Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim is a lot like myself- he looks for things to complain about. We find fault with life just for the sake of having something to complain about. In the run-up to last year’s draft, Boeheim made some remarks about his players’ NBA Draft stock that rubbed certain people the wrong way.
Jim Boeheim advocating that his own players (Tyler Ennis and Jerami Grant) stay in school instead of declaring for the draft looked like he was putting the Syracuse program’s interests above the interests of his individual players. However, his players were not offended by it, and that’s what counts.
They appreciated Boeheim’s brutal honesty.
To Boeheim’s credit, both Ennis and Grant did not go as high as their projected selection range.
And now this year ESPN’s NBA draft analyst Chad Ford put Syracuse freshman Chris McCullough in the lottery for the 2015 draft after the 6-10 forward scored in double-figures in each of Syracuse’s first eight games.
Boeheim quickly shot back at the lottery pick talk.
“You keep looking at what Chris (SIC) Ford says,” Boeheim said. “He’s a smart guy. He knows exactly who is going to get drafted. This is what parents do. Parents quote to me all the time, ‘He’s in the top 10 of the draft board.’ Oh yeah? ‘He’s the 14th pick in the draft.’ Yeah?”
“Quote (from) last year,” Boeheim said. “Well, he’s in the top 10 in the draft board, that’s why he’s going to go. I said, ‘On whose draft board? ESPN?’ They do not have a team. They do not have a team at ESPN. That’s the kind of misinformation that gets kids thinking about things and parents thinking about things that make no sense, whatsoever.”
Bruce Bernstein is the Coordinating Producer for ESPN’s NBA shows that are based in Bristol: NBA Coast to Coast and NBA Tonight. The Syracuse alum was gracious enough to sit down with me for an interview on one of the NBA’s busiest days, MLK day.
The podcast is below with Jim Boeheim talk beginning around the 7:oo mark.
“Jim Boeheim is an incredible basketball coach, and everyone, including Jim Boeheim, would agree that he’s so very cranky by nature sometimes,” said Bernstein.
“And I think some guys who are just cranky by nature will look at the glass as half empty and if they want to complain about something they’ll always found something to complain about.”
“I was there at Syracuse a year before Jim Boeheim got hired as a Head Coach. He succeeded Roy Danforth in what would have been my sophomore year, ’76-’77.”
Berstein then recalled a conversation he had with college and NBA basketball coaching legend P.J. Carlesimo, who is very close friends with Boeheim.
“I said P.J. Jim Boeheim is the one guy who got cooler the older that he got. Usually guys are young and as they get older they become curmudgeons or whatever. Jim Boeheim was that guy when he was 35. Now that he’s 70, he’s like really cool.”
“Part of it is because his second wife is somebody who’s become something of a celebrity in her own right, Juli, and I think she definitely increased his coolness factor by about 500% maybe more.”
Juli Boeheim is one of the nation’s leading philanthropists in the fight against cancer. She has accomplished a lot towards raising money in the battle against this horrific disease.
Back to Jim Boeheim and NBA mock drafts.
ESPN College basketball analysts Jay Bilas and Jay Williams were asked about these Jim Boeheim narratives on media conference call a few days ago. Both understood Boeheim’s position, but also both agreed that his railing against this establishment will get him nowhere.
Said Bilas “I understand exactly what Jim is saying. I agree with him that it adds another degree or component on the situation. The thing is, that horse is out of the barn. This is what the media does.”
Said Williams: “I think it’s the world we live in today, where there’s instant news. It goes two-fold. From the coaching perspective, I can see how that could be something that hinders the potential growth of your team. The last thing you need is individuals on your team focusing on the draft and not the team. You want them to be lost in the moment.”
As for Boeheim’s team, they spent much of the season ranked dead last in the nation in three point shooting, and looked to be headed towards a very unSyracuse type season- not making the tournament. As it stands right now they’re back in the tourney bubble mix. A 4-1 start to ACC play has helped, but they still don’t have any signature wins that would get them into the dance yet.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports Digital, eBay, Google News and CBS Interactive Inc. You can read Banks’ feature stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye newspaper and listen to him on KOZN 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)
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