Jimmy Boeheim Discusses Syracuse Commitment
Jimmy Boeheim announced his commitment to Syracuse on Friday. The former Cornell standout will join the Orange to play for his dad Jim Boeheim and alongside brother Buddy Boeheim. He spoke to the media Friday to discuss the process and his final decision.
Q: What has that conversation like with dad when you told him you wanted to come to Syracuse?
"It was really special," Boeheim said. "He tried to contain it a little bit, but you could easily tell how excited he was. And my mom's in the background, just screaming and crying and whatever. But it was just really special. Can't help but smile. It's really just a surreal feeling. It's hard to explain. I never saw this coming. So just really special."
Q: How much of a relief is it to have the news out there and not have to be asked if you're coming to Syracuse?
"It's definitely a relief to just get it done with," Boeheim said. "All I want to do is play and that's it. I just want to hoop. I'm glad to have the decision out there. It's been awesome hearing from all of the fans, best fans in the country. I've just been smiling these last few hours, reading what people are saying, how excited they are as well, how welcoming they've been, it's really just special. It makes me even that much more excited to get out there and do whatever I can to help this team when."
Q: When did you make the decision?
"It wasn't made until recently," Boeheim said. "I had an idea that it was maybe a possibility given the new transfer rules, but until the last few weeks I wasn't sure. I had to wait and see who would leave and make sure it was the right decision. I wasn't going to come if we had five or six forwards and it just wasn't a good situation. But the way the new transfer rule is and the way things played out, it ended up being a good fit and I made that decision not too long ago. A couple weeks."
Q: What does that all mean to you?
"It means a lot, playing with Buddy, playing for my dad, playing for the hometown," Boeheim said. "I love Syracuse. Everything about it. So all of that's just really special. I think I'm a little different from Buddy in that he always knew he wanted to come to Syracuse. He knew that was his dream. For me, it was always, I dreamed of getting an Ivy League degree and playing in the Ivy League. So for me, it kind of happened more recently than him. But, nonetheless, it's a dream come true. It's always been in the back of my mind. It's my childhood, really. Just growing up in the Dome. I said it in my post Syracuse made me fall in love with the game. Watching generations of players. It's just really special. You have the family aspect of course. I'm close with everybody on the team as well as playing with everybody in summers at the Melo Center. Symir, another Syracuse guy. The whole staff I've gotten really close to over the years. So it's just really special. I'm really excited. And the fans, of course, too. I can't wait to play in front of them. I felt their love in the last three years playing in the Dome. Starting lineups, cheering for me, all of that kind of stuff. So it'll be cool to be on the other side, but I've always felt their love. It's, to me, really special."
Q: Was this opportunity to play for your dad presented out of prep school?
"Then it really wasn't much of an option," Boeheim said. "I think they had a lot of guys and I wasn't the player I am right now. So it really wasn't much of a thought process. It was, 'where can I sneak into a program?' Thankfully Cornell called. My only offer at the time. I called my Dad, I remember, the day Coach Earl offered. I was like, 'Cornell just offered me.' You know? Excited. He goes, 'Call them back right now and take it. This stuff is crazy, You never know what's going to happen with recruiting. Call him back right now and take it.' And I did. I guess that's a good segue. I just have to thank Cornell and coach Earl and the whole staff, strength trainers, athletic trainers. I'm not here without Cornell. I know that. Just giving me an opportunity and playing me through so many mistakes. My freshman year was a train wreck, more or less. It didn't go the way I wanted to. I played through a lot of mistakes and coach Earl and the staff just continued to believe in me. They saw some good moments here and there with a lot of not great moments mixed in. They continued to just play me and believe in me and work with me. Sophomore year I kind of made a jump and junior year I made another jump. And now I just feel like I'm ready for this."
Q: Who recruited you hardest this time around, mom, dad or your brother?
"That's a good question," Boeheim said. "I'd probably say my mom. Yeah, probably my mom, and then my dad mixed in of course and Buddy. Everybody's had their hand in it so it's kind of like a family affair, you could say."
Q: What conversations have you had with your dad about your role on next year's team?
"I think like Coach Earl touched on," Boeheim said. "I'm pretty versatile. Play inside. Play outside. Play the high post. Can pass. Losing Marek, obviously a great player for four years, did so much for the team. I feel like I can kind of do some of the things that he did. He was a great passer. Playing with Buddy and Joe and Cole and other shooters will be a lot of fun. They'll create space. I think I can make plays happen. Hopefully, I'm going to make shots. So coming in with a really versatile role, being able to do a little bit of everything, playing inside, playing outside, rebounding, passing, shooting, driving. Just trying to make things happen, really. Whatever they need me to do at the end of the day to help them win, I'm ready to do."
Q: How excited are you to be playing with Benny and Cole?
"Really excited for sure," Boeheim said. "Obviously, Cole is just the definition of a driller. The guy makes shots. That's what he's going to do. Benny will come in and I'm really excited to see him play. I know he's a special talent coming out of high school and I think he'll definitely be able to help us. And then hopefully Quincy comes back, too, because he adds another element. So I'm just really excited to work with that group of guys. I think we have a really good forward group, really good team, a lot of good guards and good centers coming back too. I'm really excited for the way this team's shaping out and really excited to see what we can do."
Q: What other schools reached out to you?
"I heard from a good amount of schools," Boeheim said. "Probably around 15 or 20. I think maybe some schools might've assumed I was coming to Syracuse. I don't know how that factor played out. But I heard from schools Oregon State, Georgia Tech, Arkansas reached out earlier in the year, B.C. and Notre Dame called my dad. A bunch of other schools. But at the end of the day, I think I always knew if Syracuse was an option come decision time and it was a good option for me in terms of how the lineup was looking, that I was going to come home. Just kind of a no-brainer for me, being able to come home and play for my dad, play with Buddy and all of the other great guys on this team. Play for these fans, for this city that has been my whole life, more or less, up to this point. So it was pretty much a no brainer when it became a possibility."
Q: Can you put into perspective the rollercoaster of the season being canceled to where you are now?
"Obviously a little disappointed with the season getting canceled, but it is what it is," Boeheim said. "There are worse things going on right now. It was a good opportunity for me to just work really hard all year and improve on some things that I felt like I needed to work on a little bit. I think I've gotten a lot better during this time. It wasn't the worst thing in the world. Obviously I wanted to finish out with this program. I think we had a chance to have a really good team this year. I guess my ideal situation would've been to play this year at Cornell and still get the extra year. It is what it is. It wasn't too bad. I wasn't too down in the dumps. I just kind of said, 'It is what it is. Everything happens for a reason.' Use this as a good opportunity to keep working. And now this decision kind of validates all of the work I've been doing, I feel like, and makes me that much more excited. I'm just going to trust all of the work I've put in and I'm excited for next year."
Q: What was it like watching the tournament with your mom and did that factor into your decision?
"It was really special," Boeheim said. "The Syracuse fan in me always comes out that time of year. Just like I was eight years old screaming at the TV. Same type of thing. And watching Buddy, all of the hard work pay off in those moments, was really special. With the other guys on the team, they made a really good run. Won a couple really good games, ran into a tough Houston team obviously. But it was really fun to watch the run and watch the whole tournament. I feel like I studied the game a little more watching it. Not just watching from a fan's perspective, but trying to pick up things. Maybe seeing a couple of moves some guys did and then going into the gym and working on them myself trying to see if I could add them to my game. I just really enjoyed watching that."
Q: What are you going to remember about Buddy's March?
"In terms of his March, what sticks out to me is his resilience through all of this," Boeheim said. "Never got down throughout his whole career despite what people were saying about him. His slumps, whatever it was. This year especially. He had a really tough go with Covid. Getting it, getting contact traced. It was a lot of days with it. But his resiliency and just seeing him continue to work through the tough times during the season and just knowing he'd break through at some point. He broke through in the biggest moments on the biggest stage. So I just really enjoyed seeing him get the love and credit that he deserves. That's the player I know he is. I can't wait to play alongside him next year and see what he does next year. The sky's the limit."
Q: Any cool moment telling Buddy you were coming?
"His tweet today was pretty cool to see," Boeheim said. "I don't know if there was a specific moment between us when I told him. I think he just kind of found out over time. But seeing his tweet, those old photos of us and how it's come full circle. Pretty crazy. Pretty cool to see."
Q: Any chance Buddy's going to give you number 35?
"Nah," Boeheim said. "I make fun of them every once in a while. I don't really like the look of it. I don't know."
Q: What number are you going to take next year?
"I'm going to wear number two next year," Boeheim said. "I've kind of picked a different number every year. I don't really have much of a reason behind it to be honest with you. I thought it might look cool, I don't know. So we're going to try two out next year. Obviously I was three at Cornell. Too much respect for Gerry to even try to wear that. He's one of the all time greats and I wouldn't even want to try to wear that. So, yeah, we're going to try two."
Q: What don't you like about 35?
"I don't know," Boeheim said. "It's more of just a joke I guess."