The exiled head coach talked about how painful it is to watch his team play and not be able to do anything about it.
Jim Boeheim is not even halfway through his time as the exiled head coach of the Syracuse Orange basketball program. He's still got the whole month of December to get through plus a little bit more. All he can do is sit and watch as the team does what it does (which hasn't been much since his suspension began).
It's already starting to get to the longtime SU coach, who spoke to Brent Axe on Tuesday on ESPN Syracuse.
"I'm not a fan, I'm a coach," Boeheim said, when asked whether he'd consider watching the games in public. "I wouldn't want to sit and watch with anyone else. It's a very painful experience, and I don't feel like sharing my painful experiences with anybody. And I don't think anyone would want to be around me. This is my life, my professional life. It's obviously a very difficult time."
"It's not fun watching your team not play well, and you can't do anything about it," Boeheim said. "We knew this team needed a lot of nurturing. It's not a set team in any way, shape or form. We have a lot of moving parts, have guys who have been very inconsistent. It's tough to watch that and not be able to do something about it. It is what it is but it's a very painful experience, I certainly wouldn't want to share that with anyone else."
Syracuse has lived and died by the three this season and Boeheim doesn't have any issue with that. Mainly because he doesn't feel as though we have any other choice.
"We have no other way to score," Boeheim said. "If there's another way to score then you tell me. We need to shoot the ball from the perimeter. ... We can't not take the 3-point shot because it's what we do do. You can't drive all the time. If you start trying to drive all the time the defense collapses. We don't have a real inside scoring threat. ... Last year we had (Rakeem Christmas) inside, so we could get the ball inside. We don't have the alternative this year and I don't see anyone developing into an inside scoring threat."
