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The "Jim Boeheim doesn't care what you think" narrative may have reached its apex today at NRG Stadium in Houston. The Syracuse Orange head basketball coach held his press conference in front of the large group of assembled press and... as usual, gave press whatever he felt like giving them.
Syracuse.com captured the key quotes, as always. You can view those on Twitter or below.
He starts pretty light:
Boeheim: It's exciting to be here and be part of the Final Four again. It's exciting for our players Tremendously proud of what they've done
— Syracuse Basketball (@syrbasketball) March 31, 2016
Boeheim: Our team is 7 guys and it's really all hands on deck. We've gotten here with all guys. They've produced that in this tournament.
— Syracuse Basketball (@syrbasketball) March 31, 2016
Someone asked about today's South Carolina news. Once Jim actually finds out about it, that's a whole new media cycle, don't you worry...
Talking about his contract, since it seems some were thrown for a loop after comments the other day:
Boeheim on contract: I disagree I've ever been (ambiguous with my contract). I've never had any ambiguity.
— Syracuse Basketball (@syrbasketball) March 31, 2016
Boeheim: I have no plans (to go longer than 2 years). I have no plans (to step down if we win). I think you should step down when you can't.
— Syracuse Basketball (@syrbasketball) March 31, 2016
Regarding the press:
Boeheim: Some years you put team in a press and you get your ass beat. Sometimes you put your team in a press and it works. It's execution.
— Syracuse Basketball (@syrbasketball) March 31, 2016
Dig no. 1:
Boeheim: Someone said to me we all have jobs but very few people have jobs that everyone thinks they can do better.
— Syracuse Basketball (@syrbasketball) March 31, 2016
On Atlantis, and... I thought Jim hated vacations?
Boeheim: We knew at the start of the year we were going to struggle. Then we went to Atlantis and played better than I thought we could play
— Syracuse Basketball (@syrbasketball) March 31, 2016
Boeheim: I got a vacation and we didn't play well. The first two games we didn't play well. It was a hard adjustment.
— Syracuse Basketball (@syrbasketball) March 31, 2016
Some notes on Michael Gbinije and Trevor Cooney:
Boeheim on Gbinije: He's done the work. He came in as a small forward who didn't shoot the ball or handle it very well.
— Syracuse Basketball (@syrbasketball) March 31, 2016
Boeheim on Cooney in Michigan: He did not have a good opportunity. I did not put him in a good situation.
— Syracuse Basketball (@syrbasketball) March 31, 2016
Boeheim: Trevor and Mike are graduates. If they felt something was right they could have gone somewhere else. They stayed with us.
— Syracuse Basketball (@syrbasketball) March 31, 2016
Oh, and he hears you, Trevor haters.
Boeheim: Trevor has gotten more criticism than anyone I've ever coached. You have great fans and then you have 1 percent that are idiots.
— Syracuse Basketball (@syrbasketball) March 31, 2016
On Roy Williams and why he'd obviously like to avoid seeing him win a third championship this year:
Boeheim to Roy Williams: I told him to win one. I didn't tell him to win two. I hope I didn't say anything that would make him win three.
— Syracuse Basketball (@syrbasketball) March 31, 2016
Boeheim: You guys would be happy if you won a Pulitzer right? You wouldn't have to win two. This probably is the wrong crew to say that to.
— Syracuse Basketball (@syrbasketball) March 31, 2016
#SickBurn. Seems he doesn't care about you lingering haters much anymore...
Boeheim: Honestly I don't think about (proving people wrong anymore). I probably did. I want these guys to keep winning and having fun.
— Syracuse Basketball (@syrbasketball) March 31, 2016
And of course, sanctions talk:
Boeheim: I think the punishment is real. Losing scholarships is never a good thing. We usually play seven but we have 12 or 13.
— Syracuse Basketball (@syrbasketball) March 31, 2016
Boeheim: Nine games is a severe punishment. Losing the games is the most irritating thing to me.
— Syracuse Basketball (@syrbasketball) March 31, 2016
Boeheim: There were similar situations where games weren't being taken away. That was the thing that bothered me as much as anything.
— Syracuse Basketball (@syrbasketball) March 31, 2016
Boeheim: I've coached 40 years. It's something I regret. I don't think we gained any competitive advantage. it weighed on us for years
— Syracuse Basketball (@syrbasketball) March 31, 2016
Boeheim: Breaking rules is what happened. Cheating to me is a different thing.
— Syracuse Basketball (@syrbasketball) March 31, 2016
^ expect the teeth gnashing to be INSANE on the comment above (it already is if you've been on Twitter).
***
Expect a lot more about the NCAA sanctions bit, especially the differentiation of cheating vs. breaking rules. That's rankling folks and adding fuel to the never-ending fire certain sections of the media is trying mightily to burn about that instead of analyzing Syracuse vs. North Carolina.
Plenty more to come out of this press conference alone. We'll have more on media reactions, etc. between this afternoon and tomorrow.