Ex-Syracuse basketball player Eric Devendorf gives thoughts on Jim Boeheim's future

Jim Boeheim is synonymous with Syracuse but there are calls for him to step down at some point in the near future. Whether those are Syracuse fans or basketball fans in general, Boeheim has yet to hint at when he’d step down as the Orange head coach.

Former Syracuse player Eric Devendorf gave this thoughts on his former coach’s future. He said Boeheim had the right to step down when he felt it was right.

He expanded upon those thoughts on Sirius XM’s College Sports Radio.

“Fans love Coach Boeheim,” Devendorf said. “But yeah, I guess they’ve been calling for him to retire for the past few years. You know, I think a lot of people’s mind is, (he is) 79 years old. And I think you know, once you get past (the age of) 75, it’s time to sit down, you know, because you want to see another guy get an opportunity and another guy get a chance to lead.

“But at the same time, I mean, the guy has been there for 50-plus years. He’s been incredible. He’s a Hall of Famer. (Coach Boeheim) has the most wins in NCAA history, and that’s what I’m gonna say despite the 101 wins that they took away.”

Evaluating Jim Boeheim future at Syracuse

As far fan as the fanbase, Devendorf claimed it’s pretty divided on Boeheim’s future.

“I think it’s been split. It’s been kind of 50-50,” Devendorf said. “You know, people calling on radio show(s) and call for him to retire and then other people are saying that you know, it’s, it’s up to him. I believe it is. Obviously you got to sit down and have a talk with the chancellor and the AD but at the end of the day, I believe he’s earned the right to step out when he wants, whenever that is. I guess no one really knows right now.”

Boeheim recently clarified comments regarding his future as the Orange are in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament.

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“And I don’t know why I ruffled feathers on the higher-up echelon just because I said I want to coach, you know? Maybe they want me to say, ‘Like, well, no. I’m not sure that I want to coach.’ I don’t know, but the NIL stuff was wrong,” Boeheim said. “I just should have said that’s a big part of basketball. People have helped themselves with NIL and portal. I should have left it right there. Been perfect. But, I’m not always perfect. Far from it.”