Sports fans of Maplewood and South Orange: are you ready to turn the towns orange?
Hall of Fame Syracuse University basketball coach Jim Boeheim will make his only tri-state area appearance to kick off the release of his autobiography, “Bleeding Orange: Fifty Years of Blind Referees, Screaming Fans, Beasts of the East, and Syracuse Basketball,” at Words Bookstore in Maplewood on Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 6 p.m.
Boeheim will be signing books and greeting fans. Admission to this event is free. Boeheim will only sign copies of his book purchased at the event.
In the last year alone, Words has hosted Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, Mark Herzlich, and Mookie Wilson. Words co-owner Ellen Zimiles and her daughter Liz are especially excited to host Boeheim, as both are Syracuse alumns and fans of the team.
As head coach of his alma mater, Boeheim is one of a few college basketball coaches to have had such a successful run, according to a press release from Words. In his book, Boeheim “candidly reflects on his life and mentors, and on the game that defines him.”
HarperCollins wrote that despite being written off at various stages, Boeheim’s “unprecedented fifty-year career has given him unique insight into coaching and the college game, knowledge he now shares.”
He has led only winning teams in his tenure, including 36 post-seasons out of 37 years as head coach. Syracuse has been to the NCAA Tournament 30 times under his coaching, as well as making trips to the Final Four and winning the NCAA championship in 2003. In 2005, Boeheim was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and also received the John R. Wooden “Legends of Coaching” Award. He was named BIG EAST Coach of the Year four times, USA Basketball 2001 National Coach of the Year, and served as an assistant coach for U.S. Olympic teams that won gold medals in 2008 and 2012.
[words] Bookstore, 179 Maplewood Avenue, Maplewood, NJ, 973-763-9500
