The way Syracuse basketball 'was covered was a little disappointing' - Adrian Autry

Syracuse basketball just suffered through its worst season in decades, and an ongoing topic for much of the 2024-25 campaign, unfortunately yet understandably, was the job security of second-year head coach Adrian Autry.

After guiding his alma mater, in 2023-24, to 20 regular-season wins for the first time in a decade, Autry and his program went 14-19 overall this term and missed the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight occasion.

In 2024-25, the Orange tallied its fewer number of victories in a stanza dating back to 1969-70. Autry will return for 2025-26, and I'm okay with him getting one more year, even if many other 'Cuse fans want him gone.

The Orange's 2024-25 season came to an end earlier this week in the ACC Tournament's second round, when the 'Cuse lost to SMU by a final count of 73-53. In his post-game presser, Autry said in part about the squad's most recent campaign, "It was a little disappointing, to be honest with you, going through some tough times. I just think I’ll learn a lot from that. I have learned a lot from that. I’ll just leave it at that. … I just think as an alum, you’re disappointed in yourself that you can’t get your team to play well as a coach."

According to a post on X from the account Cuse Sports Talk, Autry also said, "But the way the team was covered was a little disappointing."

Interesting.

Respectfully, I disagree with Adrian Autry about how the media covered Syracuse basketball this season.

Okay. So first and foremost, I respect Autry as a former star 'Cuse player and now as the team's head coach. A lot of fans trashed him and the team as 2024-25 carried on, and while I didn't shy away from honestly assessing the Orange's performance this past season, I never personally attacked Autry, his assistants or the players.

That being said, while fans can be cruel at times on social media when discussing Syracuse basketball, I'm not sure what Autry is talking about when he says how the team was covered "was a little disappointing."

The Orange, without question, was hurt by injuries to key players in 2024-25. The 'Cuse did hang tough with some of its foes that Syracuse basketball ultimately lost to, but the Orange was also poor on defense, often committed way too many turnovers and would frequently get blown out by higher-quality opponents.

How should the media have covered Syracuse basketball differently? One thing to note here is that you've got traditional media - newspaper beat writers, radio and television reporters and then fan Web sites such as Inside The Loud House, which I run.

I extensively follow many of the journalists who cover the Orange as their full-time profession. I don't see how they covered the 'Cuse unfairly or inaccurately, if that's in any way what Autry is implying. What's more, while I will readily acknowledge that some fans are way too over the top in their criticism of Syracuse basketball and its head coach, the Orange just had its worst season in more than 50 years.

How can you sugarcoat that any other way, other than to say that the 'Cuse was, to use Autry's words, "disappointing" this past season?

Those who know me well know that I bleed Orange no matter what and am a proud alum of Syracuse University. I've also tried to remain positive throughout 2024-25, even when this 'Cuse team didn't give me many reasons to feel optimistic.

I'm hopeful that 2025-26 will be better. I want that for Autry, his program and the fan base.