The 900-win club is about as exclusive as it gets in Division I men’s college basketball. Mike Krzyzewski (936 wins) and Bob Knight (902) are the only members — or at least that was the case until Monday night, when Syracuse defeated Detroit, 72-68, for Jim Boeheim’s 900th career win. The victory put him in some of the sport’s most rarified air.
Jim Boeheim earns 900th career win
Jim Boeheim became just the third coach in Division I history to win 900 games, adding to an already long and impressive legacy at Syracuse.
Boeheim’s 900th win comes 10 months after passing Dean Smith for the most wins at one school, a record he continues to build upon. Next up is No. 2 on the all-time wins list, a spot he should claim before long, but he is already the face of Syracuse basketball.
After playing for Syracuse and serving as an assistant coach, Boeheim was handed the keys to the program in 1976. Before long, he had turned the school into a national power. He won the Big East in just his fifth season, the first of nine regular season conference titles to go along with five Big East Tournament titles. Boeheim has led the Orange to the Final Four three times, and in 2003 he reached the mountain top, capturing the school’s first national title.
Boeheim hardly needed win No. 900 to make him a legend. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005, immortalizing him forever. His 29 NCAA tournament appearances are the most of all time and his 34 career 20-win seasons are the most of any coach.
Boeheim has put in his time at Syracuse, where his 27 seasons are the most of any Division I coach at his current school, but he is much more than just a legend in upstate New York. He’s a national champion, Hall of Famer and now, a member of college basketball coaching’s most exclusive club.
See More:
