Syracuse starts a new era with a win, and some hope
On Monday night, a new era of Syracuse basketball started with Adrian Autry as he roamed the sideline for his first game as head coach.
In the first ever meeting between Syracuse and New Hampshire, the Orange dominated early and held on for a 83-72 win.
Autry's fingerprints were on the win, as he remade the roster in the offseason, and made a concerted effort to change the pace of play on offense.
From the season-opening tip it was clear that the theme was to get out in the open court and attack early. Autry even went with a four-guard lineup of Kyle Cuffe Jr., JJ Starling, Judah Mintz, and Quadir Copeland.
The Orange finished the game with 22 points in transition off 16 turnovers.
“We’d like to get more movement," Autry said. "We typically have four guys on the perimeter that can dribble, push, and shoot, so you try to play with some space and create some driving lanes to get the defense running.”
But Autry's debut didn't come without hiccups.
Syracuse is still working to solidify its center position. Though 7’4" Naheem McLeod transferred in from FSU in the offseason, he finished with just 4 points and 3 rebounds.
McLeod had some moments where he struggled to control the paint on both sides of the ball and finished with just 10 minutes on the night.
“Naheem is fine," Autry said. "Sometimes in man the matchups are not good for him athletically, but I thought he did good when he was in.”
Syracuse also showed flaws in other areas.
New Hampshire kept it close because of SU's lack of focus on offense in the second half. The Orange had 11 turnovers, allowing UNH to score 18 points off these possessions.
And when Syracuse settled into a halfcourt set, another bugaboo surfaced—3-point shooting.
Syracuse finished 5-21 behind the arc, and while New Hampshire shot just 25.8 from that range, the box score didn't show the open shots SU's defense allowed.
“I would not say we are an undersized team," Syracuse guard Quadir Copeland said. "But when we sub out our big man we have to go zone. We have people that can rebound so in zone it really is about containing a team. As long as we can get the rebound and get out, we are good.”
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