A quick take on Syracuse’s participation Tuesday in the 2021 ACC Tipoff basketball media day event at the Charlotte Marriott City Center:
WHAT HAPPENED: Syracuse and the other 14 ACC teams were represented at the annual event, with Jim Boeheim joined by Buddy Boeheim and Bourama Sidibe as the Orange contingent this year. Making the rounds on radio row, individual interview sessions, and a 15-minute press conference on stage, the trio discussed a multitude of items including how the team is shaping up (“The best energy I’ve been part of since I’ve been here,” said Buddy Boeheim), the new implementation of Name-Likeness-Image (“I think the biggest problem is the inequity, one person gets stuff (money) and nobody else does,” said Jim Boeheim), and Sidibe returning from two knee injuries to man the middle (“I’m doing really good, looking forward for this season,” said the big man in his fifth year of eligibility).
ANALYSIS: There was also Syracuse basketball news made Tuesday away from Charlotte. Class of 2022 highly ranked combo guard recruit, and Baldwinsville native, JJ Starling announced that he will attend Notre Dame, spurning the hometown Orange along with Duke, Maryland, Northwestern and Stanford. The athletic department, in conjunction with multimedia rights holder Learfield Sports, publicized a new five-episode documentary series taking an inside look at the upcoming hoops season titled “Storied.” Each episode will debut on Tuesdays through Nov. 9. The 2021 media day was the last for Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski who’s retiring after the season. His accomplishments left Jim Boeheim in awe Tuesday. “Mike’s been the best coach in the post- (John) Wooden era of basketball. Really can’t thank him enough (for assisting him on the Olympic teams). We’ve been friends for a long time, way before that. Just a great basketball partner for me, and what he’s done for the game is immeasurable.”
HERO: Speaking earlier in the day on the ACC Network’s Packer & Durham show, when asked about the Boeheim family atmosphere with his father coaching and his brother Jimmy a one-year teammate, Buddy Boeheim jokingly revealed the biggest secret behind the scenes, the support from his mom, Juli Boeheim. “She’s just as into it as we are. She’s asking every day after practice how it was, ‘How is Jimmy doing?’ We call her the fourth assistant coach; she’s always trying to give us pointers here and there, telling my dad things. We just start laughing. But she’s very into it.”
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ZERO: Only the credentialed media attending the ‘Tipoff’ are allowed to vote electronically for the various Pre-Season predictions including Order of Finish, All-ACC Team, Player of the Year, and Rookie of the Year. Instead, the league should open up the voting to fans on social media and other media members not able to attend in person, and decide on a percentage that each group’s vote would count towards the final results. Voting for the select media opens Wednesday, Oct. 13, and concludes Monday, Oct. 18. The results will be announced on the Packer & Durham morning program Tuesday, Oct. 19.
WHAT’S NEXT: Syracuse opens up its two-game exhibition schedule with a meeting against Pace College (Brooklyn) on Wednesday, Oct. 27 (7:00 p.m. ET / ACCNX), followed by a pre-season contest with crosstown neighbor Le Moyne on Monday, Nov. 1 (7:00 p.m. ET / ACCNX). The regular season opener is Tuesday, Nov. 9 versus Lafayette at the Dome (7:00 p.m. ET / ACC Regional Sports Networks).
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