One Title Makes Him Completely Different

Jim Boeheim first set basketball sneaker on the Syracuse campus in the fall of 1962, a ramrod-thin kid with glasses and the son of an undertaker in nearby Lyons, N.Y.

He has yet to leave -- save a four-year playing stint in the Eastern League -- nor does he intend to.

A Syracuse walk-on as a freshman, Boeheim served as co-captain and averaged nearly 15 points his senior year. He returned in 1969 as a graduate assistant and by 1976 the program was his. Today, you might say that he is the program.

In 27 years Boeheim has won 74% of the games he has coached, bringing teams to the Final Four in 1987, 1996 and 2003. And it was his most recent game -- his 879th -- that cemented his legacy.

Long considered a coach who was unable to win it all, Boeheim, 58, shed that label in April when his Orangemen beat Kansas for the national title.

On Thursday The Times caught up with Boeheim, who will be in Los Angeles on Wednesday for ESPN’s annual awards gala. He is up for an ESPY in the best coach/manager category.

Question: What did you enjoy most during the championship run?

Answer: I think it was just the overall acceptance, how everybody liked that we won, not just our fans but basketball fans period. That was great. Whether it was because we were the underdogs or because we had so many young players or because we tried to win it a few times before (laughs), people appreciate it after you do it.

Q: Have you ever watched the tape of the 1987 title game, when Indiana’s Keith Smart hit that jumper to beat your team?

A: No. It’s pretty much a memory I’ve put in the back of my mind. It took this to do it.

Q: Did you pay money for that gaudy orange sombrero you wore on the plane ride from New Orleans to Syracuse?

A: Somebody gave it to us on Bourbon Street after the game. That hat’s probably gotten more commentary than anything. I got that around 4 in the morning when we went down to Bourbon Street to get something to eat.

Q: Is life any better having won a title?

A: I don’t think life is better. Part of my basketball life is probably a little more complete. The overwhelming thing for me has been how happy our people in Syracuse have been.

Q: When your team beat Oklahoma to advance to the Final Four, you told Carmelo Anthony, “I love you.” Is he the first player you’ve ever loved?

A: No. I don’t think I love him any more than any others. He was a special kid, a special personality, just one of a kind. I was lucky to coach him for one year. I just think it’s his personality, his belief in himself, in winning, how he goes about things, his total confidence that we’re going to win at all times.

Q: Did he make the right decision to turn pro, being 18 and only a freshman?

A: Oh yeah, it was no choice really. Financially, he’ll be set for life even if he never plays another game. I’d love to have him for another year, but he’s one of those physical guys that is more physically ready for the NBA than most. He’ll have his ups and downs, but I think he’ll be a great player in the NBA. He can score, get to the basket, rebound, pass. The NBA is an offensive league, and he can get his own shot.

Q: Speaking of players, who is the best you’ve recruited from the Los Angeles area?

A: Stevie Thompson and Jason Hart were two great players for us. They really stand out.

Q: How many more years will you coach?

A: I haven’t thought about that for years and years. Winning this doesn’t change my desire one bit. I just try to get ready for the next year and see what happens. I don’t see an end.

Q: When you proposed to your second wife, Juli, in your laundry room, you asked if she’d marry “this old stiff.” Is that really the best way to sell yourself in that situation?

A: It worked. You’ve got to do what works. There’s always a different approach, but whatever works is fine.

Q: Since you got married in 1997, has she softened you up?

A: I don’t know about that. When you get older you get a little mellower. I have three little kids [Jimmy, 5, and 3-year-old twins, Jamie and Jack] and they’ve made me a lot mellower. It’s a challenge day in and day out. Anybody with three young kids, I don’t care if you’re 25 or whatever. It’s a lot of effort and high reward.

Q: You opposed the possibility of Syracuse moving from the Big East to the Atlantic Coast Conference. How will Miami and Virginia Tech’s jump to the ACC affect the Big East?

A: I think it’s a problem for football. We’ll have a good basketball conference. We have to address this football situation. The BCS is a crazy thing, eliminating schools by saying, “You can’t play for the national championship.” I have some real problems with that. If we had an NCAA tournament and people said, “Only you can go,” that’d be a big problem. That’s what this move is about, strengthening the BCS and making money. I don’t think anyone acquitted themselves very well, to say the least.

Q: In April you held your annual Basket Ball, a benefit dinner for the American Cancer Society. How did that go?

A: It was a great time. We raised a lot of money, at least $250,000. This was our fourth and we’ve raised close to a million. Overall with Coaches vs. Cancer, we’ve raised about $2 million. I lost my parents to cancer, and we’ve lost a lot of good coaches, good friends, Jimmy Valvano, Jack Bruen, to this disease. To help is a great thing.

Q: Did you assist the Temptations in entertaining your guests?

A: I went up there, did it all, sang “My Girl.” It was quite historic.

Q: Were you any good?

A: I got an ovation. But I don’t want to judge myself.