Syracuse Basketball: Adrian Autry is ‘very confident’ in this season’s team

Syracuse basketball first-year head coach Adrian Autry said during his media day press conference on Friday that he’s “very confident” his 2023-24 roster can do a lot of positive things, while also setting up the program for success in future seasons.

Autry, who took the helm of the Orange this past March when Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim retired, conducted his first media day on Friday. He was candid and concise, providing reporters with a glimpse into what he’s seeing of the ‘Cuse roster as it participates in preseason practices prior to the 2023-24 campaign getting underway in early November.

As someone who has followed the Syracuse basketball program for decades (I went to SU from 1996 to 2000), I have to say that it was a little strange not seeing Boeheim at the podium. However, while I will always love Jim, I’m pumped for the Adrian Autry era to commence.

Autry likes the ‘Cuse 2023-24 roster, and he says it’s an ultra-competitive group that doesn’t need any additional motivation from him or his staff to put in the work to get the Orange into a position to return to the NCAA Tournament after a two-year absence.

Syracuse basketball head coach Adrian Autry is confident in his 2023-24 line-up.

The Orange’s roster, which includes 13 scholarship players, is intriguing to say the least. On paper, this is an athletic, deep and versatile team. The ‘Cuse saw several 2022-23 players transfer out, including senior center Jesse Edwards and senior guard Joe Girard III, but Syracuse basketball also brought in numerous talented transfers to the Hill, along with a 2023 three-star center.

Additionally, all six members of the Orange’s 2022 class have returned, along with junior forward Benny Williams, among others. There are no seniors on the 2023-24 roster, and Autry acknowledges that the ‘Cuse is “not an old team by any stretch of the imagination.”

That being said, Adrian Autry says that his squad features a “nice mix” of juniors and underclassmen, and the guys who came back along with SU’s incoming transfers are working hard to get ready both physically and mentally to come together as a collective unit.

Autry notes that all of his players are competitive. “They understand what they want their season to be,” he says, adding that the players and the coaches have their own personal motivations, and “we kind of push each other.”

In recent interviews, Autry has said that he is seeing improvements across the board with his roster, and he echoed that sentiment on Friday during his presser on media day. “I’m excited about that,” the head coach stated.

In recent years, Boeheim would typically rely on a rotation of six to seven players as seasons would progress. Autry, in numerous interviews in recent months, has said one of his team’s strengths in 2023-24 will likely be the roster’s depth, options and versatility.

He wasn’t shy in saying that he would “play more than six or seven guys” in the upcoming stanza. Myself and many other Syracuse basketball fans can’t wait for that to transpire.