It's a Great Day For Syracuse Basketball Fans As The University Has Finally Fired Head Coach Adrian Autry - Now They Need To Nail The Next Hire And Revive The Program
Icon Sportswire. Getty Images.The day has finally arrived for Syracuse fans as Adrian Autry has been relieved of his duties coaching the men's basketball team.
This was two years coming and comes with exactly zero surprise. Along with Autry goes a bunch of his staff as well as the GM of the team. Necessary sweeping changes to what was once a power among the college basketball landscape.
Let's make something clear, Adrian Autry was terrible at his job. Whether it came to clock management, halftime adjustments, out of timeout plays, offensive strategy, leadership, you name it Autry had none of it. During his three years with the program Cuse went 49-48 with a losing record in ACC play, and failed to make the NCAA Tournament one time. He realistically shouldn't have been given this year to try and save himself, but with a decent roster assembled they gave him another shot.
During halftime of today's first ACC Tournament game Jim Boeheim spoke about the situation.
I didn't exactly expect Boeheim to trash Autry here, but to put the blame on the players is just severely misguided. Syracuse actually had some decent talent on their roster this year and they had no chance with Autry at the helm. This team was going nowhere with him.
Where the university goes next is the real telling point. As I've said multiple times on here, I beg the school to cast a wide net across the country and conduct an actual coaching search. When Boeheim was removed from the program, Autry was predetermined as his successor without any real intent on bringing someone from the outside in. It's not entirely clear how much say Boeheim had in picking Autry, but he did put all of his support behind him, saying the program was in good hands. That was a massive mistake. They thought they could just plug in a guy within the family and continue everything that Boeheim built, even though it was clearly deteriorating with for years towards the end of his run. We all learned the hard way that was an awful decision.
Advertisement
So who is the guy? A name that immediately comes up is Syracuse legend Gerry McNamara, who has led Sienna to the NCAA Tournament this year, winning the MAAC championship last night. In my mind the time for G-Mac was when they hired Autry. Now you need to leave the Syracuse family and start fresh with a brand new name. Go get a hot mid-major coach to inject some life into this dead program. The two names at the top of the list better be St. Louis coach Josh Schertz and USF's Bryan Hodgson. Both New York natives, both leading their respective programs to tremendous success this season.
Now here is the harsh reality of the situation.
1) Syracuse may not be the destination that this fanbase believes it is. While Schertz and Hodgson would be great fits, do they want this job, or would another gig be more appetizing? We might be on the verge of being humbled.
2) Can Syracuse basketball be revived? The transition to the ACC was a giant error that clearly was made with the greedy mindset of bringing in as much college football money as possible, dismissing the negative impact it would have on the heartbeat of the athletic program. Syracuse basketball belongs in the Big East going up against teams like UCONN, St. Johns, Villanova, and Georgetown. Obviously that's a problem they can't fix and just have to live with, but a lot of their current problems stem from that massive change.
I don't have the answers to those questions, I can only hope they both fall in Syracuse's favor. What's hopeful is that from top to bottom, there is a new regime about to take over the program. With a new chancellor already in place, soon a fresh AD, GM, and basketball coach will be on the way. One thing Boeheim said that's right is the importance of NIL. If you're behind the eight ball in that department you will fail. The new AD, chancellor, and GM need to work together to give this new coach the resources he needs to success. Adam Weitsman was willing to pour millions into this program and was rendered an outcast by the previous chancellor Kent Syverud. It would be awesome to get him back involved with the program, but that bridge may be permanently burned.
I just want Syracuse basketball to be relevant again. As dumb as it sounds, that was the sole reason I went to school there. Going to games was part of the religion at that school. It paid off too with multiple Final 4 runs during my time there and a ton of amazing memories. Since I've left everything has gone to shit and that has to suck so much for the current students. Please nail this hire and begin the climb back to legitimacy.