Without a doubt, University of Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim is a legend in college basketball. He has won more than 880 NCAA games, including the 2003 National Championship, and is universally credited with building the hoops powerhouse we see today in upstate New York.
While the ‘Cuse are fresh off earning a #1 seed in March Madness and subsequently advancing Saturday to make yet another Sweet 16 appearance, Coach Boeheim has had a lot to deal with this season surrounding his Big East program.
From former assistant coach Bernie Fine being accused of molesting a ballboy, to rumors of failed drug tests, to star big man Fab Melo being declared ineligible for the 2012 NCAA Tournament, the Syracuse coaching staff has been put to the test this season.
Maybe that would explain why the old ballcoach is a bit testy as of late, even choosing to put UNC-Asheville coach Ed Biendenbach on blast for his comments following a few controversial calls that may have led to the Orange escaping with a 72-65 opening round win.
Biendenbach: “Syracuse is better than Asheville. Tonight we were better than Syracuse”
Boeheim: “That’s why they make scoreboards.”
But the longtime Syracuse coach wasn’t done yet as he chose to rip into NBA Hall of Famer turned color analyst Reggie Miller for his comments that the ‘Cuse should switch out of their famous 2-3 vaunted zone defense in order to get the best of UNC-Asheville. In classic Boeheim schtick, he rather slyly informed Miller that Syracuse doesn’t play man defense and went on to poke fun at Reggie’s playing career in his typical surly tone.
More than any other year, Boeheim’s comments and Miller’s unfamiliarity with the college game has shone a light on whether CBS should continue to include the NBA announcers and analysts during the NCAA Tournament. Case in point, try listening to Charles Barkley break down the games on the Pre-Game and Half-Time shows.
Listen to Boeheim rip Reggie Miller:
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen has also provided content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, Cleveland.com, CSN Philly.com, Buckets Magazine, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
