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Syracuse

Jim Boeheim sends strong message when asked about retirement following Duke loss

275133747_4796292347117549_592518599057046758_nby:Jonathan Wagner•02/27/22•

Jonathan Wagner

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Maddie Malhotra via Getty Images.

Syracuse lost to Duke on Saturday, falling to 15-14 overall on the season and 9-9 against ACC opponents. Following the loss, Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim had a strong response to a question about whether or not he intends to return to the Orange next season.

“Whoever said I wasn’t,” Boeheim responded when asked if he was planning to return to Syracuse next season. “You don’t need to ask this. It’s been asked and asked 26 thousand times. Every press conference I gave in the beginning of the year is I have no intentions of not coaching. I’ve said it 30 times. Just because we’re having a bad year you want me to quit? I don’t quit because we’re having a bad year.

“So I told every recruit, we have a pretty good recruiting here today, I’ve told every one of them I’ll be coaching next year. So I don’t know what you need me to do or say. I mean I guess you don’t get it.”

While UNC’s Roy Williams retired after last year and Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski will retire after this season, it certainly doesn’t sound like Boeheim is ready to entertain retirement yet.

Boeheim has been at Syracuse since 1976

Back in the 1976-1977 season, Boeheim began his head coaching career at Syracuse. He immediately led the Orange to three NCAA Tournament appearances, and Syracuse made the tournament again after winning the Big East regular season title in his fourth year.

In his 45-year head coaching career, Boeheim is the second winningest Division I head coach in the history of college basketball. His 982 wins in 45 seasons trail just Mike Krzyzewski, who has 1,170 career wins in 46 seasons. Syracuse has made a postseason tournament in all but three of his seasons as head coach, and the Orange have made 34 appearances in the NCAA Tournament. The Orange have also made the Final Four under Boeheim in 1987, 1996, 2003, 2013, and 2016. Syracuse won the national title in the 2003 season.

This season, Syracuse just hasn’t been able to get going on any sort of extended winning streak. The Orange began the year 7-5 and 1-0 in ACC play, but a three-game losing streak early on in the conference schedule dropped them to 7-9 and 1-3 against ACC opponents. After the three-game losing streak, Syracuse lost three of its next five games, falling to 9-11 and 3-6. Syracuse then won four in a row and six out of seven to improve to 15-12 and 9-7, but the Orange have dropped their last two games.

Syracuse has two games remaining on the regular season schedule. The Orange head to Chapel Hill to take on UNC on Monday night, before hosting Miami on Saturday to wrap up the regular season.