Changes pending?
The Syracuse Orange men’s basketball head coach was not pleased with his team’s effort in its 82-72 victory over crosstown foe Cornell on Wednesday night. Adrian Autry wouldn’t address players by name, but questioned their heart as Syracuse once again struggled defensively and surrendered a quick lead from the opening tip.
Autry, speaking like a convicted coach who’s stepped into his responsibility, qualified the effort as a step backwards from the progress that was made last week in Brooklyn.
“Coming into this game I thought we made some progress as a team in New York,” Adrian Autry said post-game. “That wasn’t the case today. We took steps backwards. Guys that are not gonna play with heart and not gonna do the things we ask them to do will not play. That’s the bottom line.”
Syracuse center Eddie Lampkin was limited to a season-low nine minutes against Cornell, coming off the bench as Autry went with Jyare Davis in the starting lineup for the first time this season. With the exception of Donnie Freeman’s offense, the the starters struggled for much of the game, particularly from the opening tip. Autry instead lauded the play of his bench Wednesday night, which was responsible for bringing defensive intensity and changing the tenor of the game.
“Eddie, he wasn’t 100 percent,” Autry said. “He came in and gave us a big lift, impacting the game not worrying about scoring. That’s what he does. He came in and impacted the game. Him, Petar [Majstorovic], Lucas Taylor, … Kyle Cuffe. Those guys gave us great energy off the bench and they came in and just played. They didn’t worry about anything else.”
While Autry refrained from calling out any player in particular, he admonished the overall defense — including how results on the offensive end tend to influence the defense.
“Until we get to that point, it’s going to be up and down. Until this team understands we gotta play defense and don’t let the offense impact the defense,” the head coach said. “We’ve got enough (talent). We’ve got enough. But we can’t continue to have performances like these.”
Rich Barnes-Imagn Images
Since he’s taken over the program Autry has made it known he intends to play with depth, at times going as deep as ten or 11 guys in his rotation. He still wants to play with depth, he said, rather than shortening the rotation. But minutes could be divided going forward. Ten players saw time on Wednesday night, with Kyle Cuffe rounding out the rotation.
“He really had a great week and a half of practice,” Autry said of Cuffe. “I think he got in and he’s been playing well in practice. He’s been defending and he gives you some toughness. He earned everything he got.”
Syracuse has struggled to get production from the point guard position this year, yet Autry stopped short of criticizing Jaquan Carlos despite his minutes being reduced. Instead, the coach defended the Hofstra transfer and his ability to get others involved, stating the team isn’t making shots and on the other end Carlos isn’t receiving help when he’s applying defensive pressure on-ball.
“He was (brought) in here to get guys the ball, to play defense,” Autry said of Carlos. “So we struggled on defense. He’s heating up the ball. We break down, it looks like it’s Jaquan. It’s not Jaquan. It’s our defense. You need help. If he gets in there, he drives it, passes to someone, they don’t make the shot. His value allows JJ [Starling] to be JJ.”
At best, Syracuse’s overall defense has been spotty. The Orange rank No. 153 in defensive efficiency (KenPom), an area the program has struggled to perform in significantly across the last six seasons. Syracuse has also struggled guarding teams in transition this season alone.
So far, Syracuse has fallen short of the standard that Autry is asking of his team. The head coach gave credit to the bench players following the Cornell game. Asked how he would approach getting guys to do what Syracuse needs, he answered simply.
“Play those guys. Play them,” Autry said. “Give them more minutes. That’s how you make it contagious.”