OK, not really. But Andy Katz has a great article up about Boeheim and his experiences with the disease, both as a survivor of prostate cancer and a tireless advocate and fundraiser for cancer awareness (like screenings for early detection and such) and research. Also how he has been a source of support to Jim Calhoun, who recently had a second bout with skin cancer. The article talks about how JB got back to work as quickly as possible, and how that actually helped his recovery. One of my friends recently went through prostate cancer surgery (he’s only in his mid-40s, guys — it’s never too early to get tested) and thankfully he’s making a full recovery. He’s said the same thing. He was back at work within a month of having the surgery, after spending a few days in the hospital and then heading home for “several blissful days of Hunter Thompson-esque personal exploration” under the influence of “the high-quality painkillers that only robot doctors can prescribe”. (His exact words.)

Anyway, back to the article. Among its praise of JB and its descriptions of his odyssey, it includes this nugget:

[Boeheim is] 64 years old and says, “I don’t feel any slower, or a step slower, none of that.”

Which suggests Jimmy’s going to be around for a good long while yet. Halleluia. (We already figured out for ourselves that he hasn’t “lost a step” but it’s good to know he agrees with us.)

He’s still neck-and-neck Calhoun for position on the all-time wins list. Currently JB is at 779 while Calhoun has 782. Mike Krzyzyzyzyzwski has 810 to lead active coaches; the Jims are #2 and #3 on the list. (Lute Olson has 780 but he retired before this season.) The record is Bob Knight wih 906 — hopefully he does the world a favor and stays retired. (Though I wouldn’t mind if he were to retire from ESPN as well.) Calhoun is 66 so he and JB will probably be neck-and-neck for a long time to come, and Krzzzzzzzzkkki is only 61 so unless he takes an NBA job someday he’s probably safe at the top. But Boeheim could retire as the 2nd or 3rd winningest coach in NCAA Division I history. (Nobody is exactly nipping at JB’s heels — the next winningest active coach is Bob Huggins with 622.) He’ll likely pass Knight by the end of the 2013-14 season. My thought is that, with JB only 64 years old and not feeling any “slower”, is there any reason why he can’t string together another 10 seasons and reach 1000 wins? I mean, he’s got an outside chance to reach 800 by the end of this season (if the team wins 29 this year). Ten more 20-win seasons on top of that would do it.

The whole Boeheim article is definitely worth a read — at the very least it’ll give you some more of that “hell yeah Boeheim is awesome” vibe. Coincidentally, Mike Waters mentioned last week in his “mailbag” feature that SU will once again be part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in NYC next fall. A number of Cuse Country writers and friends have attended this event whenever SU has been involved. The way we figure it, SU is on the side of the coaches while our opponents are on the side of cancer. And you wouldn’t want cancer to win, would you?