Spring Break
The Daily OrangeGelb: Boeheim teaches hack invaluable interviewing lessons
By Matt Gelb
Posted: 4/28/08, 10:30 PM EST Section: Sports
When Kenny Anderson committed to Georgia Tech instead of Syracuse in 1988, making him one of the first flashy New York City guards to turn down Jim Boeheim, legend has it one of his family members provided a simple reason why.
"That city's cold, and that man is, too."
Whether or not the comment was correctly attributed is still uncertain, but that's beside the point. Anderson played two years at Tech, went to a Final Four and played 858 games in the NBA for nine teams.
Boeheim's still here, in Syracuse. And it's still cold.
But the 63-year-old head coach isn't as cold as he was then. Thank Juli and 'Melo for that. In fact, he's the best professor I've had at Syracuse University in the three years I've attended.
Surprising? Hardly. Boeheim's showed me more about journalism than anyone in Newhouse.
He taught me three basic rules. Preparation: You can't sit there and wonder, "What the hell am I going to ask him now?" Not possible. If you stumble when coming up with something on-the-fly, you're doomed. And rightly so.
Simplicity: With Boeheim, you don't need to even ask a question. Just say a name, or second half or rebounding. No beating the bush. Both parties want this question-and-answer session over as soon as possible.
Common sense: How did Darryl Watkins get that rebound? Well, he just grabbed it. Is there any more to it than that? Probably not, so why in the world would you ask him? Exactly.
The man knows infinitely more about basketball than anyone who poses a question. That's the nature of this business, of course, but it's hard for Boeheim to come to grips with that. Understandable, though. The man loves to coach, to think, to study basketball. There's no room for wasting time.
For the two years I covered the men's basketball team, I have studied Boeheim. Someone once lectured me on the importance of body language in a leader. He said he regularly watched Syracuse football coach Greg Robinson's press conferences three times - once without sound, once with his eyes closed and only sound and finally with everything together. Robinson, he said, had very few redeeming characteristics as a leader.
"That city's cold, and that man is, too."
Whether or not the comment was correctly attributed is still uncertain, but that's beside the point. Anderson played two years at Tech, went to a Final Four and played 858 games in the NBA for nine teams.
Boeheim's still here, in Syracuse. And it's still cold.
But the 63-year-old head coach isn't as cold as he was then. Thank Juli and 'Melo for that. In fact, he's the best professor I've had at Syracuse University in the three years I've attended.
Surprising? Hardly. Boeheim's showed me more about journalism than anyone in Newhouse.
He taught me three basic rules. Preparation: You can't sit there and wonder, "What the hell am I going to ask him now?" Not possible. If you stumble when coming up with something on-the-fly, you're doomed. And rightly so.
Simplicity: With Boeheim, you don't need to even ask a question. Just say a name, or second half or rebounding. No beating the bush. Both parties want this question-and-answer session over as soon as possible.
Common sense: How did Darryl Watkins get that rebound? Well, he just grabbed it. Is there any more to it than that? Probably not, so why in the world would you ask him? Exactly.
The man knows infinitely more about basketball than anyone who poses a question. That's the nature of this business, of course, but it's hard for Boeheim to come to grips with that. Understandable, though. The man loves to coach, to think, to study basketball. There's no room for wasting time.
For the two years I covered the men's basketball team, I have studied Boeheim. Someone once lectured me on the importance of body language in a leader. He said he regularly watched Syracuse football coach Greg Robinson's press conferences three times - once without sound, once with his eyes closed and only sound and finally with everything together. Robinson, he said, had very few redeeming characteristics as a leader.
Be the first to comment on this story