Special Start’: New Coach Adrian Autry Secures Debut Victory for Syracuse
The post-Jim Boeheim era at Syracuse University kicked off with a familiar sight on Monday: a victory.
In his inaugural game as the head coach, Adrian “Red” Autry, a former player under Boeheim and an assistant on his staff for 12 years, steered the Orange to an impressive 83-72 win over New Hampshire.
“I haven’t really had a lot of time to think about it,” Autry shared with reporters after the game. “I’m sure I’ll have more thoughts about it tonight. My dad came up, so that was special. I had some friends up. Lots of texts before the game. Texts now. I’m sure it’ll all sink in. I was really excited we held it together and escaped with the win.”
Syracuse swiftly surged to a 22-point lead in the first 10 minutes of the game. However, New Hampshire made a strong comeback, narrowing the lead to six early in the second half following an 8-0 run.
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Interestingly, it was a return to Syracuse’s renowned 2-3 zone defense that allowed the Orange to clinch the win. Autry had planned to play man-to-man defense in the offseason, a significant departure from Boeheim’s coaching style. Last March, Boeheim had announced his retirement after 47 seasons. But on Monday, Autry decided to revert to the tried-and-true zone defense.
“Thank god for the 2-3 zone,” Autry quipped. “We actually started practicing the zone sometime last week. We knew that we would need it. We were fortunate we got six or seven guys that know the zone, that played it last year. So that helped us out a lot.”
Star guard Judah Mintz had an impressive performance with 20 points, despite battling foul trouble, while Justin Taylor contributed 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. Notre Dame transfer JJ Starling struggled with his shooting, scoring 10 points and going 3-for-13 from the field.
Autry reflected on how different the game experience was in his new role after the match.
“I prepared the same,” he explained. “The biggest difference, obviously, is I’m the head coach. Had to call a couple of timeouts, try to gather the guys. When I was with Coach, he let us be involved a lot. So it wasn’t that much of a difference, it’s just me being the head coach, which is a big difference. It was exciting. I was excited.”
“It’s good if it works,” he added with a chuckle. “I’m sure sometimes it’ll work and sometimes it won’t. But that’s what I signed up for, and I’m excited for it.”
Autry won’t have much time to savor his first career win; Syracuse is back in action on Wednesday against Canisius.
