Hall of Fame dad: How Jim Boeheim’s three kids grew up to play college basketball

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Juli and Jim Boeheim’s refrigerator in their suburban Fayetteville home is a blaze of autumn colors.

Specifically, red, yellow and orange.

They represent the colors of the teams the Boeheim children will play basketball for this season: Red for Jimmy, a sophomore at Cornell University; yellow for Jamie, a freshman at the University of Rochester; and orange, of course, for her twin brother Jackson who is playing at Syracuse University for the family’s Naismith Hall of Fame father who begins his 43rd season as head coach.

Yes, the Boeheim kids who grew up decked out in orange bouncing basketballs at their father’s knee are in college now.

Jimmy, Jamie and Jackson or, thanks to their mom’s love of nicknames, J.J., Sissy and Buddy.

It means New York’s First Family of Basketball will be juggling schedules, hitting the road and loving every minute of it like never before.

Luckily for mom and dad (and Lulu, the family dog), their kids chose to play close to home in a centralized triangle encompassing Syracuse, Ithaca and Rochester.

If in a gym in any of those places this winter, you’re likely to bump into a Boeheim bouncing a basketball.

Juli and Jim’s motto: Let the Fridge be With You.

“That’s my calendar, before I put something else in my personal calendar, I refer to that,’’ Juli said. “Everything revolves around that. It’s really crazy, but it’s really awesome.’’

They've got game: Jim Boeheim gives scouting reports on his kids Buddy, Jimmy and Jamie

Like plotting a last-second shot, Jim said having both parents at each of their kids’ games is possible. Of course, he won’t miss any of Buddy’s, starting with SU's season tipoff Tuesday at home against Eastern Washington.

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