Jim Boeheim is known for his arrogance and tough-guy attitude, but we saw a much different side of the longtime Syracuse coach on Wednesday when he was discussing the passing of one of his former players.
Dwayne “Pearl” Washington died this week after being diagnosed with a brain tumor last year. He was 52. Boeheim fought back tears as he was telling reporters what Washington meant to the program.
I've *never* seen this type of emotion from Jim Boeheim. This is startling pic.twitter.com/pcACvFGqji
— nick wright (@getnickwright) April 21, 2016
“He was a really humble guy. He helped make our program,” Boeheim said. “He helped make the Big East and he helped make college basketball.”
That’s a much different Boeheim the guy we are used to seeing snap at reporters.
Washington was the nation’s top recruit in 1983, and he ended up picking Syracuse. In the book “Color Him Orange: The Jim Boeheim Story,” Boeheim credited Washington for putting Syracuse on the map.
“I can’t underscore how big a moment that was for our program,” he said. “I believe at that point we officially went from being an Eastern program to a national program. Everybody knew who the Pearl was. I’d get off of a plane in L.A. and somebody would say, ‘There’s Pearl’s coach.’ He was the guy who opened the door for us and enabled us to land recruits not just from the East Coast or the Midwest but from the entire country.”
Boeheim also sent some tweets about Washington on Wednesday:
There was no better guy and there’s nobody who has meant more to our basketball program than Dwayne Washington.#CuseFamily
— Jim Boeheim (@therealboeheim) April 20, 2016
You will forever be in our hearts. We love you.
— Jim Boeheim (@therealboeheim) April 20, 2016
