Adrian Autry, who was fired by SU officials on Wednesday, went just 49-48 overall in his three seasons guiding his alma mater, Syracuse basketball. After taking over from Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim, Autry went 20-12 in the 2023-24 campaign, followed by 14-19 in 2024-25 and 15-17 during the most recent season.
The 'Cuse never made the NCAA Tournament under Autry, and Syracuse basketball hasn't received a Big Dance invite since 2021. So why did Autry not thrive as the Orange's head coach?
Well, some SU fans will simply opine that Red isn't a good head coach. Okay, that's their opinion. But let's dig a bit deeper than that.
Numerous things doomed Adrian Autry's tenure as Syracuse basketball's head coach.
Poor defense
In years past, the Orange was often known for having a stifling zone defense. Under Autry, he went to more of a man-to-man look, and that didn't work out too well. This past season, the 'Cuse allowed 74.2 points per game after giving up a whopping 77.8 points per contest in 2024-25. That's a problem.
So-so shooting from deep
The college game is highly dependent on 3-pointers these days. In 2025-26, SU made 32.9 percent from 3-point land; in 2024-25, it was 32.8 percent.
Rebounding woes
This past term, Syracuse basketball averaged 34.1 boards per game, while its foes corralled 37.0 rebounds per encounter. Yikes.
Stagnant, unimaginative offense
Regardless of how many points Syracuse averaged per game, the team's offense lacked ball movement, player movement, rhythm and flow. It was often tough to watch.
Abymsal free-throw shooting
The charity stripe cost the Orange multiple wins in 2025-26. Although SU's free-throw shooting did improve throughout the season, Syracuse basketball ended at 64.8 percent, which was near the bottom of the entire country.
A lack of energy and effort at times
Without question, 'Cuse players were frustrated as 2025-26 carried on, and the losses piled up. That showed on the floor, as some players appeared not to give their full energy and effort at all times, which is completely unacceptable.
Brutal setbacks
This term, Syracuse basketball had highly ranked Houston on the ropes in Las Vegas, but the Cougars prevailed by four points in overtime. That loss haunted SU. So did defeats to Hofstra by one point, Clemson by three points, Boston College by eight points in overtime, Virginia Tech by two points, Wake Forest by five points and, in the regular-season finale, Pittsburgh by two points in overtime.
Transfer portal departures that hurt
Three that come to mind are big man Maliq Brown of Duke, guard Quadir Copeland of N.C. State and wing Chance Westry of UAB. Westry barely played at SU but is having a terrific 2025-26 campaign for the Blazers. Brown just won the ACC defensive player of the year and the league's sixth man of the year, while Copeland resides on the All-ACC third team.
Transfer portal commits who didn't pan out
I hate to use the word "bust," but guys who transferred into the Orange and I had hoped would fare better included guard J.J. Starling, point guard Jaquan Carlos, point guard Naithan George and center Naheem McLeod, among others.
Recruiting missteps
Donnie Freeman, a consensus five-star prospect in the 2024 class, was Syracuse basketball's highest-ranked signee dating back to Carmelo Anthony. Was Freeman a bust? No, but I had hoped for more from him. Over the past few high school recruiting cycles, the Orange missed on some targets who have played quite well in college, including three guards from New York state in Nigel James Jr. of Marquette, Ian Jackson of St. John's and Boogie Fland of Florida. By extension, SU's rough 2025-26 season played a key role in the 'Cuse not ultimately being a huge contender for elite 2026 five-star prospects such as Jordan Smith Jr. and Deron Rippey Jr.
NIL, NIL, NIL
Since SU Athletics won't talk to me much at all about revenue-sharing and third-party NIL, it's tough to gauge just where Syracuse basketball sits in NIL dollars within the ACC. Anecdotally, I've heard that the Orange was relatively competitive, financially speaking, in the ACC related to its 2025-26 roster. Boeheim, though, appears to disagree.