Ed Reinke | The Associated Press

Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim joined former Louisville head coach Rick Pitino on his "The Pitino Press" podcast recently and the two talked Big East basketball, Jim coaching his son, Buddy, and coaching the USA men's national team.

Read below for seven of the most interesting answers Boeheim gave during the podcast and be sure to listen to the whole thing for stories on the old Big East, the best SU players Boeheim has coached and what he thinks about this year's SU basketball team.

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For the last episode of season 1 of The Pitino Press, I had Jim Boeheim, @Cuse_MBB Hall of Fame coach and close friend. https://t.co/P7q17ePSEL — Rick Pitino (@RealPitino) January 9, 2019

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The Associated Press (file)

What do you miss most about the Big East?

"It was just more a close-knit group. You're all in the same basic area when we started out. There was some expansion which changed it a little bit. But it was just what you were familiar with. It's what you always did.

"You played against these teams when you were in college and then you coached against them and played against them in the league. It was just what you knew."

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Scott Schild | sschild@syracuse.com

Was there ever a moment that another school or an NBA job came to you and you actually thought about leaving?

"I thought about one job for 10 minutes. I interviewed for Ohio State in 1986, 1987 -- 32 years ago. They came in and I sat down, I started talking to them -- about 10 minutes into the conversation I knew I'm not going to Ohio State. And that was it. That was the only interview I ever had for something else.

"I really never thought about it. I'm from Upstate New York, went to Syracuse, got the job. I've been at Syracuse for I think 55, 56 years now. I just wouldn't know what to do anywhere else."

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Ray Stubblebine | The Associated Press

Do you remember how much you made in your first year at Syracuse University?

"Absolutely, I signed for $25,000 in 1977. That was my contract, it was a huge contract. As an assistant I was making $11,000 for three years.

"There were five years where I was an unpaid assistant. You didn't think about money back then. You weren't on TV. There was no big games. The program didn't make any money. $25,000 was a lot of money in 1977. It was twice what I'd ever made."

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Kamil Krzaczynski | The Associated Press

Looking back on your time in the Olympics what NBA players really impressed you?

"Klay Thompson stands out. He's just a tough kid. Every day he comes to practice. He wasn't recruited. Nobody wanted him and he has carried that with him. He's an All-Pro now and he's won three world championships or something.

"He goes out to practice every day with a chip on his shoulder and he's going to guard you and he's going to score against you every day. And he doesn't care if it's the day after a game or if he's tired or if he's hurt. He comes out, he practices as hard as he can and then he shoots after practice for an hour every day."

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Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

What is it about Syracuse that has created this longevity for you?

"We have really good fans, they support our program. We're a small city -- 400,000 people. We average over 20,000 people a game. When you have that kind of fan support, as you know, that's one of the key ingredients to college basketball success. You have to show high school players that fans care about your program, that they're gonna be at the games. I think that's a huge key to success in college basketball.

"We've got a great facility: The Carrier Dome. We've been in great leagues. The Big East was a great league. The ACC is a great league. So we've had a lot of ingredients to have a good basketball program. But I think mostly I'm from Upstate New York. I came to Syracuse at 17 years old. I like it here."

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Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

How has it been coaching Buddy so far?

"It's been tough but he works hard, he's a great kid. We got a great 2 guard in his position so he's not playing a lot. I think he can be a really good player. ... Buddy is a good player, I think he's got a chance. He's 6-foot-6 which is good size for a 2 guard.

"But as you know with all young players, if you're not a great player -- and there's very few of them -- it takes a year or so, especially shooters, to really get them comfortable and understand the college game. It's fun coaching him but it's difficult too."

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Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

Do you put an age on when you'll stop coaching?

"I absolutely don't. I stopped doing that a while ago. I like coaching. I'm healthy. I don't think age should matter. If I was 60 I'd be thinking I could coach another 15 years. I'm not 60 but I feel good.

"I see guys being very productive in the world. I think the world's changed. I think you see people being very productive into their late 70s, early 80s. I'm not saying I would coach that long. But I'm not playing, I don't have to run up and down. I just have to raise my voice and my voice is good. I think I can coach for a while."

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