For Jim Boeheim and the Syracuse men’s basketball team, the start of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic goes a little beyond basketball. Sure, the Orange is eager to get the regular season started and to finally play a Division I opponent.

But the Classic means more. Boeheim suffered from prostate cancer in December of 2001. Since his recovery, Boeheim has devoted himself to several cancer-related charities, specifically Coaches vs. Cancer.

Tonight, Boeheim and the No. 6 Orange will help fight cancer on the court with their opening-round game against Northern Colorado. Bucknell and Princeton open the action in the Carrier Dome at 5:30 p.m. Syracuse and Northern Colorado follow. The winners of the two games meet Friday night following the conclusion of the consolation game.‘It’s such a good event,’ SU guard Gerry McNamara said. ‘We’re doing something for other people and playing the best competition.’

While Boeheim had cancer three years ago, he remains active in Coaches vs. Cancer, serving as president of the Coaches vs. Cancer board. Since 1996, the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic has raised $2.5 million to support cancer research, provide cancer-related information and get information out about healthy living.

This year, the tournament could raise even more money, as it’s expanded. The past two years, eight teams have gathered in Madison Square Garden for a two-day event, where each team plays one game.

This year, a tournament-style event returns. Four schools – Syracuse, Mississippi State, California and Memphis – are hosting first-round games. At each regional site, four teams play, and the winner of each region advances to New York City for the semifinals and finals.

‘It’s great to be able to play up to four games,’ Boeheim said. ‘Preseason tournaments are great. It’s unfortunate everyone can’t play in them.’

What Boeheim is referring to is an NCAA rule change. Teams are only allowed to play in two exempt tournaments every four years. In an exempt tournament, a team’s appearance only counts as one game, rather than the number of games a team actually plays.

So if the Orange plays four games in the Coaches vs. Cancer, only one game will be counted toward SU’s maximum game count. Each NCAA team is limited to 28 games per season. This season, the tournament is larger than ever, though it includes few high-profile teams because of the exempt tournament rule. But if the bracket works out, four top-flight teams could meet at Madison Square Garden next Thursday and Friday.

Mississippi State is No. 12 and Memphis is No. 24 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll. But to get to New York, the Orange will have to fare better than it did two years ago.

In the one-game format, SU lost to Memphis, 70-63. That year, the tournament fell through for the first time because organizers couldn’t find enough eligible teams to play in a preseason tournament.

Prior to that season, four teams got invitations to Madison Square Garden, and the winners of the two semifinals met the next day for the championship.

But this year, the road should prove more difficult. Northern Colorado is in its first year as a Division I school. If SU gets by the Bears, as expected, Syracuse will have to face either Bucknell or Princeton. Both teams are preseason favorites to win their respective conferences.

The Orange has lost its season opener the last two seasons and is eager to get this year started. Boeheim has been criticized in the past for scheduling light opponents early in the season, but this year could present the opportunity for SU to face top-level competition.

‘Being that the tournament stands for so much, I’m happy to be a part of it,’ SU forward Josh Pace said. ‘Knowing we’re going to come out and play good teams in a successful event is great.’

Published on November 10, 2004 at 12:00 pm