Jimmy Boeheim Will Petition NCAA For Fifth Season
Syracuse basketball forward Jimmy Boeheim will petition the NCAA for a fifth season in order to return to the Orange for the 2022-23 season, head coach Jim Boeheim said during his weekly radio show Thursday night. A caller asked the question that prompted coach Boeheim's response.
Why the question in the first place? The NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility to 2020-21 athletes due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Ivy League cancelled that season because of the pandemic, and therefore the conference's athletes were not afforded that same extra year. Jimmy Boeheim played for Cornell at the time, and it was that cancellation that led to him transferring to Syracuse in the first place. Whether or not the NCAA will grant that fifth year is a big question mark as it is often inconsistent with such rulings.
Coach Boeheim also indicated both Joe Girard and Symir Torrence would be back next season, but also that it is not realistic to expect all of Buddy Boeheim, Cole Swider and Jimmy Boeheim to all be back. Forward Benny Williams has indicated multiple times in media interviews that he will be back. Frank Anselem and John Bol Ajak are also eligible to return, but whether or not they do remains to be seen. Coach Boeheim did express hopefulness about their prospects for coming back.
In addition, Syracuse has five incoming freshmen that will be added to the roster. They include point guard Quadir Copeland, shooting guard Justin Taylor, wing Chris Bunch, power forward Maliq Brown and center Peter Carey.
Syracuse is currently at 8-8 on the season after knocking off Pittsburgh Tuesday night. The Orange is back in action on Saturday against Florida State.
