Jim Boeheim enrolled at Syracuse in 1962. He played there until 1966. He began coaching there in 1969. He took over the program as head coach in 1976.
Simply put, he was Syracuse basketball.
Until now.
The Basketball Hall of Famer’s 47-year tenure as coach at Syracuse came to an awkward end Wednesday, when the university said Orange associate head coach and former Syracuse player Adrian Autry has been promoted to position. The Orange moved quickly, making the announcement less than three hours later. Syracuse lost to Wake Forest in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. And if Boeheim knew the announcement was coming, he didn’t let it be known in what was his last postgame news conference.
“It depends on the university,” Boeheim said. “They have to make their decision, and it’s up to them.”
The university did not wait long before making the decision public, saying in part: “Today, as his 47th season as coach of his alma mater comes to a close, so does his storied career at Syracuse University. Associate Head Coach Adrian Autry ’94, one of Boeheim’s former players and longtime assistant, has been named the program’s next head coach.”
Autry has been on the Boeheim staff since 2011 and held the title of associate head coach since March 2017.
( St. Johns set for rematch against Marquette after defeating Butler in Big East tournament opener )
“There have been very few stronger influential forces in my life than Syracuse University and Jim Boeheim,” Autry said. “They have both played such important roles and without either of them, I am sure I would not have this incredible opportunity before me.”
The 78-year-old Boeheim’s record in his 47 seasons, officially, was 1,015-441. That reflects 101 NCAA win-snatched violations between the 2004-07 and 2010-12 seasons.
Whether the count was 1,015 or 1,116, only Duke’s now-retired coach Mike Krzyzewski had more wins than Boeheim at the Division I level. Boeheim led the Orange to the 2003 national title, Carmelo’s only season Anthony at Syracuse, and saw 46 of his players in the NBA draft. Among them: Anthony, Derrick Coleman, Rony Seikaly, Dion Waiters, Billy Owens, Sherman Douglas and Pearl Washington. Boeheim was also an assistant for USA Basketball with Krzyzewski on the teams that won Olympic gold medals in 2008, 2012 and 2016.
“I’ve been very lucky to be able to coach my varsity team, play and then be an assistant coach and then head coach, without ever having to leave Syracuse,” Boeheim said in that postgame news conference, in which he hinted at the retirement, then hinted at his return. “It’s a great university.”
It has been, in many ways, the face of that university. Boeheim and his wife Juli, through their family foundation, have raised millions for children’s causes throughout central New York. He helped champion what became known as the “Coaches Against Cancer” phenomenon with the American Cancer Society.
The 2-3 zone defense he used almost exclusively caused attacks on opponents for decades. His dedication was unwavering; the best examples were how he returned to work sooner than the doctors wanted after he was treated for prostate cancer in December 2001 (the team was struggling and needed him, Boeheim said at the time) and how he went to work at 12:01 a.m. on the day his nine-game suspension for NCAA violations was lifted during the 2015-16 season.
“He’s given his heart and soul to that school,” said Washington coach Mike Hopkins, a former Boeheim assistant. “It still amazes me that they didn’t make a statue of him in the middle of campus. When you think of Syracuse University, you think of Jim Boeheim and you think of Carrier Dome, and now they’re both gone, which is very sad.”
The dome still stands, just with a different name. The program will continue, just with a different coach. For the first time since 1976, someone other than Boeheim is now Orange’s head coach.
“Jim has invested and dedicated the majority of his life to building this program, cultivating generations of student athletes and representing his alma mater with pride and distinction,” Chancellor Kent Syverud said in a statement distributed by the school.
Boeheim has been synonymous with Syracuse for more than six decades. He was born in the city of Lyons, in central New York, not far from Syracuse. He enrolled in the school in 1962 as a walk-on, eventually becoming captain of the then-Orangemen along with Dave Bing.
In 1969, he was hired at Syracuse as a graduate assistant. And on April 3, 1976, he took over the show after Roy Danforth left for Tulane. Boeheim has run the show ever since; even the field in the dome where Syracuse plays its home games has been named after him since 2002.
“There will never be another Jim Boeheim,” Buddy Boeheim, one of Boeheim’s sons who played for him at Syracuse, tweeted Wednesday. “The best coach, father and mentor you could ever ask for. A man who gave a city, program and university everything he had his whole life with countless achievements. Excited for a lot of golf in our future, love you dad.”
The Oranges went 17-15 this season and will miss the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. That drew criticism, which raised questions about the future of Boeheim and what the school would ultimately decide.
the striped express
Weekly
The Daily News sports editors curate the best Yankees stories of the week from our award-winning columnists and writers. Delivered to your inbox every Wednesday.
“It’s an honor to play for Coach Boeheim,” Syracuse’s Benny Williams said after the loss to Wake Forest.
A low point came in November 2011. Bernie Fine, then Syracuse’s associate head coach, was fired after being accused of sexual abuse by two former Syracuse ball boys. Boeheim initially called the ballboys liars to get money, later apologized for being insensitive to abuse victims and took responsibility. The fine was never collected.
Syracuse reached the NCAA Tournament 34 times with Boeheim, went to the Final Four in five of those appearances, won 10 Big East regular-season titles, and five more titles in that conference’s tournament.
“I’ve been so lucky to be able to train in Syracuse, a place that I love, a place that I love to live,” Boeheim said. “People keep wondering about it, but maybe it’s a flaw that I have. But I have lived in Syracuse all my life and I hope to live there for a long time to come. I think it’s a great place.”
Now it’s Autry’s turn.
He played 121 games in his four seasons with Boeheim and then spent more than a decade on the bench under his former manager.
“I have spent much of my time in the game of basketball learning from Jim and am very grateful to him for preparing me to continue the winning tradition that is Orange Basketball,” said Autry.
