Picture Jim Boeheim's Final Play in the Final Four, Needing Three Points to Tie
Hall of Famer.
News Jim Boeheim Breaks Walk-On's Neck for Final Four Inspiration
"The guys are shocked right now," said the veteran coach. "Which is great, because in 24 hours or so they will move past that and be ready to play harder than ever in honor of Jeff."
Boeheim blew his whistle to stop practice this morning, gathered his team around him and then asked Tolleson to stand in front of him. The coach then grabbed the walk-on's head and quickly and sharply turned it, dropping the 6-2 guard to the floor.
"Rick Pitino has a huge advantage in the Final Four with his one kid breaking his leg," said Boeheim. "One of my jobs as a coach is to not cede motivational ground to a potential opponent. So I came up with this. In an hour or so of poking around on the Internet, I came across a way to snap someone's neck – but do it in a way that paralyzes them, not kills them. I thought killing a walk-on might be too traumatic for my good players to overcome."
Video Jim Boeheim Gets Phone Call During Interview
That is the ring tone of a man old enough to win 900 games.
News Boeheim, Calipari Angrily Dispute NCAA Ad Claim That Some of Their Players Get Jobs Outside of Sports
"That is an outright lie, at least when it comes to my program," said Calipari at press conference. "I don't want the heads of my potential recruits being filled with lies. I fully intend on making them professional basketball players. In fact, if they do go pro in something other than sports, I feel like I've been a failure. That is my promise to them. And you can quote me on that. In fact, please do."
Boeheim echoed Calipari's comments in a separate press conference.
"To be honest, there's nothing I like about that ad," said the longtime Syracuse coach. "Why are we telling kids to pursue something other than their dreams? Do you think I have any players on this team who want to be chemists? No. At least I better not. I want them focusing on basketball, not … whatever the hell they do in chemistry. Chemicals or something. I don't know."
