Who knew the Apology Tour would lead to this
It was March 27, 2021 and the Syracuse Orange were overwhelmed 62-46 by the Houston Cougars in the Sweet Sixteen. The 18-11 Orange had snuck into the Tournament by the skin of their teeth but after knocking off San Diego State and West Virginia, people were feeling good about the program getting out of the rut they’d been in since joining the ACC.
After the 2016 Final Four run, we had another example of Syracuse barely getting in and then annoying America by winning in March. We loved reminding Lunardi and Seth Davis and others that you could dismiss the Orange at your own risk but when the ball was tipped they responded.
In hindsight that game didn’t send the program on an upswing, it sent it on a slide. After finally settling on a roster to surround Buddy Boeheim with athletic defenders and rebounders, Jim Boeheim watched (encouraged? didn’t dissuade?) Kadary Richmond, Quincy Guerrier and Robert Braswell leave and Syracuse has yet to recover.
With only Marek Dolezaj departing, it looked like the 21-22 Orange would have a backcourt of Boeheim, Richmond and Joe Girard to go along with Jesse Edwards in the middle and Guerrier/Braswell/Jimmy Boeheim and Benny Williams. (Note: It would seem unlikely that Cole Swider or Symir Torrence would have come to Syracuse had the others stayed so let’s assume that was the case).
That anticipated roster offered a mix of players who could be used to support each other’s strengths and weaknesses. You would have lost Dolezaj’s ability to facilitate the offense, but Edwards was a better interior defender. It would have been interesting to see what Syracuse could have done with the group returning.
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Instead the following season gave us a powerful collection of Syracuse shooters who couldn’t guard if they were defending a hallway. It led to the first sub .500 season in Boeheim’s career and featured some memorable late-game collapses.
Guerrier bounced from Oregon to Illinois where he found a supporting role in his final season and helped the Illini to the Elite Eight. Richmond is finishing his eligibility this year for Rick Pitino at St. John’s and even Edwards and Girard ended up playing their fifth years at West Virginia and Clemson respectively.
The sub. 500 season put Jim Boeheim’s future under more scrutiny. The Hall of Fame coach came back for the 22-23 season with six freshmen and the immaturity showed throughout the season. Syracuse suffered their second-straight double-digit home loss to Colgate, but rebounded to be at 16-10 heading into the final stretch. Unfortunately, the Orange dropped four-straight games by double-digits to end all bubble talk and after losing in the ACC Tournament, Jim Boeheim gave an awkward post-game press conference about his future and an hour later it was announced that he was retiring.
The awkward coaching transition to Adrian Autry didn’t help the new head coach out at all. Compare it to Coach K’s send-off, which self-indulgent as it may have been, allowed Jon Scheyer to have the benefit of recruiting his first class alongside Coach K. I’m not saying that Syracuse would have landed a class like the Blue Devils, or that Boeheim should have had an uncomfortable farewell tour, but replacing a Hall of Fame coach is hard enough, doing it in March when no one knew you’d be taking over makes it more difficult.
Add to that the feeling that perhaps it was Gerry McNamara who should have been next in line and you can understand why some fans have been less patient with Autry through his first 42 games in charge. This isn’t a scenario unique to Syracuse as Kyle Neptune, Jay Wright’s successor at Villanova has faced a similar level of scrutiny through his first two-plus years leading the Wildcats. No one wants to be the guy to replace the guy and that’s why most schools replace legends with someone “from the family”.
Last year Syracuse got to 20 wins but never received serious NCAA consideration and the roster was turned over. Like his predecessor, Autry might have encouraged some of those moves and now he’s left trying to piece together a bunch of new parts that aren’t fitting. It’s the new landscape and college coaches need to be able to adapt to the roster turnover.
The hope is that Autry’s staff is building recruiting momentum. His first two classes have featured five-star recruits. The Orange have added a GM in Alex Kline who is known for his scouting acumen. They kept Elijah Moore home, and have looked to international players to find talent in new spots. This staff also got the Carmelo Anthony seal of approval when they got Kiyan’s commitment, which should send a message to fans that the Orange legend trusts their ability….but hope isn’t going to keep the fanbase satisfied. Autry’s going to have to find a way to get the Orange back into the NCAA Tournament, and back to the level many fans expect.
We can’t go back and undo the way the transition from Boeheim was handled, but it’s time to stop looking at the past and building for the future. The Syracuse basketball program that many fans remember is over a decade in the past and getting back to that level wasn’t going to happen overnight.