Will Syracuse make the changes to support this decision?
Syracuse Orange athletic director John Wildhack told reporters yesterday that Adrian Autry would return for the 25-26 season.
This shouldn’t surprise fans. I don’t want to keep arguing if this is deserved, or if Autry’s shown enough to warrant a third season because this is what was likely going to happen. The attention now turns to the financial challenges ahead (via Donna Ditota), to reach the non-specific goals Wildhack outlined (courtesy Mike Waters) for next season.
Financial support is just one piece of the problem and if Syracuse puts it’s full attention there, the results won’t likely meet anyone’s expectations. Don’t get me wrong, the House Settlement money and NIL will make a difference in the transfer portal. This program needs an influx of talent after a decade highlighted by players who have been rarely selected in the NBA Draft. Money can help that upgrade.
Money can also help Autry on the sidelines. Syracuse currently has the ability to fill two more full-time coaching positions and I think it’s not the time for Wildhack to say this “If he comes to me and says, hey, this is what I want to do, we’re going to do it.” It’s time for Wildhack and the Syracuse Athletics administration to go to Autry and tell him he’s been funded for one more coaching position and that position needs to be filled with someone who can run the defense.
Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
You might not like the offense the Orange runs, but the defense lacks identity, intensity and any semblance of creativity. Syracuse shouldn’t go back to the 2-3 zone, but in the modern game, a program should have options for half-court pressure, full-court pressure, and a change of pace option to fit the personnel.
Wildhack made an interesting statement about scheduling saying,
“Any neutral site game that we play going forward there needs to be some kind of NIL or revenue coming back to the men’s basketball program,” Wildhack said. “The days of us going to the Bahamas and we pay to go to the Bahamas and get a few rooms, those days are over. I will not do that. We will not do that. Anything we do in that way is going to benefit the program, either the operating budget or NIL.”
I’d argue that scheduling shouldn’t just be about revenue and NIL. The Players Era Tournament will provide revenue and some quality non-conference games, so Syracuse should load up the home slate next year. One of Autry’s mistakes this season was scheduling too many tough non-conference games. Strength of schedule doesn’t matter if you don’t win and the Orange clearly needed more tune-up games with the roster turnover.
Next year will see another large turnover of the rotation, so don’t play games in NYC when you have Vegas and a game in ACC-SEC Challenge. It’s time to bring back the New York State Invitational inside the Dome and let Doug Gottlieb worry about his own program.
The last challenge is probably the toughest. Syracuse has to convince fans to come back to the Dome. The last few seasons have been disappointing on and off the court. Rising ticket prices, the botched seat reassignments of last summer and the way Jim Boeheim’s tenure concluded have played as much of a role in decreased attendance numbers as the win-loss record.
I don’t think Syracuse can roll out the same ticket sales approach that they’ve used (or paid someone to implement). The other day I listened to former Florida Marlins President David Sampson say that the key for a struggling franchise was to find ways to add value to expensive seats, so you could lower costs in other areas without giving up revenue. For the Orange that means better perks for those donors who invest in those seats (and the NIL) while making it more affordable for fans to fill the 300 level.
Anyone who followed the reactions from this season knows that faith in Adrian Autry has waned and it won’t be easy for Syracuse to get that back.
“Winning solves everything”, but getting back to winning is going to take a lot of action.