Head coach Jim Boeheim is a lot smarter than I thought. The loss that his Syracuse squad took against their new rivals Duke is something that lasted forty minutes. Nothing more or less. But the tantrum that the head man of the programs showed during the last seconds of the game will last quite longer. The effects of Boeheim’s actions will still be felt long after people will have forgotten the result between these two programs last night.
This is a head coach who has not been ejected from any game in all of his 37+ years (barred an exhibition one), one who has never been sent off the hardwoods in over 1260 games. Someone who has won guided his team to eleven regular season titles in the Big East, as well as winning the conference tournaments five times. A man who has been to four Final Four and won a title. And yet, on a game most people thought could be a loss for Syracuse he explodes in this matter?
Yes, the tantrum will last a lot longer than a game, and probably a lot longer than most people might imagine.
It will last throughout the remainder of the season, where the Orange still have four games left, and a harder schedule than the top team in the conference, Virginia. Three match ups on the road which, including a game versus UVa. The Orange will need to be able to have a good end of the schedule if they hope to win the ACC in their inaugural run.
The effect of what Boeheim did will last through the first ACC post season tournament, when Syracuse will play at Greensboro Coliseum. Which, by the way, is a place that coach Boeheim belittled even before being in the conference. And it will last through the NCAA Tournament, where Syracuse is one of a bunch of squads the analysts believe could win it all.
And, if in the next polls, Syracuse is still the top team in the country, the Boeheim tantrum effect might just show dividends right away. So yes, the SU head man is a lot smarter than I thought he was. The only thing is… will this work being the newbie in the conference, or will it backfire on him and his team? Only time will tell, but for now, what I saw by coach Boeheim might just have been the best play on his basketball team, if not all of college basketball!
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