Despite leading the Syracuse Orange to a 30-1 record without the benefit of an All-American caliber player and with the Bernie Fine Scandal looming over the entire season, Jim Boeheim did not win 2012 Big East Coach of the Year.
And you know, fair enough.
To me, Coach of the Year always comes down to either who did the most with the least or who surpassed expectations so far that it's amazing.
For all the talk about the talent Syracuse lacks, let's be real. This isn't a ragtag group of walk-ons in a Disney movie learning how to play as a team as the season wore on. This is a collection of accomplished four-and-five star athletes playing basketball for one of the premiere programs in the nation. And, even if no one predicted they'd finish 30-1, they were a top five team from before the season ever started. Syracuse was expected to finish in the realm of where they finished.
Yes, everything off the court could have easily derailed the season and Boeheim was a master at keeping what's off the court off the court and what's on the court on the court (does that sentence make sense?). And the system installed by Jimmy B and his staff is a big part of the reason the Orange are where they are.
But if you're asking me what's more impressive...that Syracuse is the No. 2 team in the nation or that South Florida is19-12, 12-6 in the Big East, has a first-round bye in the BET and is 1 win away from clinching an NCAA Tournament berth, I'm going with the latter. That's kinda ridiculous. It's South Florida, you guys!
As Jared Smith noted, Boeheim becomes the first coach in Big East Conference history to lose just one game in the regular season and not win the award. So, there's that as well. But you know what, Boeheim earned tons of accolades this year and he's got a few Big Easy COY Awards in the closet already. I'm pretty sure he's fine.
Boeheim winning COY would have been the equivalent of Derek Jeter winning MVP just because he's on the Yankees even though there were guys out there truly more valuable to their team. And I hate when that happens. Especially for the Yankees.
Oh, Marquette's Jae Crowder was named Player of the Year, St. John’s Moe Harkless was named Rookie of the Year and Tim Abromaitis was named Scholar Athlete. Kudos.