Putting Boeheim's 800th in perspective
Posted: Monday, November 09, 2009 11:43 PM
Filed Under:
Coaches, Big East
The list of men’s Division One coaches who’ve reached 800 career victories is a short one.
But the list of coaches who’ve done it faster than Jim Boeheim is even shorter.
Syracuse’s coach reached his “great milestone” Monday with a 75-48 win against Albany. It was the 1,088th game of his career. In 33 seasons, he’s won at least 20 games 31 times.
Marc Squire/Getty images |
Jim Boeheim reached 800 career wins faster than all but three D-I coaches.
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That’s why only three coaches – Adolph Rupp, Dean Smith and Mike Krzyzewski – have gotten to 800 faster than Boeheim. Guys like Bob Knight and Jim Calhoun (who got there last season) needed more games.
And every win has come at Syracuse. Only two coaches, Smith and Mount St. Mary’s Jim Phelan, have coached more games at one school, while only Smith, Phelan and Rupp have won more at one school. It’s quite a tribute to a coach who’s already in the Hall of Fame, but probably doesn’t get the recognition of some of his peers.
Part of that’s because he’s only won 1 NCAA tournament (only’s in italics for sarcasm; even 1 is significant), while taking the Orange to 3 Final Fours, 16 Sweet 16s and 26 NCAA tourney appearances. He’s been the Big East coach of the year three times.
But few coaches have ever won as consistently as Boeheim. And given that’ll he’ll only turn 65 next week, expect him to keep winning for a few more seasons and possibly surpass 875. (His successor is in place.)
Look, getting to 800 isn't easy. It's a combination of longevity and winning, which some coaches aren't going to match. Rick Pitino (age 57) is 247 away. Tom Izzo (54) isn't even halfway there. Same goes for John Calipari (50) and Bill Self (46). All those guys may fall short. Roy Williams wins 80 percent of his games, but at 59, he's still 205 away. Will he coach long enough to hit 800?
Only Bob Huggins (56, 163 away) seems like a sure thing, but he won't get there for another six years at best.
Even if you don't care about milestones, this was a biggie.
“Obviously, it’s a very big milestone for any coach to get,’’ Boeheim said in a story from the Syracuse Post-Standard. “The coaches and players that have been here have been consistently good for a long time. As I said out there, the fans have been a tremendous part of this. You have to have a good fan base to have a good basketball program. You have to. You have to have people coming. We’ve always had that.
“But it still goes back to the players that have played here over the years.’’
Those players have included guys like Pearl Washington, Derrick Coleman, Lawrence Moten, Carmelo Anthony and Jonny Flynn, who were all world-class talents or Orange stalwarts.
Monday, their coach outdid them all.
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