Getty Image
Jim Boeheim will go down as one of college basketball’s greatest coaches. The Syracuse leader has been at the helm for nearly five decades, winning 1,116 games (though 101 were vacated) and a national championship.
Boeheim led the Orange to five Final Four appearances, 10 conference championships, and 35 NCAA Tournaments. His zone defense gave opponents fits for 47 years.
Throughout all of NCAA basketball history, no coach has been with their alma mater longer. As a player, he averaged just under 10 points a game for his career. That included a 14.6-point output as a senior.
He then landed as the head coach way back in 1976 where he built the program into a national power.
Unfortunately, things haven’t gone quite as smoothly over the latter part of his tenure. The Orange have won less than 20 games in each of the last four seasons, including posting a 17-15 record this year.
On Wednesday, Syracuse played its ACC tournament opener against Wake Forest. That game ended in crushing fashion as the Demon Deacons drained a buzzer-beating three-pointer in the final second of play.
After the loss, Jim Boeheim quietly announced his retirement. Fans were sad to see him go out in such a deflating way.
Bro I hate that that’s how he went out man 😔
— Tommy 🇮🇹🇺🇸 (@1tzTommy) March 8, 2023
Not a great way to go out
— the new era (@mcdonaldsflag) March 8, 2023
Deserved a better farewell!
— DCU Fan (@DCUnitedFAN14) March 8, 2023
Others are sad for a different reason.
Sad that we won’t be able to see anybody picking their nose on national TV anymore
— Michael Thomas (@LetTheBirdDie) March 8, 2023
No one could pick and eat boogers quite like Boeheim. The game will never be the same pic.twitter.com/RlHK0HqETU
— Bick (@abickford68) March 8, 2023
Jokes aside, it truly is the end of an era. The Orange have already hired former player Adrian Autry as Jim Boeheim’s replacement.