As a child born in upstate New York, what I’m about to do is blasphemous to most people, but hear me out. Syracuse basketball needs to get rid of Jim Boeheim. I know, I know- "what about the championship?" You mean the one that happened 13 years ago now? But they got to the final four last year! Yeah, and they were still swept off the court by UNC to the tune of a 25 point loss.
I have nothing against Boeheim, and truly I hope he gets to 1000 wins because he has earned that milestone. With that being said, it feels like Syracuse is still playing in the 1980s. College basketball has moved into a new era; it is not about the senior getting his shot anymore. This is the age of the one and done college basketball player. John Calapari, Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams have all adapted. They are reaping the benefits and their teams tend to be stacked. Just look at the Duke players in the NBA right now. You’ll find a list that includes Kyrie Irving, J.J. Reddick, Jahlil Okafor, Justice Winslow and Mason Plumlee, just to name a few. Then you go to the juggernaut that is Kentucky: John Wall, Julius Randle, Anthony Davis, Nerlens Noel, Demarcus Cousins, and Karl Anthony-Towns.
Now we look at Syracuse: Carmelo Anthony, Dion Waiters, and a whole bunch of D-league players. Here is where the problem lays with Boeheim-- he cannot recruit like he used to. He was never exceptional at recruiting, but it has dried up over the last ten years. He either doesn’t go after one-and-dones or gets beaten to them by other coaches. Without those players, teams flounder because of a lack of talent.
College basketball is now an even younger game because the most talented players on a championship level team are going to be your freshman. So without the cream of the crop, Boeheim operates with one hand tied behind his back. Coach K has adapted, and adapted quickly, to this new change in college basketball and Coach Boeheim has been given ample time to do the same thing but still will not.
The other strike against Syracuse players in Boeheim's famed 2-3 zone, which for the NCAA tournament works until the Elite Eight, but in the NBA it translates badly. NBA teams play very little zone and are automatically weary of players who come from zone systems in college. It is harder to teach someone man-to-man with weak side help than it is to just draft someone who already has a least a concept of what you are referring to.
So we again go back to Boeheim who, by now, must understand this about the NBA and the players he needs to recruit. Yet, he sticks to his 2-3 zone because it works for the tournament. On active NBA rosters right now, Kentucky has 25 former players and Duke has 21. Syracuse? Syracuse has 11 and the most notable besides Carmelo Anthony is Dion Waiters, who is on his third team and is averaging 14.5 points per game.
It has been a great 4 decades, Jim, but college basketball has changed. Either you need to change with it or Syracuse needs a new basketball coach.
