The Georgetown Hoyas beat the Syracuse Orange 89-79 on Saturday, and Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim went out of his way to blame his team’s defeat on a Georgetown player who didn’t take part in the game.
James Akinjo, Georgetown’s point guard at the start of the season and reigning Big East Freshman of the Year, announced on Dec. 2 that he was entering the transfer portal and departing the school. The Hoyas, who were 4-3 when Akinjo made his announcement, have subsequently won three in a row.
According to Boeheim, that’s no coincidence, and he delivered a scathing assessment of Akinjo while crediting the Hoyas for their victory.
Jim Boeheim says of Georgetown, "they got rid of a guy that didn't pass the ball and shot it every time." Starting point guard James Akinjo recently said he was transferring. Ouch.
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) December 14, 2019
More Boeheim: "Patrick (Ewing) can't say that but I can. (James Akinjo) lost two games for them by himself."
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) December 14, 2019
That’s about as harsh of an assessment as you’ll ever get on the record from a college coach about any player. We can probably take it as all the evidence we need that Syracuse won’t be pursuing Akinjo, either.
For reference, Akinjo averaged 13.4 points and 4.4 assists per game in seven appearances this season. He was leading the team with 12.7 field goals attempted per game, but was shooting a miserable 33.7 percent from the field.
Boeheim is now 75 years old and essentially has the Syracuse job as long as he wants to keep coaching. He hasn’t been shy about voicing his opinion this season, and that’s unlikely to change now.
