While roaming the bowels of John Paul Jones Arena after Virginia’s ACC title-clinching victory on Saturday, I ran into the Syracuse players and coaching staff as they were gathering outside the visiting locker room to head home. Everyone was visibly upset, as you can imagine, but no one seemed unhappier than head coach Jim Boeheim.
I won't say his mood was quite what it was when he was ejected in the final seconds of his team’s loss at Duke -- that outburst went viral -- but it was pretty clear he was running on a short fuse. And that fuse ran out on a security guard directly in front of me.
"YOUR JOB IS TO STAND THERE AND BE QUIET," Boeheim shouted to his security detail, who immediately apologized and insisted he was only trying to tell the coach how to exit the arena.
Boehiem cut off the man's explanation, emphatically telling him, "YOU SAY NOTHING."
Shocked by what I was witnessing, I reached in my pocket for my phone to capture the altercation -- Instagram! -- when Boeheim's eyes met mine. Suddenly that photo didn't seem like a great idea. Not at all. He had a don't-you-even-think-about-it look on his face, leaving me standing there frozen like a deer in headlights.
If we’re being honest with each other here, FOX Sports readers, I almost soiled my denim. I'm not ashamed to admit it. He broke me down without saying a word and I wanted no part of what would've happened next if that phone came out of my pocket.
So remember this story if you ever find yourself around Jim Boeheim immediately after his team loses by 19 points to give up the ACC regular-season title. Don't make the same mistake I did by attempting to capture his anger on camera, and don't you dare try to give him directions out of the arena. Just stand there and be quiet. Say nothing.
