Syracuse center Baye Moussa Keita holds up a 900-win sign as coach Jim Boeheim and family watch a video presentation after Monday's game against Detroit.
(Photo by Dennis Nett / The Post-Standard)
With 10 minutes left in Monday night’s game against Detroit and Syracuse leading 61-39, the public address announcer informed the crowd at the Carrier Dome to stick around after the game for a celebration of Jim Boeheim’s 900th career win.
Dome staffers began distributing likenesses of Boeheim’s face to commemorate the historical occasion.
But the Detroit Titans almost put history on hold.
The Titans closed to within three points three times in the final minute, but Syracuse held on for a 72-68 win in front of 17,902 fans, who made their way to the Dome to witness another milestone in Boeheim’s Hall of Fame career.
“I wasn’t thinking about losing until a little bit there at the end,’’ Boeheim said. “That wouldn’t have been a good thing to have happen. It very well could have.’’
Boeheim became just the third Division I coach to reach the 900-win plateau. He joined Mike Krzyzewski (936 wins and counting) and Bob Knight (902) in the exclusive 900-win club.
The active coach with the next-highest win total is West Virginia’s Bob Huggins, who is nearly 200 wins behind Boeheim with 714 career victories.
Boeheim smiled broadly as a video tribute played on the Dome’s massive video-boards. The montage included taped congratulations from Louisville coach and former SU assistant Rick Pitino, Bing, Krzyzewski, ESPN analyst and former Seton Hall coach Bill Raftery, SU graduates and ESPN announcers Mike Tirico and Sean McDonough and ESPN analyst Dick Vitale.
Baye Moussa Keita held up a sign with “900’’ on it. Michael Gbinije, the transfer from Duke, held one of the sticks with Boeheim’s image in front of his face.
“I’m proud to be here,’’ Boeheim said. “To win this game was more pressure than I’ve felt in a long time. Just to get this over with.’’
Boeheim remained consistent, insisting that the number 900 held little meaning for him.
“The reason I got 900 is because I stayed longer than I ever thought I would, but if I left with 800 am I going to say ‘Geez, I should have got 900?’’ he said. “If I get 900, I gotta get more? To me, it doesn’t make sense. Maybe that’s why it’s not that important to me. To me it’s just a number.’’
Boeheim said he never talked with the players about the impending milestone. But every player in the Orange locker room knew the significance of the night.
“It feels great and it’s my 100th win so it feels even better,’’ SU senior James Southerland, who led the Orange with 22 points, said. “The first game I played was Albany and that’s when he got his (800th) win.’’
Boeheim’s first win came on Nov. 26, 1976 in his first game as Syracuse’s head coach. Syracuse beat Harvard, 75-48, in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic in Springfield, Mass. Nearly 40 years later, Boeheim was back in Springfield for his induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Since then, he’s beaten every school from Akron to Wyoming. He’s beaten Seton Hall 45 times, Providence 44, St. John’s and Connecticut 40 each. He’s won games from Florida to Alaska and Hawaii to Massachusetts.
He’s coached Howard Triche and Brandon Triche. From 1981 to 1984, he coached Leo Rautins. From 2006 to 2010, he coached Leo’s son, Andy.
All of Boeheim’s wins have come at Syracuse. Only Jim Phelan, the legendary former coach at Mt. St. Mary’s, coached more games (1,354) while serving at just one school. Boeheim has coached 1,204 games at Syracuse with a career record of 900-304.
He arrived in 1962 from Lyons and never really left. As a player, assistant coach and head coach, Boeheim has been a part of 1,094 victories at Syracuse.
He credited his players and the fans for his success at Syracuse.
“We’ve had so many great players here,’’ Boeheim said. “I’ve had so much help. The fans have been really, really great for a long time. You win these games with support and with players. I’ve had tremendous players for a long time. That’s how you win these things.
“That’s why we’ve been able to be good,’’ he continued. “That’s why I always felt this was a great place to coach and why I never really thought about playing someplace else. We have that kind of support from the fans. That’s really the No. 1 thing that you have to have.’’