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A third Boeheim is joining Syracuse. 

Jimmy Boeheim, a graduate transfer from Cornell, is teaming up with Buddy and Jim Boeheim. He announced the transfer in an Instagram post on Friday.

Jimmy most recently starred at Cornell as a junior, averaging 16.7 points and 5.6 rebounds while shooting 43% from the floor. The 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward flashed inside-out game offensively. 

The Ivy League canceled its basketball season this year because of COVID-19, becoming the only Division I conference without winter sports during the pandemic. Jimmy has lived in his parents’ house instead of on campus, as athletes haven’t had access to athletics facilities for most of the pandemic, he told Syracuse.com.

Boeheim said Jimmy’s had a “miserable” six months without a season and criticized the Ivy League’s decision.

“Some day we’re going to look back and say, ‘Why didn’t we play?’” Boeheim said after SU’s season-ending loss to Houston. “Why would we ever even have thought about not playing? These kids, if they get sick, they’re better, they’re back in a few days or they don’t get sick. And it would have been a monumental mistake to not play basketball.” 

Jimmy, set to graduate this spring, will be eligible to play immediately. The NCAA is expected to adopt the one-time blanket waiver for immediate eligibility for transfers. This would create a player empowerment that’s similar to free agency, and there has been a record surge of players entering the transfer portal already.

Boeheim has supported a one-time transfer eligibility rule but also cautioned against unintended ramifications. 

Proud little bro ❤️ @jimmyb_23 it was already written ? pic.twitter.com/W0QQ38AzHR

— Buddy Boeheim (@Buddy_Boeheim35) April 16, 2021

“There’s going to be a lot of transfers,” Boeheim said after the loss to Houston. “And we’re not going to be immune to it. Anybody that’s not playing a lot or unhappy, they think — they could be perfectly good kids, perfectly happy. But they think they should play more or shoot more, whatever it may be, and players are going to leave.” 

Buddy and Jimmy have played against each other in college three times. In 2018, Jimmy opened the brothers’ first meeting with a 3-pointer in front of SU’s bench. Syracuse won all three games against the Big Red. 

Before Cornell, Jimmy played one season with Buddy at Jamesville-Dewitt before playing a prep season at New Hampton School (N.H.), where he averaged 22.3 points per game. He averaged 10.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game in his three seasons at Cornell. Jimmy announced his intent to transfer in November. 

Published on April 16, 2021 at 1:06 pm

Contact Danny: dremerma@syr.edu | @DannyEmerman