Syracuse Basketball: This off-season, Adrian Autry a big recruiting winner

In early March, Adrian Autry was named as the Syracuse basketball head coach to replace the legendary Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim, who retired as the sport’s second-winningest coach, winning more than 1,000 games, getting to 20 Sweet 16s, journeying to five Final Fours, and capturing a national championship in 2003.

Those are some massive shoes for Autry to fill, and it remains to be seen how he will fare on the court in his first season at the helm of the Orange in a few months’ time. But since being anointed as the ‘Cuse head coach a couple of months ago, Autry has proven a big recruiting winner in my book.

The explosion of the NCAA’s transfer portal will likely change the sport of college hoops forever, and Syracuse basketball has, like many other schools, felt its effects this off-season, both positively and negatively.

Given the transfer portal, NIL, professional aspirations, injuries and other factors, being a head coach at the Division I level is no easy task. Adrian Autry and his assistants, from a recruiting standpoint, are injecting a lot of energy, enthusiasm and positivity into the Orange program.

Syracuse basketball head coach Adrian Autry has fared well in recruiting this off-season.

Okay, let’s get the “negatives” out of the way first. Senior center Jesse Edwards, an All-ACC performer in the 2022-23 campaign, transferred to West Virginia. Replacing his production and presence on both ends of the floor will prove a huge challenge.

Senior shooting guard Joe Girard III transferred to fellow Atlantic Coast Conference squad Clemson. Girard led the ‘Cuse in scoring last season, when Syracuse basketball went 17-15 overall. Some fans think he is a defensive liability, but there’s no denying that looking ahead to 2023-24, two of the Orange’s top-three scorers are gone.

Additionally, senior reserve guard Symir Torrence transferred to Binghamton, and redshirt-junior reserve forward John Bol Ajak is also in the transfer portal.

Roster retention and additions

Here are the existing Syracuse basketball players who are coming back in 2023-24: freshman point guard Judah Mintz, freshman shooting guard/small forward Justin Taylor, freshman forward Chris Bell, sophomore forward Benny Williams, freshman guard/small forward Quadir Copeland, freshman forward Maliq Brown, freshman big man Peter Carey and sophomore center Mounir Hima.

Via the transfer portal, Adrian Autry & Co. have brought in Auburn freshman guard/small forward Chance Westry, who has four years of eligibility left, Notre Dame freshman guard J.J. Starling, Florida State sophomore center Naheem McLeod and Kansas redshirt-freshman guard Kyle Cuffe Jr., who will also have four years of eligibility remaining.

In 2023-24, the Orange will have one high-school commit, 2023 three-star center William Patterson out of The Patrick School in Hillside, N.J. To be fair, he verbally committed to the team in February, before Autry was named to replace Boeheim. But whenever there is a head-coaching change, you never know if high-school commits, or even current players, will bolt.

To that end, after Adrian Autry became the Syracuse basketball head coach, 2024 four-star shooting guard Elijah Moore from New York City reaffirmed his verbal commitment to the Orange. Last month, four-star power forward Donnie Freeman from Washington, D.C., verbally committed to the ‘Cuse.

At present, the team’s two-member 2024 cycle is ranked in the top five nationally, per the On3 Industry Ranking, and Syracuse basketball coaches continue to pursue several top-flight players in this class.

This off-season, the Orange has lost four players to the transfer portal. The ‘Cuse has brought in four transfers and a high-school signee, while retaining eight existing players, including Mintz, who just a few days ago said he would return to the Hill for his sophomore year. And Syracuse basketball has reaffirmed one 2024 four-star pledge and landed a second 2024 four-star verbal commitment.

Advantages and areas of concern

Putting aside the team’s 2024 recruiting efforts, in the 2023-24 season, the squad has 13 guys on scholarship, and this roster, on paper, boasts a ton of athleticism, speed, versatility and potential.

Now, again, for context, replacing the scoring of Girard and Edwards is a question mark. The center position, generally speaking, is an area to monitor. That being said, McLeod’s sophomore statistics are similar to Edwards’, and I’m cautiously optimistic that McLeod can make a big junior-season leap as Jesse did.

Let’s not forget that McLeod played limited minutes over the past two seasons at Florida State, which historically plays a deep rotation. And in one game against the Orange in 2022-23, McLeod showed what he can do, producing a season-high 16 points, along with eight rebounds, two blocks and one assist, in 26 minutes off of the bench.

Certainly, the ‘Cuse in 2023-24 needs to vastly improve its defense and its rebounding. Shooting from beyond the arc is another facet to watch. Last term, Williams, Taylor and Bell showed an ability to knock down 3-pointers, but they have to do so more consistently. By extension, Starling, Westry and Mintz all must improve from deep.

Mintz electing to come back after testing the 2023 NBA Draft waters is huge. The backcourt is loaded with guys who can suit up at point guard, shooting guard and on the wing at small forward.

Adrian Autry has said that in 2023-24, he wants to play a mix of man-to-man and zone defensive schemes. He wants to play at a fast, up-tempo pace, and that could include getting out more in transition as well as utilizing a full-court or half-court press.

With such an athletic and deep roster, he should be able to do those things and not have to worry about fatigue being an issue.

Williams has two years in the ‘Cuse system, and I think he’s poised for a strong junior stanza. Mintz, Taylor, Bell, Copeland, Brown and Hima all have a year with the program under their belts. Carey is taking a medical redshirt for 2022-23, and I think both he and Patterson are longer-term developmental players.

Versatility among transfer guards

How Adrian Autry will divide up the minutes is something I’m curious about, and I’m not alone in that sentiment among Orange fans.

At center, if the quartet of McLeod, Hima, Carey and Patterson can combine for, say, 10-12 points and 6-8 rebounds per game, I believe that Syracuse basketball can make up for Edwards being gone through the team’s boatload of talent at guard and on the wing.

As far as the transfers into the program, let’s not forget that Starling, like Mintz, was on the ACC’s All-Freshman team in 2022-23. Starling is also a former five-star, top-25 national prospect in the 2022 class, and 247Sports’ final transfer rankings for this off-season put him at No. 5 across the country.

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Westry didn’t play much at Auburn in his freshman season due to an injury, but he’s a versatile guard/wing who was a former four-star, top-40 overall player in the 2022 cycle.

Cuffe, known for his explosive athleticism, has barely played in two campaigns at Kansas, due to a redshirt his first year and an injury this past season. But he was a prolific scorer in high school and has been with one of the country’s best programs for the past two years, including when the Jayhawks won the national championship in the 2021-22 term.

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When I penned this column, the Syracuse basketball four-member 2023 transfer class had a national team ranking of No. 10 overall, according to the 247Sports Web site.

To reiterate, losing Edwards is tough. Losing Girard’s scoring is something that the 2023-24 roster will have to replace. But to me, on paper, the Orange’s line-up for the upcoming season has a lot of net positives, and that’s a credit to what Adrian Autry and his staff have done in recent months.

Credit the ‘Cuse staff this off-season

One other thing before I sign off here. As Autry & Co. have lined up these various commitments, whether through the transfer portal or from high-school recruits, I’ve seen some ‘Cuse fans make comments that suggest Adrian Autry and his assistants don’t deserve much praise, if any, for these recruiting wins, because the Orange coaching staff had prior relationships with guys like Starling, Westry and Cuffe. Respectfully, that sort of sentiment from some Orange fans is total non-sense.

It’s true that while they were in high school, Syracuse basketball coaches recruited those three. Starling officially visited the Hill twice and had the Orange in his top five before picking Notre Dame.

Westry also took an official visit to the ‘Cuse and had Syracuse basketball in his top 10 before committing to Auburn. Orange coaches also recruited Cuffe for a period of time, and he even attended the team’s annual Elite Camp in 2019.

Furthermore, McLeod said in an interview prior to committing to Syracuse basketball that the ‘Cuse coaching staff had been watching him since he was a freshman in high school.

So, yeah, Syracuse basketball coaches had prior relationships with its new transfer commitments. That didn’t guarantee these players would automatically commit to the Orange after they hit the transfer portal this off-season.

The ‘Cuse coaching staff had to navigate what other suitors these players were hearing from, convince them of their fit being a good one in the team’s system, assure them that playing time would be available in 2023-24 or beyond, and also likely consider other factors including NIL.

Therefore, there were probably challenges and hurdles for Syracuse basketball coaches in landing Westry, Starling, McLeod and Cuffe out of the portal, while retaining eight 2022-23 players, holding onto the verbal commitments of Patterson and the top-70 Moore, as well as securing a pledge from the top-40 Freeman.

Absolutely, this is all talk on my part and some conjecture/speculation. I readily acknowledge that it remains to be seen if Adrian Autry can improve upon the Orange’s disappointing performances over the last two years and return Syracuse basketball to March Madness.

Still, what Adrian Autry and assistants Gerry McNamara, Allen Griffin and Brenden Straughn have done on the recruiting trail in recent months, to me, has proven highly encouraging. Oh, and Autry retaining Coach GMac and Coach Griff, and also bringing on board Coach Straughn, was further proof that Adrian Autry is the right person to lead Syracuse basketball moving forward.