Jim Boeheim certainly isn’t coaching for the money. Having been the head coach at Syracuse since 1976 and turned the program into one of the premier college basketball programs in the nation, Boeheim is pulling in enough money annually to pay the bills. At the age of 67, he is still going strong, has his team in the Sweet 16 once again, and is chasing 900 career victories. The only reason Boeheim could still be around is that he enjoys what he does, right? Wrong.
“I have never enjoyed coaching,” Boeheim told the Washington Post recently. “I hope someday if I need an operation, when that doctor walks into the operating room he’s not there to enjoy himself.”
When asked what happens if the operation is a success, Boeheim smiled and responded: “If you have success, then you’re satisfied That’s completely different. I guess if you win a lot and you get a lot of satisfaction from the wins then maybe — maybe — you can enjoy it just a little.”
Like his good friend Jim Calhoun, Boeheim has been one of the has been one of the more difficult coaches for the press to deal with over the years. The difference between a basketball coach and a surgeon is that the surgeon is dealing with — you know — life and death situations. At the end of the day, basketball is just a game. Boeheim may be dealing with some unwanted distractions in this year’s tournament after losing one of his best players to academic ineligibility but make no mistake about it, the Hall of Famer loves coaching. He also happens to be one of the best to ever do it.
