Syracuse’s ‘Fighter of the Game’ encapsulates new brand, winning formula
After Syracuse's upset victory over No. 13 Tennessee, head coach Adrian Autry earned his recently introduced "Fighter of the Game" award. Eli Schwartz | Staff Photographer
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Adrian Autry leads his team through “buzzwords.” They mostly revolve around the same idea. There’s “level five energy” to symbolize all five players giving maximum effort in unison. Autry refers to his bench as “the juicing station,” simply because they bring the juice.
Then there are his terms when Syracuse is in a battle. He refers to the court as “in the ring,” hoping his players resemble the toughness of boxing legends like Mike Tyson or Floyd Mayweather Jr.
“We want to fight,” Autry said.
But in a boxing match, you need some gloves. And if you win, you need a gold-plated championship belt.
Every team has its gimmick as a postgame celebration, rewarding the top player of the game. Naturally, in Autry’s third season helming Syracuse, he’s introduced the “Fighter of the Game.” The winner earns a set of boxing gloves with their number and SU’s signature slogan, “The Orange Standard,” imprinted on the strap.
With the gloves comes a heavy gold chain resembling a championship belt. Selected by Autry, Naithan George, Nate Kingz, William Kyle III and SU’s bench earned the honor through its first four games. But on Tuesday, as Syracuse captured a signature win over No. 13 Tennessee, Syracuse’s coaching staff went in a different direction. Awarded by his fellow coaches and bestowed upon him by director of strength and conditioning Robert Harris, Autry earned the award.
“They look forward to it, they buy into it,” Autry said postgame. “And it’s a real cool thing to get rewarded.”
Fighter of the Game: Coach Red 🥊 pic.twitter.com/UOzgELXoZD
— Syracuse Men’s Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) December 3, 2025
Autry knows the leading scorer will naturally be publicized and appreciated. But he wants to instead highlight the unsung heroes. Autry said the winner is often the one doing the work in the margins, joking that they’re usually not written about by the media. The coaching staff came up with the honor in the preseason, adding to SU’s new identity.
In his first two seasons, Autry was picking up the pieces of Jim Boeheim’s final years. It took time and money for Autry to build his own program with the players who fit the mold of a defensive-minded unit. He brought in athletic freaks like Kyle from the transfer portal and Sadiq White from the high school ranks. Returning guard J.J. Starling has notably bought in further defensively.
The Orange also changed their training in the offseason, bringing in Harris to replace Ryan Cabiles, who was at SU since 2007. Harris told The Daily Orange on Syracuse’s preseason Media Day that the new-look squad spent the summer working on conditioning through late-night runs from the Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center to the JMA Wireless Dome. The Orange lived on the hills of J.S. Coyne Stadium and honed in on “moving the weight fast” in the weight room.
“It’s like a mental game,” Harris said on Oct. 15. “If I’m making them run for a set time, I’ll give them a time that I know is impossible to make, but I want to see if they’re going to continue to fight to try to make that time.”
Freshman guard Kiyan Anthony entered college known for his offensive pedigree. Yet he enjoys the physicality, saying the team “damn near fights each other every day in practice.” Of course, the teammates make up postgame, but Anthony said it’s a goal to be one of the more physical teams in the country, especially based on SU’s recent trend of lacking in the area.
Anthony added that the “Fighter of the Game” is awarded each day at practice to the player who brings the most energy. After knocking off the Volunteers for Autry’s second ranked victory as a head coach, his squad turned the tables on him.
As shown through a video posted to the team’s official social media accounts, Autry was set to announce the award but was interrupted by Harris. Harris then put the necklace on Autry as the team mobbed him in celebration.
Adrian Autry yells out directions to his team in Tuesday’s clash with Tennessee. Autry picked up his first Quad 1 win of the season and fourth in three years helming the Orange versus the Vols. Eli Schwartz | Staff Photographer
Kyle took responsibility as a player for SU’s recent mishaps, saying Autry watches countless hours of film and prepares the Orange for victory. Through the three-game skid, he said it was on the players to execute the plan. Versus Tennessee, they did.
“Coach was the most deserving of that prize,” Kyle said.
“We fed off his energy from start to finish,” White added.
White, while only a few games into his college career, believes the honor encapsulates an unbreakable brotherhood. Syracuse took repeated knockout punches but didn’t fall down. It led to a signature victory.
“In anything in life, you got to be able to fight. Good times, bad times, you got to keep fighting,” Autry said.
