Jim Boeheim had heard the criticisms of Derrick Coleman. He was bullheaded, argumentative, hard to get along with, a grossly talented player who never reached his potential.

"It was very difficult - very, very difficult," Boeheim said Monday while sitting in his Syracuse office.

Boeheim has known the 76ers center since Coleman was 17. He coached Coleman for four years at Syracuse, still sees him in the off-season, and talks with him frequently. When the Orangemen beat Kansas to win the school's first NCAA title last month, Coleman called Boeheim so quickly that Boeheim had barely shook hands with losing coach Roy Williams.