Boeheim wins Naismith Men’s Coach of the Year
The awards keep coming for the Syracuse men’s basketball team.
Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim was announced today as the 2010 Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. Boeheim, who led the Orange to the Big East Regular Season championship, beat out Steve Alford (New Mexico), John Calipari (Kentucky) and Frank Martin (Kansas State) to win the award. Boeheim also won the Associated Press Coach of the Year.
‘This really is a tremendous honor,’ Boeheim said in a press release by the Atlanta Tipoff Club, a group of basketball journalists, coaches and administrators. ‘It is a reflection of the great team I was privileged to coach this year.’
After being picked to finish sixth in the Big East preseason poll, Boeheim led the Orange to a 15-3 in the league to outright win the title. For the first time in 20 years, the Orange was ranked No. 1 in the country.
Syracuse entered the Big East Tournament as the top seed, and also earned a No. 1 seed in West region of the NCAA Tournament. The Orange advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second straight year, but fell to eventual runner-up Butler, 63-59. Syracuse finished with a 30-5 record overall.
Boeheim won his 800th game this season in the Orange’s season-opening win over Albany, and is sixth all-time (second active) in Division I history with 829 wins. His teams have won 20 games for 32 consecutive seasons, the longest streak by any coach.
‘This season clearly illustrated why Jim is one of the top coaches in the profession,’ said Gary Stokan, Atlanta Tipoff Club president. ‘His ability to take good teams and make them great is what he does best, and we congratulate him for winning this prestigious award.’
Published on April 5, 2010 at 12:00 pm
