SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Inside the Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday night, Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim stood at a lectern in front of hundreds of men and women dressed in their finest clothes.

Boeheim stood there for longer than his allotted five minutes, thanking his family, his players, fellow inductee and Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun – everyone but himself.

SU’s coach is rarely long-winded, but standing at the lectern forced Boeheim to look back on his 29 years as a head coach at Syracuse. Boeheim said the magnitude of the honor he received Friday crept into his head every now and then since he learned of his election into the Hall of Fame in April and it hit him full-force when he arrived in Springfield.

Along with Calhoun, basketball analyst and former head coach Hubie Brown, the late Louisiana State head coach Sue Gunter and Brazilian women’s basketball star Hortencia de Fatima Marcari, Boeheim officially became a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend.

‘It’s a long period of time waiting for this,’ Boeheim said. ‘I don’t think it really hit me until (Thursday) coming into Springfield. Now it’s really started to hit home what a tremendous honor it really is. It’s really beyond anything you could ever hope to get to. It’s really overwhelming.’

Although he was contemplative, Boeheim still went about the weekend like it was business as usual. He talked to the media and gave a speech at a Springfield High School before the induction ceremony. He spoke with enthusiasm about leaving Springfield on Saturday and beginning rcruiting immediately on Sunday.

He was appreciative and reflective about the honor bestowed on him, but spoke with more fire about signing top recruits and the upcoming basketball season. Boeheim reiterated how hard it was to grasp the reality of being inducted into the Hall of Fame, but quickly added how the past didn’t mean anything to his Big East rivals.

Boeheim hoped his induction into the Hall would spare him from any future criticism. Now that he’s recognized as one of basketball’s greatest coaches, Boeheim just wants to go about his business.

‘People have been saying nothing but great things,’ Boeheim said. ‘There’s nothing bad that can happen to you once you get to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Going to the road to recruit as soon as I get home. We’re going to go out and get the top guys committed for next year.’

Boeheim, 61, never left Central New York on his way to the Hall of Fame. He attended school in Lyons, about 40 miles west of Syracuse, before coming to SU as a freshman in 1962.

He roomed with Dave Bing, a Hall of Famer and Boeheim’s close friend. Bing described Boeheim as someone who compensated for his lack of athletic ability with incredible basketball knowledge.

The true journey began 29 years ago when SU hired Boeheim as Roy Danforth’s successor. Since then, Boeheim has won 20 or more games 27 times and led the Orange to the NCAA Tournament 24 times, including three Final Fours and a national championship in 2003.

But Friday’s induction may be the highlight of Boeheim’s career. Fellow Big East coach Calhoun has won two national championships at UConn, but still counts his induction as the top honor in his career.

‘There is no pinnacle higher than this,’ Calhoun said. ‘This is something that really made me, for once in my life, sit down and look at the past.’

Boeheim’s accomplishments made him and Calhoun the headliners in the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2005. Most of the crowd at Saturday’s induction celebration was decked out in either Syracuse orange or UConn blue.

‘I’m happy to be going in with this class with two outstanding coaches. … I’m honored to be with these people,’ Brown said. ‘They’ve made incredible contributions to the game of basketball.’

Boeheim made it seem like he’d rather the attention go elsewhere. He graciously accepted the praise, but it became obvious he just wanted to stop the talk and get back on the court.

‘It’s really kind of the final statement,’ Boeheim said. ‘Although there are hopefully a lot more games to play. Once you’re in the Hall of Fame, there really isn’t a lot to talk about it after that. You just don’t have to answer as many questions about coaching or anything. I just put my jacket on and point to (it).’

Published on September 11, 2005 at 12:00 pm