I see mixed results and I’m sure that will go over well
The Syracuse Orange 2024-25 basketball season started with the hope that last year’s success would turn into a return to the NCAA Tournament.
With four games remaining, most fans just hope the end of the season comes swiftly while a number of Syracuse fans hope the end of the Adrian Autry era comes just as swiftly. I’m not going to rehash my thoughts on Autry returning next season here, I want to focus on the actual coaching and a couple of things I think are and aren’t working.
This won’t be a deep dive as there will be plenty of time post-season for more detailed breakdowns, but I wanted to hit on some themes. You won’t see things like cut down on turnovers or make more shots, but more about the general philosophies.
Since negativity is winning these days, I’ll start with what I haven’t liked from the staff in the last two years…
Defense
It’s been a problem the last four years and what’s frustrating is that we’re seeing the same issues repeated each game. Syracuse struggles identifying shooters and making the proper rotation. While the fans have focused on how defenders constantly go under screens, it’s the lack of awareness that I find more troubling. Players are giving up layups because they are late rotating, or just simply refusing to leave perimeter players to stop drives.
After Eliot Cadeau iced the UNC win, many pointed the finger at Jaquan Carlos for getting beat, but no one talked about the players watching Cadeau waltz to the rim. It’s been a far too frequent occurrence to see no one contest opponents driving to the rim. You can’t make players shot blockers, but positioning and awareness should be improving at this point….when was the last time I Syracuse defender drew a charge?
Managing the minutes
Injuries have impacted the planned rotation all year, but it’s more about the in-game substitution pattern. In hockey, coaches of struggling teams often put their lines in a blender searching for a spark and that’s what this year has felt like watching Syracuse. Outside of JJ Starling and Eddie Lampkin, you never know what you’ll get from game to game.
I’d be fine if the staff was riding the hot hand, but the other night Chris Bell was finally looking confident and he started the 2nd half on the bench. It’s understandable that you don’t know what you’ll get each night, but the substitution pattern often feels far too random and not based on what the game flow demands.
Messaging
It hasn’t mattered if it’s post-game analysis of his team’s play or injury updates, the messaging from Adrian Autry hasn’t helped fans feel better about the program. The lack of any public comments from John Wildhack hasn’t helped fans feel better about the program. We should know that Autry’s not Fran Brown, but it’s not going to stop fans from making the comparison. That doesn’t mean Red needs to be like Fran, but he could take a lesson from the messaging coming from football, be more transparent and honestly be more defensive of his team.
Matt Cashore-Imagn Images
There are a couple of areas where I have seen positives from the staff and one will probably surprise a lot of you.
Offensive approach
Syracuse’s players don’t look to the bench for play calls on every possession, but if you pay attention the staff is adjusting the approach based on opponents. Maybe it’s not the offensive approach you want, but the team is trying to space the floor and exploit mismatches.
I liked the approach the other night to attack inside with Jyare Davis on a smaller defender. I liked the approach at BC to spread the floor and let JJ Starling get straight line drives to the basket. The game plan has even set up Chris Bell for a lot of corner 3s.
This team has tried to focus on getting the ball inside and playing through the post. It’s the right approach with the personnel and in most games it’s been the offense keeping the Orange in the game.
Now it’s far from perfect because I’d like to see more use of perimeter players as cutters instead of all being spot-up shooters, but the principles are there….if you had more talent to take advantage. Last year this same approach led to a lot of drives for Judah Mintz and next season, you need a combination of more playmakers and better shooting. If you don’t have those players, then you need to see adjustments in the approach.
Rebounding
Another problem the last few years has been watching opponents kill Syracuse on the offensive glass. This year, the team is 65th in rebounding, up from 298th last year. There is evidence that the staff saw the struggles last year and went out and got players who can rebound. It’s too bad those rebounds haven’t turned into more transition, but there has been an improved emphasis on attacking the defensive glass.
Not losing the room
This season has been miserable for everyone involved with Syracuse basketball. No one’s happy with where things stand and yet the mess hasn’t spilled into the locker room. There have been no shoves of coaches, no instances of players needing to be separated from one another and the only technical fouls have been for trash talk and not cheap shots on opponents.
Post-game quotes have avoided blame. The team might be indifferent towards each other, or maybe they respect each other and the staff and haven’t quit. I won’t claim to know the inner workings of the locker room, but it hasn’t spilled out and I think that’s a positive for the staff.
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Bottom line is that it’s all going to come down to wins and losses next season. There’s reason for concern and skepticism that this is the right direction for the program, but there’s also some hope that the structure in place allows this staff the ability to do what they need to be in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.