Clemson travels to Syracuse on New Year’s Eve. We’ve already done a full preview of the game which you can view here. For those at want more, we did a special deep dive Q&A with Dominic Chiappone of Nune’s Magician.
Drew Schneider: Coach Autry is taking over for a Syracuse and college basketball icon. To compound matters, Coach Boeheim didn’t exactly sprint to finish of his career.
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It’s one thing to take over the wheel at Duke. The expectations are obviously through the roof, but Coach K left the cupboard well provisioned.
Syracuse hasn’t finished the season in ranked in the final AP poll since the 2012-2013 season. Coach Autry is tasked with reviving the program and following a legend at the same time.
I also cover Purdue basketball. Matt Painter took over at his alma mater from Gene Keady under similar circumstances, and things have gone better than anyone could have imagined.
Indiana, on the other hand, is still trying to replace Bob Knight. Tom Crean had a chance to stick with the Hoosiers, and before we move on, I just want to thank y’all for beating their ass in the 2012-13′ Sweet 16. Indiana winning another National Championship in basketball is my literal nightmare, and that team had everything but the coach, but I digress…
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I’m going to ask you to gaze deeply into your crystal ball for this one (finally a question!)
5 seasons from now, is Syracuse on the Purdue track, with Autry grabbing the baton from his head coach, and pushing The Orange back to the top of the college basketball landscape?
Or
5 seasons from now, is Syracuse on the Indiana track, hoping that the guy who replaced the guy who replaced THE guy can return The Orange to the type of program the ACC needs them to be?
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Dominic Chiappone: The future of Adrian Autry, who is now in his third year, is certainly looming over everything from now until Selection Sunday.
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Year one was quite promising: 20-12 overall (most since 2018-19), 11-9 in the ACC (Syracuse’s most conference wins since the ACC moved to the 20-game format) and at one point being “in position to be in position.” It was definitely an improvement compared to the last couple of years in the waning Jim Boeheim era. That said, the Orange noticeably took a step back in 2024-25. ‘Cuse finished five games below-.500. It was the program’s worst winning percentage since 1968-69 and just the second time it has finished below-.500 in 50+ years.
That’s why this season in particular is critical for the program. First, this is the first squad where Autry has essentially built the team in his image. The team has a GM, had a clear strategy with building the non-con schedule and was tactical with who it brought in over the offseason, namely lengthy, versatile athletes from one to five.
As the fanbase knows, the team is nowhere near where it was, especially in the 2000s when I was growing up. 2020-21 marks the last year Syracuse made the tournament, and that was as an 11-seed. The Orange went to the Sweet Sixteen that season, but it’s also been exactly a decade since the squad that went to the Final Four, and that’s really the peak from the past decade. If ‘Cuse misses the Big Dance, it will be the fifth-straight year doing so, and that’s certainly going to leave a sour taste in most fans’ mouths.
Without getting into the weeds and trying to be balanced as possible, context is everything. For example, Autry has that pressure of taking over for a legend. Whether it was him or someone else, I don’t know what that feels like and I’m sure that’s definitely something on the back of his mind. Resource allocation is also important in this era of college sports. This isn’t St. John’s where it can invest its NIL and revenue share dollars almost exclusively on men’s basketball, nor is it Kentucky where it will pay (at least right now) $20 million for a one-year roster.
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Taking a step back, the two loudest “gripes” are 1. Syracuse should’ve gone with an outside hire rather than keeping things “in-house” and 2. if that wasn’t ever going to be an option, Syracuse should’ve went with Gerry McNamara (now the head coach at Siena) over Autry. Again, those are two massive can of worms that I don’t want to open, mainly because the focus is on the now and going forward.
As a recruiter, Autry has been great after we had a couple weaker classes at the end of the Boeheim era. There were a few hits (like Judah Mintz and Chris Bell toward the very end), but this most recent crop that includes Kiyan Anthony and Sadiq White is significant. Ditto for keeping Donnie Freeman and JJ Starling after 2024-25, easily the two most productive players and the only two that stayed from last year to this one.
The key is the coaching. From the outside looking in, the notable criticisms of Autry include plenty of times where the Orange got flat-out smoked by 20 points or more. It’s happened quite often. There’s also been some issue with the offense being stuck in the mud despite the talent, and specifically not maximizing what he has to work with. Again, that’s why this year is especially important: there’s a system, the players and the vision, but it now has to come to reality. Syracuse will be heading into conference play on the outside (and not on the bubble) looking in.
That’s all the background info in a Sparknotes version. The Indiana example you brought up is definitely notable. I’d say the worst-case scenario with Autry is like what happened with the Hosiers and Archie Miller: no NCAA Tournament appearances, a good year followed by two steps back and being in the middle of the pack against the conference. Even Mike Davis, who replaced a legend in Bob Knight, at least Indiana had clear success during the beginning of his five-year tenure before the wheels started to fall off the cart. I’d say Autry had a way tougher “start” in terms of having to fix some of the things that went “wrong” in the final few years of Boeheim’s tenure. That said, the ultimate concern is the arrow not pointing directly up, but slightly up then going down, then up, then down, etc.
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With Matt Painter at Purdue, he began with a nine-win season but then the program immediately soared with six straight tournament appearances and multiple trips deep into the postseason. Even with a few gaps where there were 2-3 “down” years, he had built enough trust and put up results where he could make up the ground. For Autry, the sample size is small, but how patient will the school and its fans be if there isn’t any sign of at least getting back to playing basketball in late-March.
Specifically with Syracuse, another year without making the tournament is going to lead to tough conversations. It also depends how this year plays out. Does Syracuse get a couple Q1 wins, show legit progress and that buys Autry another year? That’s totally possible in my opinion, with him at least getting a fourth year. If the Orange get totally stomped on against the ACC (say, going five games under water or something like that), and it’s hard to see him lasting another season. Autry is an alum (a notable one among Syracuse MBB) and was a long-time assistant alongside Boeheim. We all want this to go as well as possible, and this is a pivotal season for Syracuse basketball. This all makes the ACC opener at 2pm on ESPN this New Year’s Eve all the bigger.
