Syracuse, N.Y. — Syracuse men’s basketball coach Jim Boeheim used his radio show Thursday to discuss the Orange’s embarrassing loss to Pittsburgh, but he also talked about the legacies of two sports icons.
Boeheim addressed Syracuse football legend Floyd Little, who died Jan. 1 at the age of 78 after a battle with cancer, as well as former Georgetown coach John Thompson, who died in August.
Boeheim admired both men because they were exceptional in their respective sports, but they were even better human beings.
Boeheim talked for almost an hour on Thursday. Here’s what he said (in some instances the questions and answers were edited for brevity):
On Wednesday’s loss to Pitt and why the Orange couldn’t drive into the paint more:
“Their defense wouldn’t let us. They stayed back off Kadary (Richmond). They made him shoot. They stayed away from him so he couldn’t get in the lane. Buddy (Boeheim) and Joe (Girard) are not drivers. It’s usually Kadary, Quincy, Marek drives a little bit, Alan a little bit. But we weren’t able to get by. They’re a good defensive team. We have to make some shots. We haven’t been making shots.
“The one thing about layoffs is you can work out on your own and scrimmage on your own, but it’s not the same thing as scrimmaging. Scrimmaging is different. We’re getting shots we made for three years and we’re just not making enough of ‘em. That’s the bottom line.
“Buddy’s missed 34 days. Joe’s missed 24 days. Joe and Buddy were out 10 straight days last week, so they came back and had a couple days of practice. You’re not going to have a good rhythm. I think the thing that’s most affected by layoffs is your shooting, your rhythm. Your defense shouldn’t suffer a lot.”
On Quincy Guerrier’s performance vs. Pitt:
“He only played about 16 minutes. He had five defensive rebounds. It hurt us. The two foul calls on him were not fouls. The fourth one, the guy was holding him with both hands and on a drive in the first half, there was no contact. They were very physical, and we touched a couple guys and got fouls called. But we have to adjust to that.
“He had three or four offensive rebounds where he had position and didn’t get the ball. He just didn’t seem to have the jump in his legs that he usually does.”
On Floyd Little and what he meant to the Syracuse community:
“He was just a great human being. There’s nobody better than Floyd Little. From the first day you met the guy on campus, he was always smiling, always positive. I remember watching him play football his freshman year when they couldn’t play on varsity, he was unbelievable. The most elusive back I’ve ever seen in college. He just went through and around on punt returns, kickoff returns. You just couldn’t stop him. He was a phenomenal football player and better guy, just an unbelievable guy.
“He was back here at the university and everybody that was around him benefited in a huge way. All the young people, but the old adults, too. They all benefited from being around Floyd Little. He just (died) too fast and just shocking cancer. That’s what it does sometimes. There was really no better guy than Floyd Little. I met him when I was a sophomore in college, and it was a privilege to know Floyd Little. It really was.
“It didn’t matter. You could be the last guy on the football team. He’s gonna talk to you for as long as you wanna talk to him for. Any fan, it didn’t have to be a fan of influence. It didn’t matter to Floyd Little. With other people, obviously they’re more concerned about people who have money and could help the program. That’s just natural, but Floyd didn’t care. He wanted to talk to everybody and be friends with everybody. Just a rare individual.”
On John Thompson and what he meant to the basketball world, Georgetown rivalry:
“John was bigger than life and had a huge impact on so many people, not just the game of basketball. Laying the groundwork, it’s why our sport has so many Black head coaches, because of John Thompson. He just made that happen in the beginning and blazed an incredible trail.
“He did it his own way and a big way and he’s an unbelievably competitive guy, as we are, and it was a great rivalry, one of the greatest ever. There’s no question about it. North Carolina-Duke has been going on for 100 years and Indiana-Purdue has been going on for 100 years. Georgetown-Syracuse in the last 30, and for a 10-year period, it was as tough as any, as big as any, as exciting as any and maybe more physical than any. It was exciting to be a part of that.
“The fans that got to see that Syracuse-Georgetown game every year, they got something that you don’t get. I know a lot of season-ticket holders who live in Florida came back for the Georgetown game. It was a great game and a great rivalry because of John, really. There was no secret to it.”
On fans not being allowed to attend Saturday’s game against Georgetown:
“Everybody wanted to come to the Georgetown game, every year. That was always a gathering point for all of our guys and we miss all that. It’s almost surreal some nights when you think about everything that’s going on right now and how strange it all is. We’re lucky to be playing, but it’s so strange.”
MORE ORANGE BASKETBALL
How did Syracuse blow an 18-point lead to Pittsburgh? Anatomy of a meltdown
Georgetown Hoyas radio legend Rich Chvotkin joins the Inside Syracuse Basketball podcast
Will Syracuse be able to reschedule the games that it missed due to Covid-19? (Mike’s Mailbox)
Jerami Grant drops career-high 31 points in Pistons’ loss to Bucks
A Pitiful Day: Syracuse basketball loses to Pittsburgh 63-60 (Brent Axe recap)
Contact Mike Curtis anytime at mcurtis@syracuse.com or find him on Twitter at @MikeACurtis2.
The Link LonkJanuary 08, 2021 at 06:52PM
https://www.syracuse.com/orangebasketball/2021/01/syracuse-coach-jim-boeheim-talks-floyd-little-john-thompson-and-georgetown-rivalry.html
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim talks Floyd Little, John Thompson and Georgetown rivalry - syracuse.com
https://news.google.com/search?q=little&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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