Syracuse coach Adrian Autry's first season neither a failure nor a success

Adrian Autry stepped into a difficult situation. He inherited a program from a legendary coach that had built a powerhouse and then slowly watched it deteriorate. It was a bit of an unceremonious finish to Jim Boeheim's 47-year tenure as the Syracuse men's basketball head coach. That made Autry's takeover even a bit more awkward. Once he was able to set all of that aside, he faced the task of stabilizing a program marred by inconsistency and was in desperate need of a modern refresh.

It is through that lens that we need to examine Autry's debut campaign. Fans want to see the Orange get back to the days of 25-plus win seasons while consistently competing for conference championships and making postseason runs. That was never going to happen overnight. Syracuse has not been an elite program since it entered the ACC. Even in that first year, when the Orange was the last undefeated team in the country. However, that Tyler Ennis fueled dream start still featured SU losing their opening game in the ACC tournament and crashing out of the NCAA tournament in the second round. Since that first year, the Orange has won at least 20 games just three times and posted a winning conference record just twice.

Hopefully, Autry will be the man to bring the Orange back to blueblood status. Let's consider the 2023-24 season his way of establishing a new foundation. Comparing this Orange team to the past 10 years feels much more appropriate than the 30 years before that.

Syracuse almost exclusively ran the 2-3 zone under Boeheim. It was his calling card. For decades, it threw a wrench into opposing teams' gameplans. Boeheim consistently had long, athletic teams that could disrupt passing lanes and create confusion. However, as the college game shifted more and more towards perimeter play, the zone was no longer a great equalizer. It put the Orange at a distinct disadvantage.

In the final two seasons of Boeheim's tenure, Syracuse allowed the most and second most three pointers per game. Yup, out of 363 D-I programs, the Orange was last and second-to-last in a very important defensive category. This year, SU ranked 254th. That's definitely not great, but Autry moved the program over 100 spots in the right direction. I'll call that a win.

On the other side of the ball, Autry facilitated an uptick in scoring, but the team's assists per game and three-point shooting percentage dipped. The team played faster this season, which likely contributed to the increased scoring and also more points allowed per game this year as well. The style of play felt a lot more modern. With more depth, talent and experience, hopefully that style will begin to lead to more wins.

Grade: B

Blowing second-half leads or completely collapsing down the stretch became a theme for the Orange in conference play. After trailing 46-45 at Duke, SU got outscored 40-21 the rest of the way. Syracuse led Florida State 54-51 in the second half, only to lose 85-69. The Orange led by 15 at halftime against NC State, but allowed the Wolfpack to tie the game in the final minutes before ultimately winning by 4.

In their following game, they led the Irish by 29 in the first half only to hang on for dear life for a 3-point win. A 19-point lead against Louisville with 7:15 to play shrunk to 4 in a 6-point win. The trend continued in the ACC tournament. SU led NC State 39-37 early in the second half. The Wolfpack's 19-2 run put the Orange out of the game as they lost in a blowout.

Much of this can be pointed to tired legs. Early in the year, Syracuse had a eight-man rotation after Chance Westry suffered a season-ending injury before the start of the season. Naheem McLeod struggled to stay on the court due to foul trouble and then suffered a season-ending injury in January. Benny Williams was dismissed from the program in early February. That left the sophomore six for Syracuse with Kyle Cuffe seeing about 10 minutes per game as well.

There is not a ton of Autry can do to solve unexpected absences. However, there were several games where he could have shifted how the team was playing. Protecting the three-point line and slowing the pace on offense would have protected some of those leads. Calling the strategic timeout also goes a long way, and I am of the opinion that Autry sometimes waited a little too long to call those timeouts in the second half.

This is Autry's first time leading a program. Having all the decisions fall on you is an adjustment. Making those in-game tweaks takes some time to master. Autry had plenty of time to learn from Boeheim, but it is a different thing to have to make the call in real time. It is definitely something Autry can work on moving forward.

Grade: D+

This wound up being a much more crucial and prominent aspect than I think anyone could have expected. I touched on the injuries to Westry and McLeod. That is tough to overcome when you are turning over a program. On top of that, the loss of McLeod forced the Orange to play small ball for the rest of the year. Maliq Brown did an admirable and impressive job at center, but at 6'8", he could not deliver that shot-blocking and rim protection that the 7'4" McLeod brought to the table. It makes the team losing Jesse Edwards to West Virginia sting even more. That's not necessarily Autry's fault, but player retention is going to be just as important as bringing in new talent moving forward.

Then of course, there is the Benny Williams drama. He never lived up to expectations and consistently clashed with the coaching staff. That was true under Boeheim and under Autry. He was suspended early in the season for violating team rules. He sat out key early-season matchups. To Autry's credit, he shut down questions about it. When he bumped Autry after being subbed off for a tech against Wake Forest, that was the final straw.

Players were unhappy that Williams was dismissed, but it did not fracture the team. SU still played together and Autry's refusal to let it continue to be a story allowed the team to move on. These type of situations happen. Geno Thorpe disappeared just six games into the 2017-18 season and left the program for personal reasons. Autry tightened things up from a rotation standpoint and delivered the right messaging for this team. His leadership is definitely not in question through one season.

Grade: A

The way programs recruit has completely changed. With the increased use of the transfer portal, high school recruiting has shifted to the back burner a bit, or at the very least has been deprioritized in a sense. That seemed to be Autry's approach at least this year. William Patterson was the lone high school recruit he landed, a three-star center from Maryland. He redshirted this season. Autry's main additions came through the transfer portal.

As I already said, retaining Jesse Edwards would have been huge for the program, but Autry pivoted by adding McLeod. That was a major dropoff according to our Rivals transfer portal rankings. Edwards was 13th. McLeod did not crack the top 150.

However, Autry swung the other way in replacing Joe Girard. The senior guard ranked 131st in the transfer rankings. His successor, former five-star recruit J.J. Starling, was eighth. That is a massive upgrade, at least according to the rankings. Girard had a good season for Clemson and would have been a huge offensive boost for Syracuse. Starling is not the same type of player and played really well for SU this year, so I don't want to act like it was not a good move for Autry, but maybe not as clear cut of a win as the rankings would suggest.

Looking ahead to 2024, Autry will need to ensure that his core of six players returns. Judah Mintz, Starling, Chris Bell, Maliq Brown, Justin Taylor and Quadir Copeland would all be juniors and provide an incredible backbone of a team heading into the 2024-25 season. Most of them should be back, but keeping Mintz could be a challenge.

Autry has also started to flex his recruiting chops at the high school level as well. He landed Elijah Moore from the Bronx over the likes of Alabama, Oklahoma, Illinois and others. He is a 6'4" guard who just dropped 67 points on his Senior Day. Autry also earned the signature of Donnie Freeman from IMG Academy. He earned MVP accolades at the Pete Hollis Invitational earlier this month. At 6'9", he brings some nice size and length as well as mid-range shot making ability. He will be a welcome addition to a team that lacks forward depth.

The only other player the Orange have extended an offer to as of right now is three-star forward Jalik Dunkley-Distant from Glendale, AZ.

If last season was any indication, Autry should have no problem navigating the transfer portal. If SU is able to up its game at the high school level, the program should be in good shape from a talent acquisition standpoint.

Grade: B+

Missing out on the NCAA tournament and the NIT is not something Autry can afford to do often, but in his first year with a quickly shrinking bubble, it is understandable for postseason play to be out of the question. That being said, this was one of the weakest years the ACC has had in recent memory. 'Cuse had opportunities to put itself in a much better position in the conference tournament, but a loss to Clemson saw them tumble down to the seven seed and earn that second round matchup with eventual ACC champ NC State.

Expectations will be much higher in Year 2 for Autry. Some of that is because his team showed flashes of promise. A lot of it is because this fan base is tired of waiting for the Orange to get back into the upper tier of the sport. Autry's job is safe, but another season like this will start to raise some questions. It was fine for Year 1, but that honeymoon phase is officially over.

Grade: B

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