It’s been a matter of record that I chose Syracuse University for two reasons.
First, they had one of the best journalism programs in the country. The Newhouse School of Communications had yet to be built, and I had no idea I wanted to become a broadcaster.
My love was in writing, and becoming a sportswriter was my aim in life.
But I digress.
The second reason why I wound up on Piety Hill, as it was called, was the fact the Orange were coming off a national championship football season.
Syracuse was number 1, they were unbeaten and defeated Texas in the Cotton Bowl.
Their star was sophomore running back Ernie Davis and it was said that if Syracuse was number one in the nation, their second team was number two.
But my real passion was college basketball, and I accepted the fact the Orange were mediocre and getting worse in the winter sport I followed more than any other.
At one point, the Orange lost 27 consecutive games, and headed nowhere.
That is, until they hired Fred Lewis from Southern Mississippi as head coach.
It started, naturally, with recruiting.
Dave Bing became the first bona fide star player in school history, and other five-star hoopsters followed.
But there were others, who rounded out the squad.
Every team in any sport needs role players to add that something extra. You can’t have a roster of superstars.
You may be saying, ‘why not?’
But there’s only one ball and chemistry is the key factor.
So, there was a walk-on from Lyons, NY named Jim Boeheim, who not only earned a spot on the roster, but was installed as the backcourt partner for the great Dave Bing.
The two meshed perfectly.
In two seasons, Syracuse was selected to play in the NIT at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
The Orange lost to NYU in the opening round, but it was only the beginning for the grand revival of SU basketball.
And, as they say, the rest is history.
And what a history it became.
I was broadcasting games at Manley Field House at the time, and while the varsity was showing improvement with a somewhat revamped roster, including transfers, the crowds that showed up arrived early enough to watch the freshman team, led by Bing, and including Boeheim, who put on a show that marked the start of something big.
Boeheim, who became an assistant coach and then, one of the greatest head coaches of all time, became the one thread that carried from the first stitch of the basketball turnaround to the spectacular mosaic that has made Syracuse one of the most prestigious hoops programs in the nation.
Syracuse has been Jim Boeheim’s life.
There is nothing else close, except for his wife Juli, his sons, who he got to coach, and his daughter, who is a champion in her own right.
His record is impeccable, and then some.
You know about the 1,015 official victories, second only to Coach K at Duke.
You know about his 35 appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
You know about his five Final Fours.
And of course, you know about the 2003 national championship.
That just skims the surface.
Syracuse’s presence as a power, in the most powerful conference, the Big East for decades, fills out the grand picture of their overwhelming success.
And the players who made it happen.
No way to list them here.
Look them up.
You’ll be dazzled.
I’ve known Jim, not extremely well, but well enough over the years of my covering the sport for CBS.
He’s always called me their Number One fan.
I have a hunch he’s done that with others, but that’s been good enough for me.
He was kind enough to appear at my induction into the WAER Hall of Fame on campus, in 2016.
The coach has never been shy in giving his opinions on anything, even if they were on the caustic side.
He repeatedly made it clear that when it was time to step down, he would be the one to decide.
He reiterated that toward the end of the just completed season, despite a rough finish to both the campaign and his career, as it turned out.
That’s why I was dumbfounded and confused over the way his exit went down after the loss to Wake Forest in the opening round of the ACC Tournament.
Suddenly, hours after the contest, the University announced that Adrian Autry, the coach-in-waiting, as taking over to lead the team.
Had Jim Boeheim retired or not?
The entire scenario was murky, and frankly, unpleasant.
Deep down, I will always feel Boeheim was not ready to retire as head coach. It drove his life.
Perhaps the University decided it was time, despite the coach’s declarations.
Whatever, the parties got together and constructed the kind of exit for Boeheim and entrance for Autry that should have been the matter of course from the beginning.
The insistence that a plan had already been in place sounded a bit hollow at the first of what will be a major celebration of what Jim Boeheim, head coach of Syracuse basketball for 47 years, has meant to the school and in the big picture, the nation.
So, an awkward time was fixed.
But, what difference does it all make?
Jim Boeheim’s dedication to the University and to the city will march on. He will be around, and play a useful role.
Years from now, his legacy will be the one and only thing everyone should remember.
A career for the ages.