Now that the Syracuse Orange have officially decided to move on from Adrian Autry, it’s time to reflect on what went wrong. Autry doesn’t escape blame, but he’s not the only person responsible for the decline of the program and the next Head Coach is going to need others to bring it back.
The Boeheim Transition
I’m not talking about the original plan that had Mike Hopkins taking over. Once that was off the table, Syracuse failed to prepart for Jim Boeheim’s eventual departure. The Orange snuck into
the 2021 NCAA Tournament thanks to a miraculous game-saving block by Allan Griffin against Buffalo. That team played two outstanding games to make the Sweet Sixteen, but then watched Kadary Richmond and Quincy Guerrier transfer out.
Instead of building on the success, the Orange went under .500 and then started the 22-23 season with home losses to Colgate and Bryant. It was a five-alarm fire and Syracuse brought out a Dome Foam to try and stop it from spreading. Jim Boeheim doubled down and accused other teams of buying players while no one committed to his future.
That Orange squad lost to Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament and Boeheim said he’d be back only to be undecut by a University press release later that day. Autry was introduced later that week and Boeheim was there to pass the torch, but in reality that torch just got thrown on the dumpster fire.
We’re now hearing that “Wildhack wanted a national search” or “Boeheim wanted McNamara to take over” and frankly that’s just ridiculous. If they wanted those things, either could have made it happen….instead a first-time HC was elevated with no clear plan.
Not Being Ready for NIL
Even with the disaster, Autry’s first squad was going to be bolstered by a 5th-year from Jesse Edwards. Instead, Syracuse couldn’t figure out how (or what) to pay an international athlete under the murky rules so he left for West Virginia for a reported 400k.
Autry’s first squad won 19 D1 games despite playing Maliq Brown and Justin Taylor out of position most of the year. Imagine what Edwards could have done that first season in terms of providing a center and a veteran presence to a young team….
No Veteran Bench Coach
Speaking of a veteran presence, it made no sense why Syracuse nor Autry sought to add an experienced former head coach to the staff. Boeheim dismissed the idea but in reality there was no one on the sideline to help guide this staff through game situations and it showed.
It’s not a guarantee to work (see Juwan Howard and Phil Martelli at Michigan), but the fact it wasn’t considered an option clearly wasn’t a good plan.
Short changed staffing
That goes hand in hand with the overall lack of institutional support for the transition. Syracuse waited until after the transfer portal closed prior to Autry’s 2nd year to add a GM so his first two rosters were done without anyone else spearheading the NIL discussions and program fits. Last year, Syracuse got caught spending a big amount on Eddie Lampkin leaving themselves short-changed at filling out the roster.
When NCAA rules allowed two more full-time assistant coaches, Syracuse just added the title to DOBO Pete Coransitini. Apparently Wildhack said he’d add a position “if Autry asked”, but why was anyone waiting for him to ask? Yes, he should have lobbied hard for both spots, but with the program struggling someone could have stepped in.
Forget comparions with ACC schools- how about this nugget from Chris Carlson’s profile of Bryan Hodgson
His staff at South Florida is bigger than Syracuse’s staff this season and includes four assistant coaches and Anderson, along with a director of player personnel, director of player development and director of basketball operations.
The Anderson mentioned was former FDU/Iona HC Tobin Anderson who was with the team as a special assistant. It’s the time of move a desperate program needs to make and why bringing an outside perspective might not be a bad idea. Whatever your thoughts are on Fran Brown- his time at Georgia provided a fresh lens for the football program.
Acquiring and Keeping Talent
Syracuse hosted six 2026 recruits and landed none of them. Would any signing have saved the staff? Maybe if they had landed a combination of Deron Rippey Jr and Jordan Smith Jr, but overall the Orange slide has directly coincided with a drop in talent the last decade.
Last year they missed out on Kiyan’s teammate Nigel James, who was the Big East Rookie of the Year for Marquette. Keeping in-state players home isn’t just a football issue these days. Did you know that right now the city of Rochester has more active NBA players than Syracuse University? Thomas Bryant, Jalen Pickett, Isaiah Stewart and Nate Williams, Jr. are all on NBA rosters and the Orange were unable to convince any of them to head East on 90 to play their college ball.
Andre Jackson was a major Syracuse target who played for the Albany City Rocks who ended up at UConn. Kadary Richmond left after one season and already has more NBA appearances than the players who have followed him as PG.
We can talk about a lot of factors for the recent struggles, but at the end of the day if you don’t have NBA talent, it’s hard to win in college basketball. No matter what happens next, it’s obvious that talent upgrades have to be the top priority.
****************************************************************************************************
None of this excuses Autry, his staff and the players for the three years we watched. None of this means that Syracuse is stuck in a long rebuild either, but the foundation for this program needs to be strengthened or else it will be hard for any HC to succeed at the level we want.
