Syracuse Recruiting On The Decline?

Syracuse and Jim Boeheim have been connected for an incredibly long time.

The native of Lyons, New York, arrived in Syracuse in 1963 and other than a couple of years playing minor league pro ball, has been there ever since.

He started coaching as an assistant in 1969 and has been head coach since 1976.

For the most part, and certainly since the Big East was formed in 1979, he’s been one of the most iconic faces in college basketball and he’s had no trouble reeling in players.

Lately though it’s been harder.

Duke got in quite late and picked off Jordan Tucker as most readers here will know. However, former Big East rival St. John’s also clubbed Syracuse on the recruiting trail, beating the Orange out for Sid Wilson.

That could be more of a hit in a way. Boheim’s 2-3 zone needs long athletic players to make it work.

The big question though is just how big of a problem his recruiting misses are.

Boeheim is near the end of a long, accomplished career.

If Syracuse really starts to struggle, it’s going to be interesting to see how things go with the fans and the media.

On the other hand though, Boeheim has been an incredibly tenacious competitor. He’s been near the top of the Big East and now the ACC pretty consistently. Counting him out would be foolish.