Adrian Autry says ‘there’s nothing wrong’ with Syracuse’s offense
Despite worsening metrics, head coach Adrian Autry said “there’s nothing wrong” with Syracuse’s offense after it defeated Mercyhurst 76-62. Courtesy of Evan Harrington | The Newshouse
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In the press conference room in the tunnel behind the JMA Wireless Dome’s hardwood, everything seemed normal enough.
Adrian Autry took the podium, first expressing disappointment in Syracuse’s “dips” throughout the second half of its win over Mercyhurst, before talking about how much he admires his team’s “fight.” Those words, along with “level five energy,” are two of his most-used terms.
Then Syracuse’s offense came up a few minutes later. A palpable tension filled the room.
“Oh yeah, I’ve seen a lot of growth,” Autry said.
He paused for five seconds, staring into the TV cameras and gripping the podium, before saying, “There’s nothing wrong with our offense.”
But numbers don’t lie, and SU’s offensive output entirely undermines Autry’s assertion. After defeating Mercyhurst (4-8, Northeast) 76-62 Wednesday following an upset loss to Hofstra, Syracuse’s (7-4, ACC) KenPom offensive adjusted efficiency dropped from No. 107 pregame to No. 118. For comparison, SU ranked 106th when it won 14 games last season.
“What we’re trying to do is very, very hard,” Autry said. “What I’m asking them to do is very, very hard. But we got the ingredients, and we have the people that can do it. You guys have seen it. Everyone has seen it. It’s just a matter of us getting more consistent.”
Because Donnie Freeman — Syracuse’s leading scorer with 17.8 points per game — has missed the last seven games with a lower body injury, J.J. Starling is the lone healthy returner from last year’s team.
The Orange are running some of the same plays from last season, Autry said, but there’s more movement and cutting. Additionally, he explained that “you’re not always going to have the ball.”
In Starling’s mind, what Autry is asking is so difficult because it demands sacrifice and frequent movement on top of defensive responsibilities. Those factors, he says, result in a lot of energy being exerted.
“But if we do it, we can be really good, and just do it consistently,” Starling said.
Consistency hasn’t been present across SU’s recent three-game stretch: A narrow win over Saint Joseph’s, an unacceptable loss to Hofstra and just a 14-point win over newly-christened Division I program Mercyhurst.
“I feel like sometimes we get stagnant, like we don’t have ball movement or player movement,” Tyler Betsey said postgame. “But when we get rolling, I think we’re a good offensive team.”
Talent isn’t the issue. Autry said so himself, saying the Orange have the ingredients to be a “championship team.” Kiyan Anthony feels the same way, adding that SU has “multiple players” who can create, score, and playmake.
Anthony also explained Syracuse has “good offensive sets,” but when opposing teams blow them up, they revert to leaning on ball screens and isolation. Conversely, Anthony mentioned he often sees opposing teams have a backup play if their initial set is blown up.
“As far as that, I would say the players and the coaches could be on a better page when the first initial play breaks down, or the action, and we could just figure out what to do after that,” Anthony said.
The freshman was also quick to insist that the issue cannot be blamed solely on SU’s coaches, and that it also falls on the players.
Their offensive sets are not the only thing the Orange need to figure out. Autry emphasized that in a hypothetical scenario where they made their free throws, they’d be averaging around 80 points.
But back in reality, Syracuse is the second-worst free-throw shooting team in the country — an issue that prevented them from upsetting No. 8 Houston.
And when Autry’s deflecting to moral victories against upper-echelon programs — like saying SU’s “scored enough” to keep it “right there” — following a disappointing stretch against three mid-major programs, that’s rarely a good thing.
Look no further than Syracuse’s KenPom rating, which has slipped to a season-low No. 79 just over a month after peaking at No. 48 after the first three games of the season.
Autry says he sees improvement. But the on-court product tells a different story.
