NCAA tournament run bodes well for Syracuse, and Jim Boeheim, going forward

HOUSTON — A year ago, maybe even a week before this NCAA tournament, it would have been easy to peg Jim Boeheim as the cliched septuagenarian coach staggering toward an ugly ending, the program he built losing relevance little by little until there is no choice but to pry it from his hands.

It’s an ugly and all-too-familiar cycle in college coaching, where there is rarely a soft landing for legends.

But as Syracuse left NRG Stadium following an 83-66 loss to North Carolina in the national semifinals, it did not feel like a last call at the Final Four for Boeheim, 71, who is scheduled to retire in 2018 but has been vague this week about his plans.

Coming off one of his best coaching jobs in years, it seems likely Syracuse will start next season somewhere around the top 10 of the polls. And in the Orange’s locker room here, there already was talk about putting the program in position for more deep March runs.

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“I’m kind of optimistic about Syracuse next year and a couple seasons going forward,” senior guard Michael Gbinije said. “If everybody stays, they’re going to be even more talented next year, and they’ll probably have a full season of Boeheim.”

Though Syracuse will lose Gbinije and underappreciated point guard Trevor Cooney, this unexpected Final Four run was a showcase for the talent Syracuse is likely bringing back.

Freshman wing Malachi Richardson, who scored 17 points against the Tar Heels, showed star potential throughout the tournament and sparked Syracuse’s comeback in the Elite Eight against Virginia. Freshman forward Tyler Lydon needs to get stronger, but he is 6-9 with a smooth outside stroke and came on strong at the end of the year. And while his offensive skills are limited, Tyler Roberson is an impressive rebounder and springy defender who will come back as a senior.

With some other young players whose roles should increase and incoming freshman guard Tyus Battle, who is considered an instant-impact five-star prospect, Syracuse is going to be stacked again. And while an NBA defection always is a possibility — both Lydon and Richardson are considered draft prospects for 2017 but could theoretically jump in this year after raising their stock in the tournament — the roster should look much more like an ACC title contender than what Syracuse had this season.

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“I think we’ve got a lot of right pieces coming back next year,” Lydon said. “We’re going to take our time with this one. It stings for a little bit, but we can use it as motivation. We’ve got the right pieces, and we can definitely get back in a position like this.”

Boeheim has been to five Final Fours at Syracuse, this one the most unlikely of them all. Syracuse self-imposed a postseason ban last year in the middle of an otherwise mediocre season, didn’t receive a single preseason top-25 vote this year (including from Boeheim, who is a voter in the USA TODAY coaches poll) and was on the bubble on Selection Sunday after finishing tied for ninth in the ACC.

Had Syracuse missed the tournament for a second consecutive year, it would have been easy to form the narrative that Boeheim — whose program was slapped with even more NCAA sanctions last March — was ingloriously winding down like many of his contemporaries.

Lute Olson, Gary Williams, even Jim Calhoun left the game under less than ideal circumstances and not of their own accord. Even the announcement last March that Boeheim would retire in 2018 felt more like a compromise following the end of the NCAA’s eight-year investigation into Syracuse than something he wanted to do.

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But the way Boeheim has come roaring back the last three weeks and into 2017, there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight — to his career or Syracuse winning at the highest level.

Friday, he talked about doing pilates twice a week and his teenagers keeping him young, hinting that there is no physical reason for him to retire. Even after the game, Boeheim bristled at a question about his future, telling reporters they should also ask North Carolina’s Roy Williams if he plays on stepping away.

“I'm happier now at the end of this year than anytime I've ever coached,” Boeheim said. “I'm really not that tired. I had 30 days off.”

And soon he will go into next year with great expectations and a legitimate shot of making another Final Four. Winding down? As long as Syracuse is recruiting high-level players and that zone defense is working the way it did in the tournament, Boeheim looks like he could go on awhile longer.

“He definitely kept it positive. With this team and what we overcame, you cant be nothing but proud,” freshman Frank Howard said. “Next year, it will definitely be on.”