By Ken Bikoff

Jim Boeheim has built a career out of being combative on and off the court, all while presenting an attitude that always teeters on the brink between arrogance and confidence.
But today, he has to feel humbled.

The NCAA went after Boeheim and Syracuse Friday, suspending the Hall of Fame coach for nine ACC games next season, vacating 108 wins from five different seasons, and taking away 12 scholarships from the program over the next four years. The Orange will also serve a five-year probation in addition to the self-imposed postseason ban for this year.

The NCAA also ordered Syracuse to return all money it has received from the former Big East for its appearances in the 2011, 2012 and 2013 NCAA Tournament.

Boeheim was cited by the NCAA for “not promoting an atmosphere of compliance within his program” and failing to “monitor the activities of those who reported to him as they related to academics and booster involvement.”

The violations, which included academic misconduct, extra benefits, a failure to adhere to the program’s drug-testing policy, impermissible booster activity, and impermissible academic assistance and services, took place over the course of more than a decade.

Basically, Boeheim used a don’t ask-don’t tell approach to his program, allowing those both inside and outside the program to run wild without much fear of reprisal.

Until today.

Syracuse, which self-reported the violations in 2012, may appeal the ruling, but the stain on Boeheim will never be erased. He was on pace to join Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski as the only coaches with 1,000-plus victories, but after vacating more than 100 wins, Boeheim now finds himself sixth on the list of all-time winningest coaches.

More importantly, at 70 years old, Boeheim likely has little time left in his career to polish his image. He already has been repeatedly asked when he might be stepping into retirement, a fact that has made recruiting a yearly challenge.

But even so, Boeheim will always be a legend and a Syracuse institution – losing the scholarships might be the toughest penalty for the program to overcome.

With three fewer scholarships per year for the next four seasons, Boeheim will be limited in his ability to rebuild his roster, and the Orange’s recruiting is going to suffer.

Then again, hangovers can be painful, and after partying for more than ten years while playing loose and fast with the rules, Boeheim is going to need a lot of aspirin to get over this headache.
In fact, he might never recover.

This late in his career, and considering the length of the probation, the penalties could be enough to push Boeheim out the door, giving Syracuse an opportunity to start fresh, and at the very least if he does come back, he’ll have a rough time closing out his era with a bang.

That would humble any coach, no matter how confident he might be.