Jim Boeheim and the Syracuse Orange have enforced a tournament ban for this year.
For any college basketball subscriber, it is not unusual to see teams violate academic policies with their players. Syracuse, also known as the “Kings of the zone,” have been at the forefront of these allegations in recent years with players such as Fab Melo.
However, the string of allegations runs deep through the 2000s which has led the Orange and head coach Jim Boeheim to take a step back and create a self-imposed ban for one year from the NCAA tournament. With that being said, the Orange are not eligible for any postseason play which also includes the NIT and ACC tournament.
What strikes many as surprising is that Syracuse is self imposing a ban during a down year. As it stands, right now the Orange are 15-7 and are a long shot to make the tournament. However, next year Coach Boeheim has a title-contending recruit class coming to Syracuse. This factor has made some wonder whether or not Syracuse is imposing the self ban so that they can save face in the eyes of the NCAA.
Furthermore, in response to the ban head coach Jim Boeheim said:
“I am very disappointed that our basketball team will miss the opportunity to play in the postseason this year… However, I supported this decision and I believe the University is doing the right thing.”
It’s good that Boeheim is finally taking the issue head on, but it seems to be just a big act. Allegations run deep into the mid 2000s with Boeheim, and it has taken him this many years to respond. In the eyes of many people, his reputation has already been tarnished by the Bernie Fine incident a few years ago. This is just another point on Boeheim’s license. However, ?we cannot make any assumptions on whether Boeheim is guilty or not.
