Syracuse Basketball: Orange head coach Adrian Autry deserves more time

My fellow Syracuse Orange fans, I think it's time we have a little talk. Some things might be hard to discuss but I do think that we still need to have the conversation anyway. I honestly don't enjoy these conversations either but I feel right now that I should.

So here it is: Syracuse basketball head coach Adrian Autry isn't getting fired, he shouldn't be and if anything, we need to support him now more than ever. If you are one of those calling for his job, that's not the answer. Let me explain.

Let me start with this. Some of those same people were the first ones saying that former head coach Jim Boeheim needed to go because the program was struggling. They were tired of the struggles, they were complaining he needed to try man-to-man defense more (even though many experts thought this zone defense made them harder to play) and lighting up social media and sports talk with so many negative hot takes that Boeheim himself felt the urge to have to respond to them often during interviews.

So he left and they wanted *insert top name coach here* but instead stayed in house with Coach Autry and they didn't like that.

That hiring took place on March 8th, 2023. That was one year and 9 months ago. In that time, there have been some ups like beating UNC last season at home as shown above and then the struggles like losing recently to Georgetown in a game that Cuse likely should have won.

And I HATE HATE losing to Georgetown and even begged this staff and team to beat Georgetown but they lost the one game every year I want to win more than anything so I understand the frustration. I do.

Why I believe Syracuse basketball head coach Adrian Autry needs, and deserves, more time.

But following this loss, I saw more people just trashing the program publicly and calling for Autry's job. After a 4-point loss to an 8-2 team that sadly lost due to a 8-2 run in the last 4 minutes by the Hoyas. And I know someone will read this and say that I am a homer just making excuses but I didn't want to lose either...I just simply see things as more than just wins and losses if there is something there to see.

And yes I do try to accentuate the positives when I can but I don't do so just to spite the anger, I do it because I see something positive to share or maybe something I feel like should be addressed. Like say for example that I think it's more hurtful than helpful to call for coaches' jobs after only a little over one season or criticizing players who might be struggling in public forums.

Yes I get it. Free speech and all so I can say what I want. This social media stuff isn't real anyway. It's part of the job of a player or a coach to just accept it and move on. They make enough that they should just suck it up.

And I am not saying the world is all sunshine and rainbows (though yes sometimes I wish it were more often) or that you shouldn't be disappointed when the team loses or a player struggles. But I also think sometimes we need to remember that people's jobs and livelihoods and families rely on these opportunities and as fans, even when we are frustrated, maybe we should find more ways to be supportive and lift them up instead of trying to fire everyone and share your every insight how players should play better.

I am not writing this to lecture anyone. I am not naive enough to think because I type this, every single person will read it and see things my way. But I do think sometimes it's easy to get wrapped up in emotions than to pull back, think about how you'd react if this was you or someone you cared about and how you'd want folks to respond.

I know that I personally respond better to support and constructive criticism from my peers and don't respond well to negativity or conflict when there are better ways to handle matters and most of the time there is a better way. And these players have high-level coaches working with them already and don't need Brandon in B'Ville telling them how to play better when he can instead stand behind the player and encourage them, letting them know they have their back.

If you want to say that you wish the defense would improve, I get it. If you hate losing, I get it. Trust me, I do but I also would like to let you know that we need players like Bell to be confident in his shot. We need to remember that Coach Autry has JJ Starling out injured and two freshmen who are improving and others finding their way to improve as well.

We don't need comments like, "If I were Freeman, I'd enter the portal" when we could take a deep breath and see that Coach Autry simply thought others were doing things he thought important at the time and played them.

I will end with this...I like being a fan. I like rooting for my team. I want to see Coach Adrian Autry succeed and the players excel. And while losing sucks and we all need to vent sometimes, it's also fair to remember that these are people too who represent the team we love and sometimes, especially during the struggles, that is when they need our love and support the most.

I don't know what the future holds and I hate losing too but I also know the players and staff do too so I am hopeful things will improve soon. Coach Autry isn't getting fired anytime soon nor should he (especially with a 2025 class ranked 9th by 24/7 Sports coming in next season too), so let's all embrace it and support this team the best way we can.

Go Orange!