Ahead of the Syracuse Orange basketball team’s matchup with Virginia Tech this Wednesday, Adrian Autry spoke with media members on the weekly ACC Coaches Zoom.
Here’s that conversation, which has been edited
for clarity.
On the three game win-streak before the loss at Boston College:
“I thought we put up some of our best offensive numbers as far as shooting percentages and making some threes during that three game winning streak. I thought that was probably the difference,” Autry said. “But I thought our defense took a hit, kind of traded one for the other. We’ve got to get them back both at the same time.”
On scouting Virginia Tech:
“Well they’re a very connected group. The defense is very good.” Autry said. “They can seduce you into taking the shots that they want. They do a really good job of that. They don’t do a ton of fouling. They finish possessions and they pick their spots where they can be aggressive at. The defense is a solid, physical, sound defense.”
On how his coaching start at Virginia Tech prepared him to be a head coach:
“I think just the ups and downs, you know, kind of the swings of the season. You really gotta stay focused and you gotta just really kind of block everything out and just worry about your team and the preparation part. But the consistency, whether you’re in a three-game winning streak or losing streak, just keep your team grounded and the preparation piece of it,” Autry said.
On staying locked in defensively from three for a full 40 minutes:
“I think that’s a challenge for most. We keep showing film, going over it, working on it and stressing how important it is. The three point line — for most teams — that’s the difference. Even when we (weren’t) playing as great of defense, we were defending the three point line. Which allowed us to score and get some wins. The last game against Boston College, especially late, they hit some tough ones but we didn’t defend it the way we needed to,” Autry said.
On his message to the team about the strength of the ACC and the opportunities ahead:
“We just talk about the opportunity the league can present this year. Obviously you can bounce back, you can kind of recover and really get a chance to catch some ground if you take care of business. This is a big two-game stretch for us at home coming off a tough loss at Boston College on the road — it’s always hard to win on the road no matter what. You get a chance to bounce back and play against two really good teams that can get you moving back toward where you want to go,” Autry said.
More on Virginia Tech, Neoklis Avdalas:
“They’ve got a first-round pick, a six-seven guard that’s really good. [Amani] Hansberry is a really good four-year college player. So I’ve seen a lot of skill. Offensively they can really spread you out. Again, when you’ve got a talent like a six-seven point guard that can get people involved and post-up, does a really good job of jumping over the defense and getting the ball to people that need the ball. [Jaden] Schutt is really shooting the ball really well. A really good offensive team for sure,” Autry said.
On Sadiq White and Kiyan Anthony hitting the proverbial freshman wall:
“I keep challenging them,” Autry said. “This is the first time they’ve gone through something like this where you know, the ups and downs, playing against these caliber teams, the physicality, the every day grind. They’ve got to stay mentally ready and just keep, you know, attacking it day by day. Keeping their minds right, not letting it wander and continually just practice and continually work on the things they need to work on.
“I know that they’re frustrated. As a freshmen, this is something different. Different territory. Bust just kind of talking them through that and challenging them every day.”
On not fouling late on Donald Hand Jr.’s three that tied the game at Boston College:
“We were supposed to foul,” Autry said. “That’s the thing that we didn’t execute. … I just wish we would’ve executed the plan. Unfortunately sometimes those things happen. I just wish we would’ve executed the plan. We were supposed to foul.”
On the balance of coaching Naithan George’s recent turnovers but not putting too much pressure on the point guard:
“He knows that he has to take care of the ball,” Autry said. “It really is just me being stern with him and saying you know that he has to be better. He’s mature enough to understand it. No one — not your point guard — can have that many turnovers. We were fortunate a couple games before he a high number of turnovers (in a win) but he had some assists. We were able to scrape out a couple of those games but like he can’t do that. He knows that. He’s a veteran.
“He has to understand how important the basketball is. He has to take less risk. Taking less risk, if it’s a 50/50 play… sometimes you can take a risk early. But at certain points of the game that’s where the decision making has to be solid. Don’t swing for the homerun, just take the single.”
