My last task in what has been a memorable and productive four days in Washington, D.C. was to speak to Syracuse men's basketball coach Jim Boeheim after Monday's men's basketball game between the U.S. team of which Boeheim is an assistant coach and Brazil.  The timing was ideal since earlier on Monday the Big East and Syracuse announced that the Orange's move from the Big East to the ACC would become official on July 1, 2013.

 It has been previously reported that this would be Syracuse (and Pittsburgh's) last season in the Big East but with a date set for the departure and Boeheim being the most influential coaching figure in Syracuse athletics I thought it was the perfect time to get his take on the news.

 "It is time to move, the Big East needs to move on and we need to move on," Boeheim said. "We had an unbelievable run. It has been a memorable experience but things happen, the Big East changed over the years many times and it always worked out. This will work out for us and it will work out for the Big East."

 I asked Boeheim how much he will miss the classic games against UConn.

 "It is tough, those were great games," Boeheim said. "I can't tell you how great those games were over the years and probably the greatest game played in the Big East (a six-overtime thriller won by Syracuse in the 2009 Big East quarterfinals) and a lot of other really good ones. It really will be missed, there is no question."

Boeheim is a good friend with Geno Auriemma so I asked him to talk about Auriemma and being able to be over in London when they both try to secure gold medals for their respective teams.

"Geno's got the usual, the best team in the world," Boeheim said. "Every time he seems to go out there, he seems to have a great team. They have a great team and it will be fun watching them play.

"Both (men's and women's) teams get along, that is important because it is a long haul and you need to stay together because you are going to face some very difficult times in international basketball."

Finally, I asked him how much it means to him to be on the Olympic coaching staff.

"It means a lot to represent your country to work with the best players in the world, being up close and personal," Boeheim said. "It is a great thrill for me and also a learning experience too."