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Change in conference won't alter Boeheim's plans; he'll be back at Syracuse

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim watches play against Michigan during the second half of the NCAA Final Four tournament college basketball semifinal game Saturday, April 6, 2013, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) (The Associated Press)

Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim speaks to players against Michigan during the first half of the NCAA Final Four tournament college basketball semifinal game Saturday, April 6, 2013, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) (The Associated Press)

Next season, Syracuse will go from banging with the bruisers at Georgetown and St. John's to running with the blue bloods on Tobacco Road. One thing that won't change for the Orange: Jim Boeheim will be directing things from the bench.

It took only minutes after Syracuse's loss to Michigan on Saturday night for the 68-year-old Boeheim to field the sort of question that becomes routine when a coach starts heading past retirement age. Will he be back?

Prickly as ever, Boeheim insisted he wasn't going anywhere. He told a reporter, "As far as I know, I'm 100 percent coaching next year."

Though he concedes all the conference realignment of the past few years has turned his stomach, he also insists Syracuse's move to the Atlantic Coast Conference won't send him into retirement.