Adrian Autry talks George’s play, Copeland facing Syracuse on ACC Coaches Call
On Monday’s ACC Coaches Call, Adrian Autry assessed point guard Nait George’s play over halfway into Syracuse’s season. Leonardo Eriman | Senior Staff Photographer
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Adrian Autry batted leadoff in this Monday’s edition of the Atlantic Coast Conference Coaches Call — two mornings after Syracuse fans ruthlessly chanted for the head coach to be fired.
The Orange are coming off an 85-76 loss to Miami, their third straight defeat. Autry emphasized SU’s season is far from over and it has plenty of opportunities to reach its goals. Still, as it stands, Autry is projected to miss three consecutive NCAA Tournaments. The pressure keeps mounting on the third-year head man; his dejection during Monday’s Zoom said it all.
Here’s what Autry had to say during the latest ACC Coaches Call before Syracuse (12-8, 3-4 ACC) travels to face NC State (14-6, 5-2 ACC) Tuesday night:
Assessing Naithan George’s play
SU’s big swing this past transfer-portal season — getting point guard Naithan George to leave Georgia Tech for Syracuse on April 4, 2025 — hasn’t resulted in anything Earth-shattering. George has struggled through his first 20 games donning an SU uniform. His 3.3 turnovers per game is tied for third-worst among all Power Four conference players.
George’s 5.5 assists per game rank sixth in the ACC. But the common theme with him is a lack of rhythm within the Orange’s offense, even though he’s supposed to be the floor general.
“Making an adjustment to a new staff and a new team, I think that always takes time, especially for the point guard,” Autry said of George. “He’s hit some tough patches, but I love the way he’s responded. He’s a worker. I have next-level trust in him. And he will continue to get better.”
Autry didn’t offer much of a solution for ramping up George’s consistency and productivity. In the same way he’s justified SU’s recent losses, he believes time is necessary for George to get comfortable.
On the contrary, it’s almost February.
“Through these struggles, I wish it was easy,” Autry said, using George as an example for his entire Syracuse squad. “I wish it was a straight path. But it’s just not.”
Talking Quadir Copeland
When Autry logged onto the Zoom just after 9:40 a.m., he got peppered with questions about Quadir Copeland — a former highly-touted Syracuse recruit and current NC State point guard who the Orange will face Tuesday.
Copeland committed to SU ahead of the 2022-23 season as a three-star guard out of IMG Academy. The Philly native never found a consistent role with the Orange, including in the 2023-24 campaign under Autry, and transferred after two years.
However, Copeland made a name for himself with McNeese State last season under then-head coach Will Wade. So when Wade left for NC State, Copeland (who was graded a four-star transfer this past offseason) followed suit. He’s now playing by far his best basketball since being a Division I player, averaging 14.1 points and 6.2 assists per game.
Copeland never grew into a true point guard with the Orange, but Autry thinks he would have if he stayed.
“When you talk about Syracuse, unfortunately he wasn’t here long enough, I thought the year that he was here for me, he had the ball in his hands more and became more of a playmaking wing for us,” Autry said of Copeland. “I think eventually it would have progressed into him being more of a main ball-handler at some point (at Syracuse).”
He added that because SU was in a transition period after Jim Boeheim’s retirement, Copeland probably needed a change of scenery.
“I think there were some things that you could say needed to happen,” Autry said of Copeland moving on from Syracuse. “He made his decision, which worked out for him. And I’m proud. I’m happy that it worked out for him.”
More minutes for Tiefing Diawara?
Frontcourt change is possibly on the way for Autry’s team. Tiefing Diawara, a 7-foot freshman center from the West African nation Mali, has appeared in four games this year and totaled 10 minutes. Yet, with bench center Akir Souare not making a major impact thus far, Autry thinks Diawara is close to receiving a playing-time increase.
Autry said that the language barrier has impacted Diawara’s acclimation to SU, and on the court, adjusting to the speed of D-I basketball has been challenging for him.
On Monday, though, Autry hinted Diawara’s debut in Syracuse’s rotation could be soon.
“I would be lying if I said there’s not times (this season) that I’ve thought of putting him in the game,” Autry said of Diawara. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he can get in the game going forward.”
