Former Syracuse men's basketball coach and Naismith Memorial Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim made an important declaration on Thursday regarding the direction of the program.

Speaking to Syracuse.com, Boeheim said that he would not be involved in the search for the next head coach. Syracuse fired Adrian Autry the day after a 15-17 season concluded. The Orange haven't been to the NCAA Tournament in five years and have back-to-back losing seasons on their resume.

Boeheim said he had talked with Syracuse’s new athletic director Bryan Blair, who was hired last week and introduced to local fans and media on Thursday.

However, Boeheim said he would not be involved in the school’s search for a new coach or involved in the decision-making process.

There are certainly fans who are weary of hiring anyone with a prior connection to Syracuse or a prior connection to Boeheim. That's what Autry was, and it didn't work.

That's what Gerry McNamara or Mike Hopkins would be.

Some fans think that those hires would just be extensions of the Boeheim way of thinking or that they would keep Syracuse stuck in the past.

And while I don't necessarily have that worry, especially with McNamara, it's important to note that Boeheim is staying out of it. He's not advocating for his former players or former assistants, and is just letting Syracuse make the best possible hire.

Boeheim spent 47 years as the head coach at Syracuse, amassing an overall record of 1,116-441 (.717). He was the Big East Coach of the Year four times and was the Naismith Coach of the Year in 2009-10. He won 10 conference championships and five conference tournament titles. He helped Syracuse win its lone national title in 2003, when the Carmelo Anthony and McNamara-led group beat Kansas.

He was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005.

The Syracuse women's basketball team earned a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament, which begins on Friday. The Orange don't open play until Saturday when they play against No. 9 Iowa State at 5:30 p.m. ET.

The game will be played in Storrs, Conn., home of top-seeded UConn. Should Syracuse win in the Round of 64, they will play Connecticut, presuming they beat No. 16 UTSA.

SU will have to play this tournament without starting point guard Dominique Darius, who is out for the rest of the season.

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