Sports

Boeheim’s 2-3 zone claims another victim

WASHINGTON — For 37 years, long before there was a shot clock in college basketball or a Big East Conference or a Carrier Dome, Jim Boeheim has been a constant on the Syracuse bench, a griping, grimacing, passionate presence.

He came to Syracuse as a walk-on player, tried his hand in some semi- pro basketball that really should be referred to as quarter pro — the Scranton Miners — and then settled in as a graduate assistant and later an assistant coach to Roy Danforth.

Want to know how highly thought of Syracuse basketball was in 1976? Danforth left Syracuse for the Tulane job. Not an ACC job or a Big Ten job. The Tulane job.

When the conference soon to be formerly known as the Big East invited Tulane, the Catholic 7 had enough and withdrew.

Want to know how highly thought of Syracuse basketball was in 1976? The university’s national search for a new coach turned up no one. No one. So they gave the job to Boeheim by default.

Sometimes the best decisions are the ones made for you. Because after Boeheim and the No. 4-seed Syracuse 61-50 upset No.1-seed Indiana last night in a East Region Sweet 16 game in the Verizon Center, the Orange were headed to their 6th Elite Eight.

“You know, what’s so dangerous about the tournament is that the best team doesn’t always win,’’ former Georgetown coach John Thompson Jr. said. “The key is to have your team playing its best at the right time. And he’s been able to do that.’’

And sometimes you make the right decisions. About 10 years ago James Arthur Boeheim made a decision to use the 2-3 zone exclusively. Actually he made a commitment to it, a commitment that has outlasted a lot of marriages.

The Hoosiers had almost a full week to prepare for the 2-3, but when they saw it live, it was like they saw dead people. Indiana entered the game third in the nation in 3-point shooting, hitting almost 41-percent, and third in scoring, averaging 79 points.

At halftime Indiana had just 22 points, had missed 6-of-7 3’s and was trailing 34-22. They got to within 38-32 about five and one-half minutes in, but the Orange, with an athletic advantage at almost every position, pushed the lead back to double digits.

“From a basketball standpoint, he really believes in what he does,’’ said former Maryland coach Gary Williams, a long-time Boeheim pal. “How many coaches would have the 2-3 as their signature. But his belief in it and his ability to teach it, it’s as good as anybody’s defense, whether you play man to man or zone.’’

Boeheim almost strayed once. In November 2009 he broke out a man-to-man defense against Division II LeMoyne in an exhibition game. LeMoyne won 82-79.

“Everyone keeps complaining about the zone so we tried man,’’ Boeheim said at the time. “Everyone is smarter than the coach. We’re done trying man.’’

The first sign that Indiana had no idea what it was looking at came with 5:24 left in the first half. Syracuse was leading 24-11 when Indiana inbounded. Will Sheehey, as smart a player as you will find in college basketball, took the inbounds pass and picked up his dribble at a spot that is safe against most zones.

But Boeheim’s 2-3 has changed over the years. It has morphed into an amoeba, oozing out to defend the 3-point shot, sliding and trapping. And Boeheim recruits long, lengthy players that turn the baseline into an Orange demilitarized zone.

Cody Zeller, Indiana’s 7-foot center who was supposed to bust up the inside of the 2-3, had five shots blocked and finished 3-for-11. The Hoosiers finished 30 points below their season average and shot just 20-percent on 3’s (3-of-15).

“We must face facts,” said Indiana coach Tom Crean. “We haven’t seen a zone like that.”

The 2-3 is Boeheim’s signature. John Hancock couldn’t be prouder.