Syracuse men’s basketball head coach Jim Boeheim sees it as a nice way to spend his summer vacation.

Boeheim was named an assistant coach to the USA Basketball senior national team for the next three years, including the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. His duties will not interfere with coaching Syracuse or recruiting.

He joked it was a good way to relax from his Syracuse coaching duties, which demand time almost year-round.

‘It’s a huge challenge, one that we’re all excited about. We play the best basketball in the world, but we haven’t proven it in a while,’ Boeheim said. ‘This will be a tremendous challenge. The rest of the world has obviously caught up to us in a lot of ways.’

Boeheim stressed the need to find a team who will play well together instead of a group of superstars. In the past, the United States was so far ahead of the rest of the world, the Dream Team concept worked, Boeheim said. Now the United States again has to prove it is the best in the world.

The SU head coach will work under Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, who was named the head coach of the U.S. squad earlier this year. Boeheim said he has little or no input on who makes the team. Phoenix Suns’ Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jerry Colangelo runs USA Basketball and will make the selections.

Boeheim has served on seven different USA Basketball coaching staffs before, the most recent in 2001 when he led the USA Basketball young men’s team to a first place finish at the World Championships in Japan.

‘I think we’ll find players who really want to play. … Now we need to show people we can win and I think now pride comes into play,’ Boeheim said. ‘I know the coaching staff’s pride is at stake.’

Devo’s turn

Syracuse freshman Eric Devendorf, for now part of the Orange’s starting lineup, isn’t taking any chances.

Two days before his second scheduled career start, Devendorf was at Monday’s practice an hour before most of his teammates took the floor, working with assistant coach Mike Hopkins in fast-paced offensive drills.

The Syracuse coaching staff said all fall Devendorf still has a lot of work to do, and it seems the guard took his coaches’ evaluation seriously. Devendorf worked hard in the preseason and gradually saw more and more minutes in the Orange’s first five games before finally taking the starting spot occupied by junior Louie McCroskey.

‘I’m doing the things I did before,’ Devendorf said. ‘I’m always working hard. I’m not going to change what I do.’

Although finding himself in the starting lineup early in his college career, Devendorf remains grounded. He knows if he tries to do too much, Boeheim won’t hesitate to pull him out of a game.

‘I’m definitely ready for this role,’ Devendorf said. ‘Just go in there, contribute and help my teammates out. That’s all I can do. I’m ready to do that.’

Poll vault

Syracuse is still feeling the aftershocks of its home loss to Bucknell last Tuesday, even a week later. For the first time since March 2004, the Orange fell out of the Associated Press Top 25.

SU received 175 votes in this week’s poll, the most votes received by an unranked team.

The Orange wasn’t too concerned with the ranking, with most players saying it’s too early in the season to be worried about polls.

‘We were out of the Top 25 when I was a freshman (the year SU won the national championship),’ Syracuse senior Gerry McNamara said. ‘I’m not worried about where we are in the rankings. I’m worried about where we are as a team.’

Published on November 28, 2005 at 12:00 pm