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Boeheim Keeps It Interesting At Syracuse

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By JOE HENDERSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 13, 2008

Updated: 02/13/2008 12:12 am

TAMPA - Rick Kouwe has been close buddies with Jim Boeheim since they were kids back in the day. They played high school basketball against each other and used to hang out in each other's houses when they were growing up around Syracuse, N.Y. They even played hoops in the summer behind the funeral home run by Boeheim's dad.

"He is one of the toughest players I ever guarded," said Kouwe, who migrated to Tampa while Boeheim stayed behind in Syracuse. "He is just so competitive, even on the golf course. He doesn't like to lose at anything. And when it's time to play, he straps it up and here we go."

Maybe that little tidbit explains something about the nature of Boeheim, who is the rarest of birds in the crazy profession of coaching. He is in his 31st season as the head coach at Syracuse, which plays tonight against the University of South Florida at the Sun Dome.

Most coaches never get the chance to stay in one place long enough to become synonymous with their university, but Boeheim has surely done that. He was a walk-on player at Syracuse who eventually became team captain.

He became a graduate assistant, then a full-time assistant, and since 1976 he has been the head coach. Syracuse plays its home games on a court that bears Boeheim's name.

Kouwe's son, Anthony, was a walk-on at Syracuse out of Tampa Prep and played on Boeheim's 2003 NCAA championship team. And he says simply, "Everyone knows him as an icon in the Big East, but once you get up there and you work with him on a daily basis in practices and workouts, I don't know if you'd see him as an icon anymore. As a player, you just want to do everything you can to help him win because he is there for you."

Getting Tired

This hasn't been the easiest stretch for Boeheim and his team. He was bitter last year at being left out of the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in 10 seasons and this year has been frustrating as well. Injuries have really piled up on the Orange, and although 'Cuse brings a more-than-respectable 16-8 record into the Sun Dome, well, it's hard.

"It eats you up," Boeheim said. "Every year stands on its own, but you can only go with what you have. That's the way you have to look at it as a coach. We're very young and young players make mistakes."

Someone suggested to Boeheim that the youth of this team might be the fun part - seeing players develop, get better, all that stuff.

"I don't know if it's fun," he said. "Interesting might be a better word. It is what it is. I'd never describe it as fun."

It's natural to wonder how much longer Boeheim's famous scowl will be seen on the Syracuse sideline; one of his assistants, Mike Hopkins, seems to be Boeheim's heir apparent.

"I've talked to Jimmy, and he's tired," Rick Kouwe said.

But there's no timetable set for a transfer of power and Boeheim is in no hurry to set one.

"I take it year to year," he said. "Ten years ago I thought I'd be done in 10 years, but I'm still here. People who speculate on when other people are done are usually wrong."

Changing Of The Guard

College basketball has always been about iconic coaches, but over the next few you'll see fewer of them. Bob Knight got out just last week. It will be just as big news when Boeheim finally decides he has had enough.

On his watch, Syracuse has become one of those magic names in the sport. At least as impressive as all the wins, trophies and huge crowds at the Carrier Dome, though, is the way it happened. Boeheim is a hometown guy who stayed home and made it work well enough to get a spot in basketball's Hall of Fame. You just don't see that much, not like this anyway.

"I've always thought I had a good situation here," he said. "We have good support, I'm from here, and I understand the culture. I never really thought about anywhere else. We have 18,000 season-ticket holders and basketball is important here.

"And for eight months out of the year we have perfect weather. The other four months, it's basketball season."

He had to run. There was the USF game to prepare for, because that's how you do it - even after 31 years. That's the way the toughest player Rick Kouwe ever guarded does it anyway. It might not be fun but at least it's still interesting. For now, that's enough.

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