Adrian Autry looks forward as John Wildhack’s retirement creates uncertainty
After Syracuse beat Cal, Adrian Autry looked ahead amid the uncertainty following John Wildhack’s retirement. Matthew Crisafulli | Staff Photographer
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Wednesday was an unprecedented day for Syracuse Athletics.
First off, the lights in the JMA Wireless Dome went out during SU’s double-overtime win over Cal. Secondly and more glaringly, Director of Athletics John Wildhack announced his retirement earlier in the day.
Autry said Wildhack let him know of his plan before it was announced, but they didn’t talk about how that might affect the head coach’s future. In a potential make-or-break season in Autry’s third year at the helm, the Orange improved to 14-11 (5-7 Atlantic Coast) following their victory Wednesday night.
“I’m just gonna be locked in on my team until we finish up the season, and then go from there,” Autry said postgame.
Autry also congratulated Wildhack, saying he did a “really phenomenal job in his time here with a lot of change.”
Nate Kingz and William Kyle III said the outside chatter didn’t get to them.
“We don’t focus on outside noise,” Kyle said. “We try and just keep everything in the team and in our circle.”
Kingz said the news had “no effect at all” heading into the matchup against the Golden Bears.
“I didn’t even know (about Wildhack’s announcement) because no one brought it up or anything, at least during practice or when I was around,” Kingz added. “So just, yeah, didn’t know anything about it.”
In the afternoon on Cuse Sports Talk, Wildhack spoke about Autry and SU’s men’s basketball program.
“We still have a month to go, but our margin for error is incredibly, incredibly small right now,” he said. “So I think everybody is disappointed with our record today.”
Last March, Wildhack said, “The goal of this program is we should be playing meaningful games in March,” after announcing Autry would return for the 2025-26 season. Regarding what “meaningful games in March” means, Wildhack said the following Wednesday:
“You want to be in a position where if you’re not a lock for the tournament, you’re certainly … If you have a really good run in the ACC tournament, you could be a bubble team, right? You could be in the conversation.”
The Orange’s 5-7 ACC record is tied for the 10th best in the conference alongside Cal and Stanford, and they’re not currently projected to make the NCAA Tournament. There’s been displeasure surrounding the program throughout the season, including from Carmelo Anthony.
Autry said he feels his players have handled this well, noting they understand they’re playing in a “major market” for college basketball.
“I think I have to talk to, probably, my coaching staff a little bit more and then I talk to those guys about blocking out the noise,” Autry said.
The head coach praised his team for their resiliency and fight after the win ended an eventful day.
“As far as the day, you know, just another day in the ACC,” Autry said.
