To little surprise, Jim Boeheim loves an Italian restaurant in Cleveland

Jim Boeheim is most known for his time as the Syracuse Orange men’s basketball coach, obviously. But as we all know by now, he’s also a connoisseur of Italian food, whether the situation calls for it or not. It’s why he’s anti-Greensboro (vs. NYC). And he even made his food intentions clear in Brazil a few years ago by foregoing the traditional steak house for an Italian meal.

On Tuesday, Syracuse.com shared a story about Boeheim’s trip to Cleveland for the NBA Finals (we’d previously guessed his opinions of the game), and of course he brought his guests to... an Italian spot in the city. His favorite, Etna’s Ristorante, probably had all the chicken parm he could ever want.

Plenty more fun takeaways in the story, obviously, but that one is quintessential (along with the comment that Golden State would’ve won by 50 if they’d shot better).

The rest of your Syracuse-related links below:

Courtside seats, private jet: the $40K NBA Finals trip with ‘funny guy’ Jim Boeheim (Syracuse.com)

“It was non-stop people coming up to him to take pictures with him,” said Syracuse restaurateur Lou Santaro, who sat right behind him. “He accommodated every person, young and old. I would say at least 25 pictures he took with people. He didn’t even hesitate.”

2018-19 college basketball top 25: Kansas tops our updated look at next season’s top teams (SB Nation)

22. Syracuse Orange: There were no Miles Bridges/Kris Dunn-level surprise announcements at the draft deadline this year. The closest we got was Tyus Battle, who delayed his professional career by at least a year to return to Syracuse. Thanks in large part to that announcement, Jim Boeheim returns 94 percent of his offensive production from last season.

Notre Dame Football Opponent Summer Q&A: Syracuse Orange (One Foot Down)

1. What’s your overall impression of how Syracuse’s 2017 season went? Uneven, really. Syracuse lost to Middle Tennessee, but also beat Clemson. The offense is entirely dependent on QB Eric Dungey, and when he’s injured, there’s little going on. Same seemed true of Jordan Martin, who was part of the Orange’s defensive resurgence early until he was injured around the mid-way point.

Could a Syracuse and Jordan Brand Partnership Be In Store? (Orange Fizz)

Along with the expansion, SU has major ties to Jordan. Yes, Christmas is engaged to the daughter of the man himself, but Jasmine is also an SU alum. She majored in sports management at the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, which is named after her dad’s agent David Falk. Falk is a 1972 grad of SU and currently serves on the university’s board of trustees.

Hoop rosters set: Big Four still chasing Virginia? (WRALSportsFan)

They, like Battle, rank among the ACC’s most productive players, statistically. Syracuse also welcomes back Pascal Chukwu and Marek Dolezaj. Had Orange 5 star recruit Darius Bazley not made the curious decision to play in the G League rather than man the back line of Jim Boeheim’s zone, the Cuse might have been headed toward a Final Four kind of season in 2019. The Cuse could easily make the ACC’s final four, however, even without Bazley.

ACC Top 100 (Southern Pigskin)

Miami Hurricanes Games We Love: Syracuse 1992 (State of the U)

Trio of Cardinals land in top 30 of NFL Network’s Top 100 list (ArizonaSports)

Greg Paulus, formerly of CBA, Duke and Syracuse, lands assistant coaching job for 2018-19 (report) (Syracuse.com)

Jim Boeheim on his expectations for Boeheim’s Army in this year’s TBT (Twitter)