Article by Dan Tortora
Years ago, a friend of mine and I sat elbow to elbow at a small table in a restaurant in Upstate New York.
We were discussing Syracuse Orange men's basketball.
Then, I posed this question to him, "Do you want to be a head coach someday?"
His answer, without hesitation, was, "Yes".
That friend? Adrian Autry.
Fast-forward to these past couple of years.
I have been asked numerous times who I think should take over the Syracuse program once Jim Boeheim leaves.
Time and time again, my answer, "Adrian Autry".
Why?
Because just like back on that day at that restaurant, Autry gave me reason to believe.
When he sat there that night discussing Syracuse basketball, he shared with me players he had recruited, like Chris McCullough, Jerami Grant, Tyler Ennis, and so on.
I said to him that some people did not even know that he was the main recruiter for guys that not only excelled at Syracuse but that also went on to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA) or professionally overseas.
His response?
He did not care because he did not like to talk about himself.
My response?
It was along the lines of, "That's cool that you don't talk about yourself, and I respect that. But, I can talk about you all I want, and I'm going to."
Add in his developement of the forwards over the last 10+ years as their position coach at Syracuse and you can see the proof of his tutelage.
Look at Rakeem Christmas, CJ Fair, Jerami Grant, Tyler Lydon...
Fast-forward to now and see the way Benny Williams is shooting at the end of the 2022-23 season as opposed to the beginning.
On top of that, look at his title: Associate Head Coach.
I asked him years ago what that meant and Autry shared that if Boeheim was ejected, got suspended, was out sick, then, "I'm the guy that holds the clipboard."
Boeheim has trusted him.
He played here.
He has coached here.
He has risen to be the right-hand person for Boeheim, and learned from him as a player and as a professional.
So what do I think about Autry becoming the new head coach of Syracuse basketball?
I will answer that the same way I spoke to Autry years ago when he told me he wanted to become a head coach someday...
"You deserve it."
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