Jim Boeheim: 'Extremely Disappointed' in NCAA Decision - SCACCHoops.com

Jim Boeheim: 'Extremely Disappointed' in NCAA Decision

by NunesMagician

Posted: 12/3/2015 8:00:08 PM


Jim Boeheim is not backing down despite the NCAA's decision to "lessen" his nine-game suspension.

After releasing a brief statement in the morning regarding the NCAA's decision to move his nine-game suspension up to "immediately," Syracuse Orange head coach Jim Boeheim has released a longer one through Syracuse University's PR channels.

"Today, the NCAA Infractions Appeals Committee rightfully determined that the NCAA Committee on Infractions abused its discretion in imposing a nine conference-game suspension based upon my alleged violation of the Head Coach Responsibility Bylaw.

"The NCAA Infractions Appeals Committee agreed that the NCAA Committee on Infractions ignored the fact that I had no involvement in any of the underlying violations in this case, and that I did not acquiesce in any of those underlying violations, in imposing its unprecedented suspension. The NCAA Infractions Appeals Committee also agreed that this case was in sharp contrast to cases where head coaches were directly involved in a number of underlying violations, including unethical conduct violations, recruiting violations, and violations of the NCAA legislation regarding extra benefits. At the same time, however, the NCAA Infractions Appeals Committee decided to immediately impose a nine-game suspension, which is longer than any of the suspensions imposed in those cases.

"Needless to say, I am extremely disappointed with the NCAA Infractions Appeals Committee’s decision, and in particular, the NCAA Infractions Appeals Committee giving us only two days to make this transition, when the appeal was argued weeks ago. However, I have full faith in the ability of Coach Hopkins, my staff, and our seniors to lead the Men’s Basketball Program through this difficult time, and I look forward to returning to the bench on January 9 against the University of North Carolina.

"I am considering my options moving forward and will have no further comment regarding this matter at this time."

As to what those options might be...we'll have to stay tuned.

So if you forget about the fact that Boeheim will now miss this weekend's game against the Georgetown Hoyas, does Boeheim still come out of this ahead in the long-run?

This does mean that he will miss more "missable" games and will be back in time for the big North Carolina Tar Heels showdown in the Dome. Plus, as Mike Waters, points out, this might be the best possible nine-game stretch for Boeheim to miss overall. He needed to be there to start the season and get the team through the Battle 4 Atlantis. This also gets him back sooner for the pivotal ACC crunch-time stretch.

Of course, on the flip side, Boeheim's suspension is actually longer now in terms of days (31 instead of 29) and every day he's not associated with the team is another day that players aren't getting the benefit of his experience and knowledge. It also removes value from the Georgetown game and St. John's game, although I suppose we'll live. Besides, it's good experience for Mike Hopkins.

Ultimately, what does Jim Boeheim do with himself now? He'll be spending all of December as a civilian for the first time since he started his assistant coaching career. As he once put it, his options are limited.

"You think that's an easy question, but try to answer that question. Try to answer that question: What do you do?" he said. "Like, for example, 'All right, I'm just going to go to Florida.' Now I go to Florida. I'm playing golf and somebody takes a picture of me. My team's getting beat by 20 and I'm playing golf in Florida? I don't think that sells well. I don't think that's a good thing."

While there's much to debate about Boeheim's responsibility for what happens in the Syracuse Basketball program under his watch, whether he knows about it or not, there's no denying that the NCAA continues to just make things up as they go along. That's the most frustrating part of all of this. They throw out punishments they know probably won't stick and then force another arm of their organization to sort out the reality without making them look too bad. It's a house of cards that does little to change the problems and instead just constantly tries to save face. What else is new?

 

This article was originally published at http://nunesmagician.com (an SB Nation blog). If you are interested in sharing your website's content with SCACCHoops.com, Contact Us.

 



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