There is no other way to say it. Jim Boeheim retiring is the official death of college basketball. A sport that has been on the decline for over a decade just saw its last institution walk out the door. Or maybe he was pushed out. Either way, it seems unlikely the game will reverse its slide into irrelevancy.
Ok, so that’s a bit harsh. March Madness means college basketball will always be around in one form or another. However, the preceding four months may as well be glorified scrimmages. The introduction of the one-and-done rule made it difficult for the average fan to care much in December and January. It was impossible to invest in the players. The transfer portal has only made this worse.
But we still had the head coaches: Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams, Jim Calhoun and the persnickety Jim Boeheim among others. Even if the players came and went like waves crashing on the beach, these legendary leaders gave you a reason to follow NCAA hoops.
They helped carry the sport into the 2010s. Entertaining press conferences, complaints against the NCAA and taking swipes at other coaches were must-watch events. They made you want to tune in and watch games. And while Bill Self and, somehow, Rick Pitino are still around, they can’t carry the torch alone.
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Why is this the official death of college basketball?
Jim Boeheim retiring is the official death of college basketball because there is nothing left connecting most people to the game. Syracuse, Duke, North Carolina and the like feel totally different with new coaches in charge.
Moreover, the current crop of head coaches doesn’t have the same charisma as their predecessors. Most feel interchangeable. That’s probably a good thing since the majority won’t last more than a few years in their current position.
Of course, we can’t pretend like Boeheim and other legendary figures stepping aside is the only issue with college hoops. Even when they were around, the sport’s decline over the past decade was noticeable.
They canceled college basketball video games in the 2010s. Huge events, such as the Maui Invitational, have become nothing more than blips on the calendar. Hell, the Diamond Head Classic went from the only non-NBA event broadcast during Christmas to ESPN+ fodder. Things weren’t great, but at least we had something to hold on to.
Boeheim’s retirement is the final nail in the coffin. March Madness will always be around but college basketball’s existence beyond that looks dead and buried.
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