Following the news of the three-year window that sits between Jim Boeheim and his retirement, the longtime Syracuse head coach downplayed the idea of opposing fans honoring him and his legacy.

“You think they won’t boo me at Duke this year? I’m not Derek Jeter. There will be no farewell tour, no,” Boeheim said. “… When I go into an arena and they cheer for me, I’ll know it’s time.”

Earlier in the press conference, after 15 minutes of stating his issues with the NCAA’s charges against him, Boeheim turned the focus of the press conference to his future. The morning after the end date of his illustrious career — three years from now — was announced, the head coach explained his reasoning for the decision and his outlook on the future of SU basketball.

“I am 70 years old,” Boeheim said near the end of his opening statement Thursday morning. “As the chancellor (Kent Syverud) indicated in his statement yesterday, I feel three years is right for me to be able to continue to do my job as well as I possibly could.

“Three years is probably longer than I was planning prior to this investigation. However, given all of these developments, it is the right time for the program.”

There would’ve been no way, Boeheim said, that he would’ve retired in the midst of the NCAA’s investigation, which spanned nearly eight years before the Committee on Infractions released its report on March 6 that laid out its findings against SU and levied sanctions against the athletic program.

Boeheim said the Orange’s Final Four run in 2012 would’ve been a great way to go out, but the investigation would’ve kept him from doing so. He added that he had no plans to coach this long, but the thought of retirement just wasn’t reasonable considering the circumstances.

When asked if he has the flexibility to coach past the next three seasons, Boeheim responded that the only discussions he’s had with Syverud involved the head coach retiring in three years and the chancellor accepting that timeframe.

But Boeheim also said at another point in the hour-long press conference that if he feels he isn’t an effective coach next season, he wouldn’t coach again.

He also voiced his assurance that the Orange will be fine on the recruiting front without him. He said he’s spoken with several recruits and that all of SU’s prospects will be knowledgeable about the timeframe.

“I think we’re unique in being able to tell recruits, ‘You only have to listen to me for three years. Or two. Or one,” Boeheim said. “If anybody’s concerned about our recruiting or whether we can recruit, I don’t think that’s an issue. We’re giving notice and we’ll explain that to all of our recruits. I believe the program will be in a great position when I do retire.”

Published on March 19, 2015 at 12:59 pm

Contact Phil: pmdabbra@syr.edu | @PhilDAbb