Jim Boeheim had a Sports Talk Radio Tour this morning, and he told The Dan Patrick Show he doesn't entirely regret his ejection at the end of the Duke game.
Jim Boeheim does feel a small bit of regret about Saturday's epic meltdown inside Cameron Indoor Stadium at the end of the Syracuse Orange's, 66-60, loss to the Duke Blue Devils, he told The Dan Patrick Show on Tuesday.
"I made a mistake," Boeheim said, "I really thought the game was over. I thought it was the wrong call and, you know, you get emotional and get kind of crazy. I could have taken the one 'T' and gone back but at that point it didn't matter, I was upset."
Boeheim, who in his post-game press conference said he'd never regret what he did, admitted now, since he has some time to think about it, he does, sorta, see what the big fuss was about.
"It is kinda one of those moments where you regret a little bit, but I am not so sure I entirely regret it.
I never wanted to take my jacket off. I have seen that and I have gotten it a halfway a couple times before, but not since Purdue and Joe Barry Carroll, which I am sure is too long ago to remember, did I actually take the whole jacket off."
"We talk about this, players are not allowed to get a technical foul. That's something we talk about. I have had five in six years, so that's not something I am looking to get either, but players (are not allowed protest to officials). You can argue that I went too far, I can buy into that theory, but I just thought that was the game and it turned out that they got the ball inbounds, we fouled them like we would have and they made two free throws; so it would have been a four-point game if I hadn't gone crazy with eight seconds to go.
It was just my reaction and I feel the players understand that, and I hope they understand it is the coach who is going to get upset about calls not the players."
What about blaming the loss on the referees. Do you regret that Jimmy?
"I don't think it is wrong for me to say it is a bad call and I don't think it is wrong for (Mike Krzyzewski) to say it was a charge. We had the same thing against Maryland at the end of the game—the Maryland coach thought it was a foul and I didn't think it was a foul, and fortunetly the refs didn't think it was a foul either.
I can see how it can be called the other way and it is an honest mistake. I don't think there's any conspiracy—any Duke conspiracy—I think Duke wins games because they have a great team and great coach. I don't think referees give Duke calls or anybody calls."
Did you embarrass your wife, Jim?
"She didn't say anything negative which surprised me a little bit. She did say it wasn't in good keeping with our foundation's goals of setting good examples for kids, which, I guess, is true. But, in the moment you sometimes lose it and in 38 years I have never done that."
At this point, I am sure you all want this story to die and that's what I think this Jim Boeheim Radio Tour was about today. (Apparently he spoke to ESPN's Colin Cowherd earlier in the day. I don't listen to Cowherd, so I missed that interview, but I am sure it had basically the same message at this one.)
All-in-all, it Boeheim's mind it is okay to question referees (especially when the game is on the line) and it is okay for one to lose their mind once every 38 years. It is not okay for players to lose their minds and it is not okay to do this more than once every 38 years.
In the end, the #HotSportsTakes columnists got their semi-apology and Boeheim did what he does best—gave a great interview.
