T
he criticism toward Adrian Autry’s job performance this season struck a chord with SU women’s basketball coach Felisha Legette-Jack. She’s “never seen” the amount of pessimism that’s currently being spewed at Syracuse’s men’s program, she said on Feb. 8.
But, like it or not, that’s the treatment that comes with succeeding a legend.
Autry never received a clean set of expectations, a luxury most new head coaches typically have. Considering his Hall of Fame and NCAA Champion predecessor, Jim Boeheim, Orange fans expected immediate excellence in the transition from Boeheim’s 47-year run to his former assistant. Thus far, that hasn’t been the case.
“I played here. I understand the negativity, or I call it frustration, and (the fans) have a right to be frustrated,” Autry said on Feb. 9’s ACC Coaches Call, responding to Legette-Jack’s comments. “I’m just putting my head down and trying to pour into these players, pour into this team, and trying to get us on the right track.”
Meeting Boeheim’s standard has proven tough for Autry, now in his third season as SU’s head coach. It’s a weight he shares with his next opposing coach, North Carolina’s Hubert Davis. Though he made an NCAA title game in his first year, the fifth-year Davis has occasionally received backlash — especially during the Tar Heels’ lackluster 2024-25 season — for not living up to Roy Williams’ standard.
The two former-players-turned-coaches square off on the sidelines Saturday in the JMA Wireless Dome, with Syracuse (15-12, 6-8 Atlantic Coast) and No. 16 UNC (20-6, 8-5 ACC) in vastly different places. Autry and Davis are saddled with the burden of upholding their predecessors’ legacies — something they’re expected to do every game in front of their rabid fanbases.
This season, Autry is widely perceived to be coaching for his job. After taking over for Boeheim in 2023, Autry went 34-31 in his first two years and couldn’t qualify for an NCAA Tournament, prolonging the program’s overall drought to four seasons.
Now, with Syracuse sitting at 12th place in the ACC and No. 72 in the NET Rankings, it’s more than likely Autry will miss his third straight trip to March Madness — something that never happened under Boeheim.
Under Adrian Autry, Syracuse men’s basketball is 49-43 and will likely miss the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive season. Eli Schwartz | Asst. Photo Editor
Davis, too, is a former disciple of a national-title winner: Williams. Davis served on UNC’s staff as an assistant from 2012-21, and stepped into Williams’ post following his retirement. He has experienced success much closer to Tar Heel coaches of the past, boasting a 121-51 (70.3%) record, making two Sweet 16s and a Final Four across five seasons.
In the past, Davis has credited his own coaching development to his efforts to emulate North Carolina Hall of Famers Williams and Dean Smith — who combined to win five national titles. Davis is known as an incredible relationship-builder and recruiter, skills he says he learned from those who preceded him.
“Without the relationship piece, I’m not doing this job the way that Coach Smith, Coach (Bill) Guthridge and Coach Williams did,” Davis told ACC Network in October.
But the UNC job demands making deep March Madness runs with consistency. Davis has gotten close, but he hasn’t reached the mountaintop yet. Until he does, there will be scrutiny.
After all, some extreme fans thought his job should have been on the line heading into North Carolina’s Feb. 7 game versus its arch nemesis Duke — which Davis’ Tar Heels won 71-68 on Seth Trimble’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
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Much of that angst stems from last season. UNC was a top-10 team early on, but faded into a bubble team by the end of the season. Though the Tar Heels controversially salvaged an NCAA Tournament berth as a No. 11 seed, they lost to No. 6 seed Ole Miss in the First Round.
Last February, amid North Carolina’s slide, Williams loudly defended the state of the program under Davis and urged patience. He spoke directly to Davis’ detractors — or, as Williams described them to Inside Carolina, “all the idiots and the talk and the crap” — and said his former protege will lead UNC to greatness.
“I know there’s criticism out there,” Williams said amid intense disparagement being cast upon Davis’ performance at the time. “But (Davis) is the nicest person I have ever known in my life, who is also fiercely competitive. And that’s a hard combination to have. We’ve got the right guy.”
A year later, and the Tar Heels have made immense strides under Davis, who recruited star freshman forward Caleb Wilson as well as forward Henri Veesaar from the transfer portal and has reaped the benefits of its reloaded roster.
Meanwhile, Autry’s Syracuse was supposed to be doing the same this season. The Orange were coming off their most prolific offseason of the Autry era, securing top-flight recruits in Kiyan Anthony and Sadiq White Jr., as well as bolstering their team through the portal with William Kyle III, Nate Kingz and Tyler Betsey.
With those additions, alongside Donnie Freeman and J.J. Starling’s return, SU was primed for its best shot at a return to the Big Dance under Autry.
Under Hubert Davis, UNC has enjoyed a 121-51 record, making two Sweet 16s and a Final Four across five seasons. Arnav Pokhrel | Staff Photographer
But instead, there’ve been many bumps and bruises in 2025-26. Syracuse’s stout defense carried it to a nice start to nonconference play, then it got hit with a reality check in Las Vegas, going 0-3 in the Players Era Festival (which included a near-upset win over Houston). A massive Quad 1 win over Tennessee on Dec. 2, 2025, is his crowning achievement thus far.
Since then, though, SU has fallen back to the mediocrity it’s been mired in for half a decade. The Orange lost six of seven games from Jan. 17 to Feb. 7, another lowpoint that never occurred during Boeheim’s 47 years at the helm.
“I’m frustrated,” Autry said. “I expect us to be playing better. But, we’re here, we are where we’re at, and we just got to keep fighting.
“I think (Legette-Jack’s) comments were saying that negativity has never really made anything better, you know?”
The negativity concerning Syracuse couldn’t be more mainstream than it is right now. Take the Kiyan Anthony benching drama of a few weeks ago, for example, just another firestorm that’s clouded Autry’s third year.
Following Legette-Jack’s words, SU earned two of its biggest ACC wins, defeating Cal in double-overtime before shocking SMU with a 12-point comeback and a layup in the final seconds by Kingz. Despite a loss to No. 3 Duke that followed on Monday, Autry’s Orange can build on last week if they want to earn a major win over Davis’ Tar Heels Saturday.
After Syracuse gave North Carolina a major scare at the Dean E. Smith Center on Feb. 2, cutting a 32-point deficit to six in the final moments despite an eventual 87-77 loss, the UNC head coach made sure to give props to his fellow successor-of-a-legend. He knows how hard it is.
“Syracuse is a great basketball team,” Davis said. “Adrian Autry is a fantastic coach.”
Collage by Ilana Zahavy, Photos by Alexandra Moreo | Daily Orange File Photo, Logan Reidsma | Daily Orange File Photo, Leonardo Eriman | Daily Orange File Photo, Arnav Pokhrel | Staff Photographer
Published on February 19, 2026 at 12:17 am