Pasch-ion Play: Boeheim's Impact is Remarkable
2/28/2002 9:34:49 AM | Men's Basketball
What was reaffirmed to me last week in watching these "private" events is the sheer love and deep admiration his players and former teammates have for him. I watched Derrick Coleman reminisce with Boeheim, who says Coleman was one of the easiest players to coach despite his public image. Coleman reciprocated that level of respect in his conversation with Boeheim, and then in a heartfelt interview with the Syracuse University Radio Network during the SU-Seton Hall broadcast. Of all the former Syracuse players who attend games, I see Coleman most often. Coleman hasn't responded to a lot of coaches, but he did, and still does, to Boeheim.
What I witnessed Saturday night at the Syracuse University Sheraton Hotel was even more proof of Boeheim's special relationship with his players. Syracuse great after Syracuse great, from Dennis DuVal to Dale Shackelford, spoke of Boeheim's loyalty to his University, his family, and his friends. SU and NBA legend Dave Bing also talked about his best friend in great detail. Mike Hopkins broke down during his speech.
"You took a chance on me as a player," Hopkins remarked. "And as a coach despite no coaching experience. I met my wife in Syracuse, we had our son in Syracuse, and we've made Syracuse our home. You have given me my entire life, and I thank you."
I'm amazed by the diversity of these advocates, from the often-misperceived Derrick Coleman, to the deeply religious Louis Orr, or the soft-spoken and diehard fisherman Roosevelt Bouie. Whether they come from Washington D.C., or Kendall, New York, they seem to get what Boeheim is all about. Not all of them are mature enough at the time they arrive on campus, but in the end, they understand and appreciate the lessons learned under his watch.
In more than 15 years of being a Syracuse basketball fan and working in major cities across the country, covering and conversing with some of the world's greatest athletes, I have never run into a former player with a disparaging word about Boeheim.
Hopkins said it best the other night. Boeheim is like a great artist. It's difficult to describe how, and sometimes why, he does what he does, but it works. He lets his players be their own people on and off the floor. He knows whose buttons he can push, and when to do it. The end result of this indescribable artistry is 620 wins and counting, until he reaches the Hall of Fame.
