Well, I’m just glad Coach K is here to save us from ourselves.
‚ÄúHe said he doesn‚Äôt have any buildings named after him at Syracuse, so we named the zone after him,‚Äù said Mike Krzyzewski, the Team USA coach, who said Jim Boeheim proposed the zone to him before yesterday’s final huddle.
It should come as no surprise that a play named after The Per’fesser would end up saving international basketball for America. Here’s how respected sports journo and Syracuse alum Pete Thamel described the exhibition win for the New York Times:
“In Team USA‚Äôs playbook, its 2-3 zone is called ‘orange’ in honor of Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim, one of the team‚Äôs assistants.
Leading by a point with 16.9 seconds left, the United States showed its typical man-to-man before moving to a 2-3 zone, a defense Boeheim has practically trademarked during his career at Syracuse.
Spain froze momentarily, and Kevin Durant blocked two low-quality shots by Spain, a long jumper by Ricky Rubio and a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer by Rudy Fernandez, to seal the victory.”
Interesting then that Coach K will get all the credit for a gold medal at the championships and Boeheim will merely be his assistant. I seem to remember it was The Per’fesser that publicly ripped the hiring of Isiah Thomas by an NBA team not long ago, while King Rat simply sniveled and protected his business interests. (Boeheim was of course vindicated just days later when the league nullified the deal.)
I’m just glad Coach K is here to right our wrongs and name something of note after Boeheim. It’s not like the Carrier Dome’s floor bares his name. Oh, wait. Are we suggesting Jim doesn’t get enough credit at the ‘Cuse? When The Per’fesser finally retires they may just rename the damn university after him. Your kids might end up moving into Jim Boeheim Hall on Boeheim North Campus at Boeheim University in Boeheim, NY.
But at least Coach K named a f*cking zone defensive set-up after him. Now he’s been properly recognized.
