Jim Boeheim’s retirement might be imminent. The basketball coach indicated as much after the Orange was eliminated from the ACC Tournament Wednesday.
Boeheim addressed his future in the postgame press conference, following Syracuse’s 77-74 loss at the hands of Wake Forest. The legendary college basketball coach seemed to suggest that he could be forced into retirement by the university. Boeheim told reporters that it’s up to Syracuse if he’ll coach the team for another season.
Jim Boeheim – I hope we can come to a good agreement.
That’s as clear as I can make it.
— Donna Ditota (@DonnaDitota1) March 8, 2023
Boeheim has said whether or not he comes back next season is up to the university and he hopes they can “come to an agreement.”
He also said earlier that only one person figured out his speech after the Wake game was a retirement speech.
So…. Clear as mud?
— Mike McAllister (@McAllisterMike1) March 8, 2023
I think Jim Boeheim just announced his retirement without announcing his retirement.
— Mike Waters (@MikeWatersSYR) March 8, 2023
Four days before facing Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament, Syracuse defeated the Demon Deacons at home in its final game of the regular season. Former Syracuse basketball stars Gerry McNamara and Hakim Warrick had their jerseys retired before the game. Boeheim gave a brief speech to the crowd, thanking the fans for their long-time support.
“I gave my retirement speech on the court last Saturday and I gave it to the press conference afterwards,” Boeheim told reporters Wednesday afternoon.
There has been speculation for over a half-decade that Boeheim is headed for retirement. In 2015, Syracuse said that Boeheim would retire in three years. The coach decided to stay in 2017 when Mike Hopkins, assistant coach and Boeheim’s expected successor, left to become the Washington head coach.
Despite questions about his future in each of the last few years, Boeheim has kept his spot on the Syracuse bench.
“I have no other plans,” Boeheim told ESPN a little over a month ago. “Listen, this has been the question of the day for 15 years. This isn’t a new question. It’s just the calendar going, ‘Well, he’s 78.’ It’s just the calendar. If it wasn’t the calendar, if I was 65, no one would be saying anything. And I’m not going to retire just because it’s the calendar. Anything can happen. Anything, literally. We’ll just see what happens. I don’t say anything because I don’t know.”
Boeheim added that he had the support of the Syracuse athletic department. That might’ve changed, given his latest comments.
The Syracuse basketball program finds itself in the middle of its worst run since Boeheim became the head coach in 1976. The Orange is 17-15 and almost certain to miss the NCAA Tournament for a second straight year. Syracuse has won fewer than 19 games in four straight seasons.
Boeheim has the second-most wins of any men’s college basketball coach in history.
Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
