Former Syracuse basketball players Buddy Boeheim and Jimmy Boeheim were given NBA opportunities with the Detroit Pistons. Buddy on a two-way contract and Jimmy with a spot on the summer league roster. With connections to the Orange program, former assistants Rob Murphy (Assistant General Manager) and Troy Weaver (General Manager) are in the front office, there was a notion that the Boeheim brothers' opportunity with the Pistons was a favor to their father and legendary Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim.
On Tuesday during The Manchild Show with Boy Green (airs weekdays on The Score 1260 locally from 10am-noon), former Syracuse.com sportswriter Bud Poliquin joined the program and discussed this very situation.
"These are two of the nicest, finest young men that have come through the Syracuse University basketball program," Poliquin said. "Which in my estimation, coupled with their talent, makes them extraordinary. So kudos to Jim and Juli Boeheim for raising such fine young men as Buddy and Jimmy Boeheim. But do they belong in an NBA camp, citizenship aside? That stretches the limits of imagination. So one has to imagine that this is all wink wink, nod nod, doing a favor for the Boeheims. I could be wrong, I hope I'm wrong, I don't suspect that I'm wrong."
Jim Boeheim heard those comments and called in to set the record straight.
"Buddy had four offers for two-way contracts for the NBA," Boeheim said. "It wasn't the Detroit Pistons doing us a favor. He had four offers. Jimmy had four offers for Summer League. So it was not the Detroit Pistons doing us a favor. It's a blatant, absolute falsehood. Whether they can make it or not, nobody knows. I certainly don't know. Buddy set the record for three point shooting in two workouts. For two different teams. For made threes. So I would say if he has a skill, it's shooting. If you can't see that, you know absolutely nothing about basketball."
Coach Boeheim did admit that the familiarity between his sons and his former assistants may have played some part in their decisions to pick the Pistons over other similar opportunities. There were, however, other factors as well.
"I would say that and the fact that Buddy felt, and I'm not saying this is right or wrong, he felt they needed shooters," Boeheim said. "They do have athletes, but he felt there was a need there for a shooter and that could be true. That's his judgement and he has to make that call. He felt he had one of his best workouts in Detroit. Jimmy felt his best workout was in Detroit. In fact John Beilein called me after the workout and said Jimmy was surprising, he had a really good workout. That was their choice.
"Buddy had a couple bad workouts. He actually had a bad workout in Oklahoma City but they liked him and offered him a two-way. He said that was probably his worst workout, but they had liked him before. He had a really good workout with Charlotte, the Hornets, and they offered him. Two-ways are hard to get. These are coveted. You can make some money, three, four hundred thousand with a two-way, you know. It's possible, you can make more than that. But it's a chance."
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