadcasting.

After Rothstein broke the news about Jim Boeheim’s foray into sports broadcasting, I certainly saw a range of comments from people on social media about this development. Hey, we’re all entitled to our opinions here.

My take is that there’s virtually no one out there who knows more about the sport of basketball – whether college, the NBA, the international community, etc. – than Jim Boeheim, and I think he will do a marvelous job as a studio and in-game analyst.

To that end, there are so many SU alumni who are out there doing play-by-play nationally and worldwide, in a variety of sports, and my hope is that when Boeheim is serving as an in-game analyst at ESPN, he will get paired up with veteran announcer Sean McDonough, who graduated from Syracuse University in 1984.

Over the years, while with ESPN, McDonough has called Atlantic Coast Conference and Big East Conference games on the network’s “Big Monday” telecasts. Well, what do you know – Syracuse basketball used to be in the Big East, and now the Orange is in the ACC. Insert sarcasm here.

All kidding aside, I have no idea if the ESPN brass will pair up McDonough and Jim Boeheim. But I love the concept of it. McDonough is a proud SU alumnus, and we all know that Boeheim bleeds Orange.

What I want to know is – would ESPN have Jim Boeheim ever call any games where the ‘Cuse was playing? That would be, well, interesting, to say the least. I assume that would prove a conflict of interest, but again, I am merely speculating here.

Besides his broadcasting gig, Jim Boeheim has said that he remains thoroughly involved in the fabulous Jim and Juli Boeheim Foundation. Jim Boeheim is also the special assistant to the director of athletics at Syracuse University.

He said during his talk with Costas that in this role with SU Athletics, he’s focused on fund-raising for the university, as it pertains to ‘Cuse sports’ facilities as well as name, image and likeness opportunities.

Jim Boeheim is, undeniably, keeping busy even after he retired as the Syracuse basketball head coach. Good for him. I’m excited for Coach B, and I look forward to hearing him on both television and radio broadcasts in the future.