Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said he will coach three more years before retiring — and he “fervently hopes” assistant coach Mike Hopkins will take over for him once he’s gone.
“Chancellor Syverud will hire the next coach. It’s his decision,” Boeheim said at a press conference Thursday. “I believe Mike Hopkins will be a great coach, and I fervently hope that he is the coach here.”
Hopkins, Boeheim’s longtime assistant, was designated as the heir apparent to the head coach in 2007. If Boeheim, 70, leaves after the 2017-18 season, Hopkins will have waited 11 years to take the job since he was designated the heir.
Still, Boeheim said, the decision is up to the school’s chancellor.
“Mike will have talks with the Chancellor, as I will. But this is the Chancellor’s decision,” Boeheim said.
