Buddy Boeheim Commits to Syracuse

One of the worst kept secrets in college basketball recruiting was that Buddy Boeheim was going to end up playing for his father at Syracuse. On Friday, Buddy made that official, announcing his commitment to the Orange. 

"Growing up, going to the games, going to the Dome year in and year out, watching your dad on the sideline," Boeheim said. "Having the chance to play for him would mean everything to me. Especially with a coaching staff like that. They're like family to me. All of that makes this the main reason why I want to play there."

Despite the assumption that Buddy would end up in Orange, it did not deter some other program from extending offers. Most notably Gonzaga. All of that attention led to further belief that Boeheim could play at the high major level. 

"My mind was always made up, really, once the coaches believed I could play at Syracuse and I proved that I could," Boeheim said. "However, it just meant a lot to get all that recognition. All the schools taking a chance even though they knew, most likely, I would end up at Syracuse. It showed me that I'm ready to play at Syracuse."

Buddy Boeheim is not a typical Syracuse recruiting target/commit. He is the son of legendary Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim. That provides an interesting dynamic once Buddy joins the program. 

"I definitely want him to yell at me as much as he yells at any other player," Buddy said. "If he's doing it, I know it's that I need it and he's doing it out of love to make me the best player I can be. I understand that coming from him and I'll support it. At the end of the day, he'll still be my dad and I won't treat him any different than I do now (off the court)."

One of the things that makes Jim as good of a coach as he is, is that competitive fire. A desire to win that drives and motivates. Buddy says he possesses that same desire and will bring it to Syracuse.

"I probably won't show it as much," Boeheim said. "I won't be as loud and stuff. I'll be more quiet about it. But at the end of the day, that's all I want. To win. I don't care what happens. If we win and win as much as possible, that's all that matters to me."

That winning mentality is what Buddy says he will bring to the Orange when he joins the program. 

"Just expect me to play hard and play as hard as I can," Boeheim said. "Game in and game out. Obviously my shooting ability is what's best about my game. So expect me to knock down shots. Just try to get the program back to a National Championship and maybe a couple other Final Four runs.

"Expect a lot of winning while I'm there."

Buddy Boeheim is Syracuse's second commitment in the 2018 class, joining 5-star Darius Bazley. Four-star guard Jalen Carey officially visits the Orange this coming weekend.