One Jim sat in front of a throng of reporters last Friday, attempting to fit words around his team’s accomplishment in this year’s NCAA Tournament. ‘You just have to let the facts speak for themselves, where we are now and what we’ve done, what these guys have accomplished,’ he said.

A few hours earlier, in a different region of the country, another Jim met with reporters, too, and attempted to deflect inquiries about recent improprieties. ‘Nobody likes to have things questioned about how they do business,’ he said.

Can you guess which one’s coaching in this weekend’s Final Four? Who’s wearing the bigger smile this week?

There’s Boeheim, the head coach here at Syracuse, whose quest for coaching immortality hit a brief snag with Friday night’s loss to Oklahoma in the Sweet 16. But one win shy of 800 for his career, Boeheim has reached a small resurgence: answering the critics who thought four years was too long between NCAA Tournament wins; this year SU gave them two.

Then there’s Calhoun, the head coach at Connecticut, whose 805 career wins have been undercut by recent allegations of multiple recruiting violations. As his team prepares for the Final Four in Detroit, hints at Calhoun’s possible retirement have stolen the spotlight from his quest at winning a third national title.

And so the tension builds down in Storrs, Conn., as many wonder whether the Huskies’ 66-year-old Hall of Famer will decide to make it past his 37th season as a Division I head coach. Already, it’s been perhaps his roughest year.

He missed his team’s NCAA first-round game vs. Chattanooga after severe dehydration that put him in the hospital; he had his second surgery to remove skin cancer this summer; his salary was questioned by a reporter at a press conference; and, his subsequent response to that question – a few sharp ‘shut up’ retorts – had Connecticut state legislators calling for a suspension.

Then, last week, reports emerged that Calhoun and his assistants had improperly contacted two recruits, and not so subtly either: more than 1,500 phone and text contacts with prospect Nate Miles, and a shady shadowing of Ater Majok.

The media glare has been deposited on Calhoun – mostly recently in a feature on ESPN’s ‘Outside the Lines’ yesterday, in which Boeheim was a guest – swirling into a side-billing for UConn’s Final Four bout against Michigan State. Could a loss mean Calhoun calls it a career?

Does 800 wins not earn him some buffer? Just ask Boeheim. Last year, SU’s 64-year-old head coach was the subject of some scrutiny on message boards and fan sites who were sick of NIT runs and tourney win droughts. Out of touch, they said; too old, they argued.

‘A basketball wizard,’ said Jonny Flynn last week, who has prodded then praised Boeheim throughout SU’s run to March Madness this year. ‘He knows so much about basketball,’ Paul Harris echoed.

And as the media swooned around Syracuse in the games following its six-overtime win over Calhoun and UConn in the Big East tournament, more highlights were pointed at Boeheim’s stretch for 800 wins – though he wanted no part of it. ‘It doesn’t mean a lot,’ Boeheim said, as a way of bringing the focus back onto his basketball team.

In his 33rd season, Boeheim’s an icon whose image seems to have been rebuffed – or, at least, upheld – as a giant on the sidelines in college basketball’s hierarchy. With a third championship in reach, can Calhoun avoid retiring without the assumption of disgrace?

Both are pillars in the Big East, the league that has benefited from Syracuse and Connecticut’s success over the years. No other coach sits closer to the top in the conference’s totem pole. And maybe no year has been greater for the Big East than this one.

With five teams in the Sweet 16, four in the Elite Eight and two in the Final Four, the conference that Calhoun/Boeheim/John Thompson II built is enjoying its dominance in the basketball circle. Suddenly, though, two of its three pivotal entities (Commissioner Mike Tranghese and Calhoun) may be leaving come the summer.

That would leave Boeheim as the sole patriarch of the conference – does the beast lose its bite? New faces (Jay Wright, Jamie Dixon, Buzz Williams, John Thompson III) have joined veteran superstars (Rick Pitino, Bob Huggins) to infuse some life into the league over the last few seasons. But as the old originals filter out, some concern might be leaking into Providence, R.I., about where the conference is going, too.

Connecticut’s possible championship game opponent, North Carolina, has certainly revived itself since its legendary head coach retired in 1997. Ironically, Calhoun told reporters he spoke to Dean Smith last week.

Perhaps in premonition, or friendly advice, Smith told Calhoun he retired because of the other stuff surrounding basketball, the distractions and scrutiny that he grew tired of facing. It’s a wearisome task being the head of a program, under investigation or not.

Calhoun’s never had to look far when he’s peered over his shoulder: Boeheim’s been tailing him for decades now. Could this soon be the end of one of the nation’s long-lasting (and most recognizable) coaching rivalries?

One coach will be watching Saturday night’s game with a smile on his face, reflecting on his fortune and his status amongst the game’s patriarchs.

Which Jim do you think it will be?

Zach Schonbrun is The Daily Orange sports columnist, where his columns appear every Wednesday. He can be reached at zsschonb@syr.edu.

Published on March 30, 2009 at 12:00 pm