Syracuse’s head coach Jim Boeheim was not a happy man following his team’s 66-58 loss to UConn on Wednesday.
In the post-game interview, Boeheim took at a shot at ESPN journalist Andy Katz after he asked him about the UConn-Syracuse rivalry (which will no longer happen since Syracuse is going to the ACC).
It’s still unclear what exactly Boeheim was upset with Katz about, but he fired back at the ESPN writer, “I’ll answer anybody’s question but yours, because you’re an idiot and a disloyal person.”
The most likely possibility is that Boeheim is angry over a Katz article about senior forward James Southerland.
Here’s a clip of Katz’s article on Summary via Larry Brown Sports.
The onus to stay eligible is on the player first, the staff second and the advisor/department officials third. But Syracuse clearly is having problems managing eligibility for the second semester. This is now two seasons in a row where the rest of the players who are doing what they’re supposed to be doing are being hurt by one player’s inability to stay eligible. Fab Melo disrupted the season last year and clearly hurt Syracuse from reaching the Final Four. Now James Southerland is ineligible for the foreseeable future while a similar issue is being resolved. Southerland has let down his teammates and the staff. Sure, the Orange won without him Saturday over Villanova but there is still a long season and he needs to be on the floor in some form. He hasn’t shot the ball as well since going 9-for-13 for 35 points against Arkansas on Nov. 30, going 15-for-55 on 3-pointers since that game. But the threat of Southerland making 3s could be enough of a scouting nightmare for opposing teams. There are plenty of fingers to point because of this transgression. It starts with Southerland.
Get your popcorn ready, this one may just be starting.