Autry's Army - 2023-24 SU Hoops

[BaseballJones]

Encouraging news about SU hoops

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/38746153/adrian-autry-doing-way-syracuse-post-boeheim-era

Ditching the 2-3 zone. Hallelujah.

 

[benhogan]

Encouraging news about SU hoops

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/38746153/adrian-autry-doing-way-syracuse-post-boeheim-era

Ditching the 2-3 zone. Hallelujah.

The entire rotation returns with the addition of Starling. Should be more competitive than the Father & Son(s) era

 

[The Filthy One]

They seem to be dealing with some early injuries. Mintz didn't play in the opener, and Chance Westry has some kind of lower leg injury. Hopefully they both are healthy enough to go in Maui.

I'm not sure what to expect from this team, but at least it should be interesting to see them play man.

 

[BaseballJones]

They seem to be dealing with some early injuries. Mintz didn't play in the opener, and Chance Westry has some kind of lower leg injury. Hopefully they both are healthy enough to go in Maui.

I'm not sure what to expect from this team, but at least it should be interesting to see them play man.

I'm hoping that playing man will help with recruiting, because guys know that playing zone in college doesn't help you when it comes to your NBA prospects. So maybe a few more high level recruits will choose SU.

And I bet it will help in games too.

 

[The Filthy One]

I didn't watch any of the exhibition game, but this seems like a team with a lot of interchangeable parts at the guard and wing spots but one that might struggle with big, physical teams. McLeod seems limited to me, Mounir Hima is a fine backup, and Peter Carey is....to be honest, I forgot that dude was on the team. They can play Brown and maybe Williams at the 5 occasionally when they want to really get out and run, but that doesn't seem sustainable.

Lots of interesting X-factor players though: Westry, Copeland, Bell, Williams, Taylor, Cuff -- they really need three of that group to step up and be solid contributors. Is this Benny Williams' year? That would go a long way to making them a real competitor again.

 

[The Filthy One]

Autry is undefeated! Copeland with 13 rebounds off the bench?! What is going on? In all seriousness, seems like the game was closer than you’d like but given it’s the first game of a season that will feature a lot of newness, I’ll take it.

 

[bsj]

Autry is undefeated! Copeland with 13 rebounds off the bench?! What is going on? In all seriousness, seems like the game was closer than you’d like but given it’s the first game of a season that will feature a lot of newness, I’ll take it.

We lose this game a year ago. I'll take it.

Very impressed w Cuffe, Taylor, Copeland & Brown
-Mintz seemed to be trying to do too much. Hope Red coaches him up -
Hope McLeod can be more of a factor -
Hope we have enough shooting

 

[The Filthy One]

I watched most of the Canisius game on ESPN+ last night while I made dinner. My main observation is that Judah Mintz against teams like Canisius is unfair. He could essentially do whatever he wanted. Starling looked very quick with the ball in his hand, but he has no outside game at all right now. Cuffe is better than I'd thought he'd be. He can shoot it a little. Justin Taylor seems to be stepping up a bit. He's more of a complete player than I thought he'd be at this point. He rebounded pretty well. The team desperately needs Benny Williams and even Mounir Hima back. They got pushed around inside by the beefy guy on Canisius. Having a few more bodies in the frontcourt to throw at people will help.

 

[Petagine in a Bottle]

Is losing to Colgate becoming an annual thing now? Down 10 with 8 to go…

(Heck of a comeback win!)

 

[The Filthy One]

That is a huge comeback. Holy shit. Down 24 at one point in the 2nd half.

 

[BaseballJones]

Incredible comeback. Colgate is an NCAA Tourney team these days so they aren't the pushovers they used to be. Still, I never think SU should lose to them, but clearly it's an issue. Still, excellent win to get to 3-0 before heading to Maui.

I still don't love how this team is constructed but a win is better than a loss!

 

[Bleedred]

My son is one of the basketball managers this year and has said the team is pretty deep and talented (loves Sterling's athleticism, but he cannot shoot). His biggest negative comment so far has been the team's, shall we say, tenuous mental make-up. His observation was that they have to start fast with good non-conference results to avoid potential collapse in the ACC. Last night's comeback win is a great sign, his comment to me in text was "if they had lost, it honestly could have threatened the season." I haven't had a chance to ask him about those "mental" issues, but I will when I get him home next week. Go Orange!

 

[Pablo's TB Lover]

My son is one of the basketball managers this year and has said the team is pretty deep and talented (loves Sterling's athleticism, but he cannot shoot). His biggest negative comment so far has been the team's, shall we say, tenuous mental make-up. His observation was that they have to start fast with good non-conference results to avoid potential collapse in the ACC. Last night's comeback win is a great sign, his comment to me in text was "if they had lost, it honestly could have threatened the season." I haven't had a chance to ask him about those "mental" issues, but I will when I get him home next week. Go Orange!

I'm curious what his thoughts are as well. I take it your son is a student or recent graduate, maybe he just has high standards of fortitude or conversely these guys are acting like HS kids he's played with haha.

 

[BaseballJones]

That’s a really good win for SU tonight, blasting LSU.

 

[The Filthy One]

Yeah, I don't think LSU is very good -- they've lost something like 12 straight on the road -- but that was a pasting. Does anyone know if Westry or Hima are going to play again this year? They still really need more muscle on the glass and I'm somewhat less convinced of Cuffe as the primary backup guard than I was two weeks ago. Those two guys could add an element the current team is lacking.

And man, Judah may not be an NBA player but he can dominate a college game when he wants to. He's insanely quick and athletic.

 

[BaseballJones]

Close win over Cornell doesn't exactly inspire confidence. One thing that is just hard for me to see is how empty and quiet the Dome is. It was a three point game late and the place was D.E.A.D. No energy. No noise. Nothing. I know it's "only" Cornell, but 19,000 people never seemed so quiet to me. It's disconcerting.

 

[The Filthy One]

To be fair, SU was only favored to win by 3.5, so they played better than Vegas expected. The team just has too many holes. Benny Williams completely disappearing has been part of that -- I mentally penciled him in for 12 and 7 to start the year and he's contributed nothing and been an apparent distraction. The program is a long ways off from national contention at this point, and I think fans know that and it's likely driving the lack of enthusiasm. I'm sure next year when their traditional rivals SMU and Stanford join the conference it will be better. (I'm right on the edge of completely tuning out college sports. Not sure at this point what will bring me back other than SU basketball finding some juice.)

 

[BaseballJones]

Always nice to lay a beatdown on Georgetown.

 

[The Filthy One]

I will give them credit, they are winning coin toss games (GTown on the road, Oregon at a neutral site) by 20. Nice to see heading into conference play.

 

[BaseballJones]

Yeah if this was last year, they'd have 6 losses already. Better start than I thought they'd have.

 

[bsj]

Agree. 9-2 non conf with a new coach and all sophomores is very solid

 

[Petagine in a Bottle]

They are 8-3, but yeah.

 

[bsj]

They are 8-3, but yeah.

9-2 non conference
1 of the losses was a weird early conference game

 

[Petagine in a Bottle]

9-2 non conference
1 of the losses was a weird early conference game

gotcha.

 

[BaseballJones]

A little break for Christmas and then here's the next 5 games:

12/30 vs Pitt
1/2 at #21 Duke
1/10 vs BC
1/13 at #13 UNC
1/16 at Pitt

I'd like to think they go 3-2 minimum there. And if somehow they can pull off an upset of one of the ranked teams, that would be awesome. If they get through this stretch at 12-5, they'll have 14 games left, and the path to 20 wins is there. They won't play a ranked team again until 2/10 at Clemson. Of course the rankings will change between now and then, but I'm just looking at the schedule as it is. So after 1/13 at UNC, they play seven straight unranked conference opponents. A good chance to put up some wins.

It's so funny though. 20 wins used to be an automatic for SU and now I'm just trying to find a path to get there if everything goes right.

 

[BaseballJones]

Also...

Yesterday was the 35th anniversary of Flight 103. I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news. I was living in Watson Hall in my sophomore year. I had a friend who was studying abroad there and we didn't know if she was on that flight. With no cell phones or anything, it was a very long time before we found out if she was alive. Turns out she wasn't on that flight, so we were relieved. But devastated for the families of those other 35 students who died in that terrorist attack.

 

[The Filthy One]

Another good win, beating a decent Pitt team (#46 in KenPom), and really controlling the game well in the second half. Earlier, I'd said that getting something from Bennie Williams was key, and at the moment, it looks like he's up to the task. I fully expect them to lose a few games in the next few weeks as they hit the brutal part of the schedule, but they are looking better than the last few years. And, man, Quadir Copeland is a find. That guy has a chance to out Josh Pace Josh Pace.

 

[BaseballJones]

I couldn't be happier with how this season is going so far. So far being the key. They play hard, they've got the best group of athletes they've had in years, and they have more skill than I thought they'd have. They have a legit shot at 20 wins this year, which isn't something I thought they'd come close to before the season started.

 

[BaseballJones]

Game effort tonight. Tough to win when the other team shoots 8-8 from three in the second half. SU had too many turnovers though, and missed a bunch of shots at the rim. Score was lopsided but I was actually encouraged by what I thought was a pretty good effort by SU. I think J-Will is right - SU might be tough to handle in this conference. Always hate losing to Duke, but whatever.

 

[BaseballJones]

They were blowing out BC last night, then actually gave up the lead before righting the ship and winning by ten. I don't love Judah Mintz' game at all. They have very little outside shooting. But they're very athletic and they play defense hard and get tons of deflections and they work hard on that end of the floor.

Currently at 11-4 with UNC up next. With 16 games left plus the ACC tournament, I think 20 wins and a possible NCAA Tournament berth is very much in play.

 

[BosoxFaninCincy]

They were blowing out BC last night, then actually gave up the lead before righting the ship and winning by ten. I don't love Judah Mintz' game at all. They have very little outside shooting. But they're very athletic and they play defense hard and get tons of deflections and they work hard on that end of the floor.

Currently at 11-4 with UNC up next. With 16 games left plus the ACC tournament, I think 20 wins and a possible NCAA Tournament berth is very much in play.

It was not encouraging how they blew the lead, and their outside shooting outside of Bell should make rims and backboards cringe in terror, but the way they closed the game was impressive. In some ways they are the Anti-Boeheim team with smart decisions and excellent free throw shooting down the stretch. And other than the 2-3 zone wizardry that was at its peak on the march to the Final Four in '96, that was about as good as I have ever seen the Orange play D for long stretches of that game.

 

[BaseballJones]

SU looks completely lifeless at UNC. Syracuse looks like they don't even want to be there. Their offense is just one guy with the ball and everyone else standing around watching while the one guy with the ball tries to do something against UNC's excellent on-ball pressure. And on D they're barely putting in an effort. This is terrible.

 

[The Filthy One]

Get out-rebounded by 23, lose by almost 40. Sigh. Not ready for prime time just yet.

 

[Bleedred]

The UNC game was an abomination, but I think they just need to move forward. If Judah Mintz thinks he's an NBA caliber guard at this point, he's delusional. You can see the talent, but he cannot shoot outside of about 10 feet, he forces a lot, and he doesn't really make his teammates better (at least not yet). Hoping that Autry can talk some sense into him, because they very much need his offense. Not sure it will matter, as this teams is athletic, plays pretty good defense usually, but is woeful on the offensive end. They need an athletic wing shooter (or 3).

 

[BaseballJones]

Good win last night over hated Pitt. At this point any win is good. Still on track for 20 wins even if it’s clear that they’re nowhere near the caliber of the really good teams in the country.
As in… UConn would beat this team by 40.

But that’s ok. Get to 20 and get into the dance.

 

[bsj]

Good win last night over hated Pitt. At this point any win is good. Still on track for 20 wins even if it’s clear that they’re nowhere near the caliber of the really good teams in the country.
As in… UConn would beat this team by 40.

But that’s ok. Get to 20 and get into the dance.

Agree. Important turnaround. Quad 1 win too (although simply BY winning they knocked them into Quad 2 of course).

 

[BaseballJones]

Agree. Important turnaround. Quad 1 win too (although simply BY winning they knocked them into Quad 2 of course).

Yep. These are games they would have lost the last couple of seasons. So clearly SU has improved.

I think Autry being HC is what's helping me deal with Belichick no longer being with the Pats. After seeing Boeheim gone after decades of enormous success - yet at the end it was pretty miserable - and now seeing Autry in there, it gives me hope that a young, fresh HC who can bring some of the positives from the history of the program yet also bring innovation can work in the Pats' case, just as it's started to work for SU. Different sport, different level, but it at least gives me hope and helps me see that things could be looking up for the Patriots too.

Three tough games in a row coming up against Miami, FSU, and NC State. Thankfully they're all at home. Hoping for 2 out of 3, which would be fantastic.

 

[The Filthy One]

McLoud is done for the year, and Hima seems hobbled. They are a much better team with both of those guys on the bench anyway, but the frontcourt depth is going to be challenged moving forward. I'm still hopeful they can bank a few surprise wins and make the tournament. That plus a good recruiting year for Red and I'll feel ok about the future of the program (or as ok as I can about college sports at the moment).

 

[BaseballJones]

Huge win over Miami as Copeland hits the three st the buzzer. NCAA and 20-win season hopes still very much alive.

 

[bsj]

Huge win over Miami as Copeland hits the three st the buzzer. NCAA and 20-win season hopes still very much alive.

Hoping Oregon gets back to Quad 1 and Pitt stays there.

 

[ObstructedView]

Hoping Oregon gets back to Quad 1 and Pitt stays there.

Would also be nice to get an actual win or two against an upper-tier conference opponent. Saturday was nice, but the Canes were depleted and that was a weird game all around. It's going to be hard to have real hope for the Orange as long as they're being curb-stomped by the Dukes and UNCs of the world.

This edition is extremely athletic and highly entertaining, and they're playing better defense than they have in a while, but they're careless/reckless at times and I don't trust Mintz to consistently make good decisions. They could be dangerous in any given game if they cut down on turnovers and hit their threes.

 

[BosoxFaninCincy]

Meanwhile Joseph Girard III and Jesse Edwards are leading their squads in minutes played and a bunch of other categories. I actually like the look more with Girard wearing a different hue of Orange, but with the frontcourt injuries Edwards could have been a real difference maker

 

[sgfeer]

Edwards hasn't played for a month with a broken wrist, hope he is back tonight or Saturday for at least some minutes

 

[BaseballJones]

This SU team will get housed by the really good teams in the country, but that's ok. I don't need or expect any sort of deep run in the NCAA tournament. They're not remotely good enough for that. They might be able to sneak into the sweet 16 if all breaks right. But for me, the real goal is to get into the tournament and maybe, just maybe, win a game. That would be outstanding and a nice building block for the program.

 

[Petagine in a Bottle]

Really lousy effort tonight in the second half, losing to a mediocre FSU club at home and giving up 85 points. 1 of 14 from three, 16 turnovers.

 

[Petagine in a Bottle]

FWIW, Joe Mauer and David Ortiz have virtually the same career bWAR; good for ~250th all time.

 

[The Filthy One]

FWIW, Joe Mauer and David Ortiz have virtually the same career bWAR; good for ~250th all time.

If only Mauer had hit a few more threes.

 

[Petagine in a Bottle]

Dammit

 

[BaseballJones]

Really lousy effort tonight in the second half, losing to a mediocre FSU club at home and giving up 85 points. 1 of 14 from three, 16 turnovers.

Yeah, last night was BAD. Ugh, you just really can't lose these games.

 

[The Filthy One]

In somewhat more positive news, Red's first recruit, Donovan Freeman, is a McDonald's all-american. He's really risen in the ranks this year, and is now a consensus top-25 recruit. He looks like he was made in the "Syracuse wing" factory -- long, athletic, bouncy, etc.