Jim Boeheim
James Arthur "Jim" Boeheim (pronounced BAY-heim, born November 17, 1944 in Lyons, New York, United States) is the men's basketball head coach for Syracuse University. Boeheim’s twenty-ninth season as Syracuse University’s men’s basketball head coach earned him his 700th victory during his tenure there, leaving him with a 703-241 overall win-loss record. Among those twenty-nine seasons include twenty-seven 20-win seasons that put him in a second-place tie with Texas Tech’s Bob Knight and Arizona’s Lute Olson on the all-time Division I list. In addition, as of 2005, Boeheim is eighth in Division I NCAA tournament wins with forty-one (CBS Sportsline). He became only the eighteenth coach in Division I history to reach the career 700-win milestone (SU Athletics).
On Monday, April 4, 2005 it was announced that Boeheim would be inducted into the Naismith National Basketball Hall of Fame. Boeheim was later inducted in September 2005. Boeheim has guided the Syracuse Orange to three NCAA championship game appearances. The Orange defeated Kansas in 2003 for the national title after losing to Indiana in 1987 and Kentucky in 1996.
Career
Boeheim enrolled in Syracuse University as a student in 1962 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in social science in 1966 (SU Athletics). During his freshman year, Boeheim was a walk-on with the men’s basketball team. By his senior year he was a team captain and let the Orange to a 22-6 overall win-loss record that earned the team’s second-ever NCAA tournament berth. After graduating from Syracuse, Boeheim played professional basketball with Scranton of the Eastern League during which he won two championships and was a second-team all-star (SU Athletics).
In 1969, Boeheim decided to coach basketball and was hired as a graduate assistant at Syracuse. Soon thereafter he was promoted to a full-time assistant coach and was a member of the coaching staff that helped guide the Orange to its first Final Four appearance in 1975. In 1976, Boeheim was promoted to be the head coach of his alma mater. In his twenty-nine years as head coach at Syracuse, Boeheim has guided the Orange to postseason births, either in the NCAA or NIT tournaments, in all but one of his seasons (SU Athletics). During his tenure, the Orange has appeared in three NCAA national championship games (1987, 1996, and 2003) and won the national title in 2003.
After his twenty-ninth season, Boeheim ranked fifth among active Division I coaches in winning percentage and tied for sixth in victories (SU Athletics). In recognition of Boeheim’s numerous accomplishments as SU’s head coach, the University named the Carrier Dome court “Jim Boeheim Court” on February 24, 2002 (SU Athletics).
Boeheim has also been named three-time Big East coach of the year, and has been awarded ten times as District II Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. In 2004, Boeheim received two additional awards. The first was during the spring when he was awarded the Claire Bee Award in recognition of his contributions to the sport of basketball. During the fall of the same year Boeheim was presented with Syracuse University’s Arents Award, the University’s highest alumni honor.
In 2001, during his seventh year as a USA basketball coach, Boeheim helped lead the USA Basketball Young Men’s Team to a gold medal at the World Championship in Japan. During the fall of that year he was named USA Basketball 2001 National Coach of the Year.
On May 9, 2005 Boeheim agreed on a four-year contract extension to remain as Syracuse’s head men’s basketball coach. Boeheim has been the head men’s basketball coach since 1976 and had two years remaining on his contract before signing the four-year extension (CBS Sportsline).
Personal
According to an interview conducted by The Post-Standard in 2005 (Post-Standard) , Boeheim enjoys watching television. He cites ER and CSI: Miami as two of his favorite TV shows. He also watches Desperate Housewives and NYPD Blue. Boeheim also likes to listen to the music of Bruce Springsteen. In the interview, he states that he has no interest in pursuing any other career after he retires from coaching basketball other than coaching Little Leagues. Boeheim fought a personal battle with cancer, which has resulted in his devotion to the “Coaches vs. Cancer” tournament that raises awareness of cancer (SU Athletics). Boeheim is married to his wife Juli, and have four children: James, twins Jack and Jamie, and Elizabeth (SU Athletics).
Accomplishments
Some of Boeheim’s notable accomplishments current as of April 4, 2005 from The Official Website of the Basketball Hall of Fame (HoopHall):
- Led Syracuse University to the 2003 NCAA national championship
- Led Syracuse University to 11 Sweet Sixteen appearances, four Elite Eight appearances, and three Final Four berths including three trips to the championship game (1987, 1996, 2003), and 24 total NCAA tournament appearances (Washingtonspeakers)
- Led Syracuse University to eight Big East regular season titles and three Big East tournament titles
- Three-time Big East Coach of the Year (1984, 1991, 2000)
- In 29 seasons at Syracuse, has compiled 27 20-win seasons, good for fourth on the all-time list
- Currently ranks sixth among active coaches in career wins
- USA Basketball's National Coach of the Year (2001)
Famous Players Coached By Boeheim
- Dwayne "Pearl" Washington (1984-1986)
- Rony Seikaly (1985-1988)
- Sherman Douglas (1986-1989)
- Derrick Coleman (1987-1990)
- Hakim Warrick (2002-2005)
- Carmelo Anthony (2003)
- Gerry McNamara (2003-2006)
References
- (CBS Sportsline) “Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim agrees to contract extension”. The Associated Press. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on December 22, 2005: http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/8460325
- (HoopHall) HoopHall.com: The Official Website of the Basketball Hall of Fame. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on December 22, 2005: http://www.hoophall.com/events/enshrinement05/boeheim.htm
- (Post-Standard) “Jim Boeheim: Unplugged”. The Post-Standard. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on December 24, 2005: http://www.syracuse.com/sports/poststandard/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/112616888310400.xml&coll=1
- (SU Athletics) “Jim Boeheim: Men’s Basketball Head Coach”. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on December 22, 2005: http://www.suathletics.com/info/bio.asp?staffid=15
- (Washingtonspeakers) Washington Speakers Bureau: Jim Boeheim. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on December 24, 2005: http://www.washingtonspeakers.com/speakers/Speaker.cfm?SpeakerID=4402