Boeheim Proving Yet Again Why He's One of the Best Ever
"OVERRATED!" They often scream from all corners of the college basketball world.
"Syracuse plays a soft non-conference schedule and never leaves New York," they say condescendingly.
"The 2-3 zone is a gimmick. Real teams play man."
"He's a crybaby!"
"He's only won one National Tournament. He'd have won more if he was an all-time great," they point out.
Jim Boeheim, despite his 925 wins (1,026 if you counted 101 wins vacated by the NCAA), is one of the most criticized coaches in the college basketball world. Fans across the country often point out the above-mentioned critiques, along with countless others. Meanwhile at the same time he is revered by Syracuse fans, like myself, as being one of the greatest coaches ever. How can you truly argue against over 1,000 wins and 31 NCAA tournament appearances in 42 years? I don't know but there are plenty who do.
No matter what your opinion of Jim Boeheim, there's no question that this season he is doing a lot with very little. Two seasons ago, going into the NCAA tournament, I called that team, "The worst Syracuse team I've seen make the tournament." (Please keep in mind I've been a die-hard since elementary school in the mid-90s) Somehow that team managed to make it to Boeheim's fifth Final Four. However, I repeated the assessment this season, upon the team sneaking into the field of 68 as one of the last teams in. This has to be the worst Syracuse tournament team in my time as a fan.
Syracuse struggled through a 19-12 regular season, in which they finished 8-10 in the ACC. After splitting two conference tournament games, they went into Selection Sunday with a 20-13 record. It didn't blow anyone away but a strong strength of schedule convinced the committee to let them dance. And dance they have. In terms of aesthetics, they probably look like the awkward white guy at a wedding rather than someone with smooth moves in a music video. However, aesthetics don't matter in March.
The Orange have found a way to play to their limited strengths in order to overcome glaring weaknesses. Syracuse is a team that Boeheim himself has acknowledged to be limited offensively. Ranking 315th out of 351 in scoring at 67 points per game, certainly backs up that analysis. Boeheim wasn't making excuses, rather he was stating facts. The fact that he recognized this and has coached accordingly has made Syracuse a threat, rather than a walkover in March. This is what great coaches do; they get the most out of their teams. Boeheim has done that this March.
In addition to being limited in their scoring ability, the Orange are also limited in terms of manpower. Syracuse routinely plays no more than seven players and three of them (Tyus Battle, Frank Howard, and Oshae Brissett) average more than 38 minutes per game. (Keep in mind college games run 40 minutes) Yet fatigue hasn't been as much of an issue as one would think. Syracuse has found ways to make it work.
How has he done it? By recognizing the manpower and scoring issues. Boeheim has coached his team in a style that may not be pretty to the eye, but has been very effective. Syracuse has played a slow, methodical game on offense all season. By "taking the air out of the ball" they limit the amount of fast breaks and run outs that would fatigue a thin roster. In addition, they have slowed down opposing offenses with their long, active 2-3 zone. The 2-3, which has become a Boeheim staple through the years, has been extremely effective this season with the tallest starting five in Division 1 employing it. Syracuse ranks 12th in points allowed at 63.9 ppg. Boeheim recognized early on that it was either win ugly or don't win.
And win ugly they have. Just hours ago Syracuse outlasted #3 Michigan St. to make it to Boeheim's 18th Sweet 16 appearance. It wasn't a pretty game by any means, but it was the perfect example of how Syracuse has achieved success so far in March. So far in three tournament games the Orange are 3-0. They've beaten #11 Arizona St. 60-56, #6 TCU 57-52, and #3 Michigan St. 55-53. The wins have been more impressive, as the opponent has been more highly regarded each time. However, they have won the same way each time. Slow it down and play good D. Each time, it's been good enough to best a team that averaged over 80 points per game. Syracuse has forced teams to play their way. Credit Boeheim for this.
#2 seed Duke looms next for the Orange in the Sweet 16 on Friday. It's yet another tall order for this offensively limited team. (Duke won in the regular season 60-44) The Orange will again try to make the game ugly enough for them to have a chance at another upset. However, no matter how this run ends, this may be Jim Boeheim's best tournament coaching job in his Hall of Fame career.
"Syracuse plays a soft non-conference schedule and never leaves New York," they say condescendingly.
"The 2-3 zone is a gimmick. Real teams play man."
"He's a crybaby!"
"He's only won one National Tournament. He'd have won more if he was an all-time great," they point out.
Jim Boeheim, despite his 925 wins (1,026 if you counted 101 wins vacated by the NCAA), is one of the most criticized coaches in the college basketball world. Fans across the country often point out the above-mentioned critiques, along with countless others. Meanwhile at the same time he is revered by Syracuse fans, like myself, as being one of the greatest coaches ever. How can you truly argue against over 1,000 wins and 31 NCAA tournament appearances in 42 years? I don't know but there are plenty who do.
No matter what your opinion of Jim Boeheim, there's no question that this season he is doing a lot with very little. Two seasons ago, going into the NCAA tournament, I called that team, "The worst Syracuse team I've seen make the tournament." (Please keep in mind I've been a die-hard since elementary school in the mid-90s) Somehow that team managed to make it to Boeheim's fifth Final Four. However, I repeated the assessment this season, upon the team sneaking into the field of 68 as one of the last teams in. This has to be the worst Syracuse tournament team in my time as a fan.
Syracuse struggled through a 19-12 regular season, in which they finished 8-10 in the ACC. After splitting two conference tournament games, they went into Selection Sunday with a 20-13 record. It didn't blow anyone away but a strong strength of schedule convinced the committee to let them dance. And dance they have. In terms of aesthetics, they probably look like the awkward white guy at a wedding rather than someone with smooth moves in a music video. However, aesthetics don't matter in March.
The Orange have found a way to play to their limited strengths in order to overcome glaring weaknesses. Syracuse is a team that Boeheim himself has acknowledged to be limited offensively. Ranking 315th out of 351 in scoring at 67 points per game, certainly backs up that analysis. Boeheim wasn't making excuses, rather he was stating facts. The fact that he recognized this and has coached accordingly has made Syracuse a threat, rather than a walkover in March. This is what great coaches do; they get the most out of their teams. Boeheim has done that this March.
In addition to being limited in their scoring ability, the Orange are also limited in terms of manpower. Syracuse routinely plays no more than seven players and three of them (Tyus Battle, Frank Howard, and Oshae Brissett) average more than 38 minutes per game. (Keep in mind college games run 40 minutes) Yet fatigue hasn't been as much of an issue as one would think. Syracuse has found ways to make it work.
How has he done it? By recognizing the manpower and scoring issues. Boeheim has coached his team in a style that may not be pretty to the eye, but has been very effective. Syracuse has played a slow, methodical game on offense all season. By "taking the air out of the ball" they limit the amount of fast breaks and run outs that would fatigue a thin roster. In addition, they have slowed down opposing offenses with their long, active 2-3 zone. The 2-3, which has become a Boeheim staple through the years, has been extremely effective this season with the tallest starting five in Division 1 employing it. Syracuse ranks 12th in points allowed at 63.9 ppg. Boeheim recognized early on that it was either win ugly or don't win.
And win ugly they have. Just hours ago Syracuse outlasted #3 Michigan St. to make it to Boeheim's 18th Sweet 16 appearance. It wasn't a pretty game by any means, but it was the perfect example of how Syracuse has achieved success so far in March. So far in three tournament games the Orange are 3-0. They've beaten #11 Arizona St. 60-56, #6 TCU 57-52, and #3 Michigan St. 55-53. The wins have been more impressive, as the opponent has been more highly regarded each time. However, they have won the same way each time. Slow it down and play good D. Each time, it's been good enough to best a team that averaged over 80 points per game. Syracuse has forced teams to play their way. Credit Boeheim for this.
#2 seed Duke looms next for the Orange in the Sweet 16 on Friday. It's yet another tall order for this offensively limited team. (Duke won in the regular season 60-44) The Orange will again try to make the game ugly enough for them to have a chance at another upset. However, no matter how this run ends, this may be Jim Boeheim's best tournament coaching job in his Hall of Fame career.
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