Feelings of Hopelessness for this Program amidst the Gaslighting

[sufan59]

Also for the record, I appreciate everything did for this program and what it means to Syracuse. What he did up until the last 7 years was remarkable. Little, old Syracuse, NY. In the middle of nowhere and he turned Syracuse into a basketball powerhouse. The last 7 years and turning the program over to Autry is a shame cause it’s going to overshadow his legacy a bit. JAB is a stubborn man and the last few showed it. You have to know when to walk away and he just didn’t. He obviously wanted to coach his kids and he was willing to bring the program down with it, in order to do so

Regarding his sons. I have no problem with him coaching them. Buddy was very good and Jimmy was good. They both played hard. We could use that shooting on this team lol. But Buddy was over utilized for his abilities (he’s a 25 min a game player max on a JB team built for maximum success) and Jimmy was even worse when it came to how much we played him, (5 min a game player on a JB team built for maximum success). We simply didn’t put together the best teams possible those years whether by design or just coincidence.

 

[sufan59]

Brent Axe is the only one that really questions his future.
It's like the media has been told Year 3 happening is written in stone, no evaluation nothing, already decided months ago.

Or that’s what they are telling them because they are planning to do something, but don’t want it to get out yet and don’t want Autry to answer to it in pressers. We are having the type of season that JW should be giving a vote of confidence if he wants Autry to stay next season. So until that happens, the media is telling us what they are hearing. But maybe they are being deceived by the AD department, so they don’t contribute to any more noise that already exists.

 

[rocklloyd]

As we saw with football and Coach Fran, it is entirely possible to bring on a new, outside guy, AND retain the croots you want to retain.

Would it be a given that we could retain the '25 class guys, with a sufficiently not-turrible new coach hire?

Nope.

But given the fact that it seems almost irrelevant who and how good any future croots may be, if the current coaching staff can't utilize their talents properly, and build a competitive team around them.
NONE of the '25 class guys are generational talents, or even realistically top 10 type croots who you can feature as the Alpha on a given team.

Rutgers had the FOURTH ranked class w/ TWO top-5 5* recruits on their current squad.
How's that working out for them??

We aren't seeing ANYTHING from Red & crew that leads us to think there's any plan, any identity, any anything to build upon or even have any sense of optimism about.

When Danny Hurley started at UConn, they sucked for the first 2 seaons, but -
There was clearly a plan, a style, and a process they were implementing, and -
they got better over time.

We keep regressing.

I cannot see any scenario whereby Red comes back next year, and we improve in any meaningful way.

So, we should rip the bandaid off now (at the end of the season, if not even sooner), and get started with the process of a proper NATIONAL SEARCH, to then identify and interview the BEST possible candidates, and then hire the best one.

I’ve lost interest Rip it off!

 

[hoopsupstate]

I have no influence on firing the coach, but having watched this team for fifty years, and knowing a well coached team from a poorly coached team(won/loss record not part), I know this team is poorly coached.
My decision is do I want to keep spending money for season tickets. Right now I am leaning for no, still will be a tough call for me. For the first time I no longer enjoy going to the games.

I feel your pain.

 

[hoopsupstate]

JW could also tell Red if you come back, half your salary is going to NIL. FSU just did this to the football coach.

 

[baggerbob]

What does that mean? He gives AA a "stern talking to"?
IMO there are 2 options.
1- Fire Autry and bring in someone from the outside
2- Have Autry fire his entire assistant coaching staff and spend high level assistant coach money to bring in innovators who can own the offense and defense respectively

If you fire his staff you might as well fire him and make a clean sweep .
That way you can start over which at this time would be the best wat to go.

 

[LAorange44]

If you fire his staff you might as well fire him and make a clean sweep .
That way you can start over which at this time would be the best wat to go.

I imagine it will be hard to put together a decent staff for 1 lame duck year.

 

[JeremyCuse]

When Autry gets fired. I whole heartedly hope JAB is nowhere near making the decisions on the new hire. If he is opinion that’s it, nothing more and his opinion means no more than anyone else’s helping with the decision. He burned this program by staying 7 years too long, and he burned this program giving the keys to Autry.

JB didn't give the keys to Autry, he played almost zero role in Autry getting the job and will have no role in the next HC.

 

[OrlandoCuse]

No recruiting class is ever worth keeping a coach over.
No recruiting class is ever worth holding a program hostage over.

Seems like we’re going down this path again. JB’s last recruiting class was his self proclaimed “best recruiting class ever”. They all ended up as transfers or busts.

Get a great coach and the recruits will follow. It’s not the other way around.

 

[Scooch]

I don't believe in many absolutes in this world. Almost everything is and should be up for discussion or consideration.

• Fans that shout from social media that Adrian Autry absolutely cannot get the job done and 100% should be fired are extreme. And that is a non-productive stance to take.
• Fans (and apparently administrators) that take the position that Adrian Autry absolutely cannot be fired and 100% must be given the job next year? That's wrong too.

Why are so many so damm entrenched, so unable to have a real, level-headed discussion of the pros and the cons of making a change? I hear so many people calling into radio sounding like their best friend has died, saying this is the worst they have seen this program in 50+ years, saying they have no interest any more, and then saying "We have to give him one more year". Its gaslighting to the Nth degree. No we don't. Maybe we should. Maybe that's where we land after a discussion of all options. But NOTHING is entitled in this world, especially when it comes along with offensive and defensive schemes that look dusted off from the days of underhanded free throws. Nothing innovative is happening under Autry. It's awful. We lose to bad teams, and get destroyed by good ones.

I believe Autry is likely in way over his head and like Jerod Mayo, the beloved but unqualified former Patriots coach, likely needs to be relieved of his duties. That's not an absolute, but I feel confident enough about it that I believe it needs serious consideration.

But that said, I'm not even saying a change MUST be made. But I'm so tired of this defeatist attitude that we have NO choice but to eat one more season of terrible basketball, taking us one season farther from competitiveness.

I saw a social post that was a mind fark. It said that this current graduating class will have NEVER seen this team in a Tourney. That's INSANE. We need to do everything to make sure next year's doesn't suffer the same fate. That may include Autry and this staff, if may not. But ALL OPTIONS need to be considered at the highest levels.

There has GOT to be a way to save the incoming class without sacrificing the future of the program. Isn't it worth even trying?

It just feels so hopeless.

There's a gigantic difference between advocating for a third year for Autry, and accepting that he is extremely unlikely to be fired after 2 years, given the long history of coaching decisions that we've seen SU implement.

Look, if this were a professional basketball team then Autry would be fired a month from now. Despite college athletics now being far more professional than "amateur", SU won't act the same way.

It's a university. SU is going to talk about fairness and patience and progress. In reality SU is going to hope that we can double our NIL fund and buy our way into the tournament next season.

I've resigned myself to that because SU simply does not want to be seen as a professional sports franchise.

 

[5OutFred]

JW is not letting this slide…he is not
Flat footed here

The thing on this - the needle was never going to start moving until it reached a point of JW facing down national discourse on the programs embarrassing state.

We're there now, and all eyes turn to Wildhack. The longer it drags downward, the more blame and negative perception becomes placed on him.

 

[JeremyCuse]

The thing on this - the wheels were never going to start turning until it reached a point of JW facing down national discourse on the programs embarrassing state.

We're there now, and all eyes turn to Wildhack. The longer it drags downward, the more blame and negative perception becomes placed on him.

All eyes turn to the Chancellor's office. JW and the AD's office knows the score and has for a while, however, as noted before he doesn't have carte blanche on hiring/firing. The non sports Admin and BOT has to sign off on moving on from Autry this soon into the contract. That's why he is likely to get a third year with a tourney mandate.

 

[DilemaCuse]

Or that’s what they are telling them because they are planning to do something, but don’t want it to get out yet and don’t want Autry to answer to it in pressers. We are having the type of season that JW should be giving a vote of confidence if he wants Autry to stay next season. So until that happens, the media is telling us what they are hearing. But maybe they are being deceived by the AD department, so they don’t contribute to any more noise that already exists.

Now that would be next level diabolical

I doubt our AD is playing chess to that level but maybe

 

[SwagSocks]

It's a university. SU is going to talk about fairness and patience and progress

Progress?
This program has regressed. If Syracuse talks progress then they are full of poop

 

[FrancoPizza]

I don't believe in many absolutes in this world. Almost everything is and should be up for discussion or consideration.

• Fans that shout from social media that Adrian Autry absolutely cannot get the job done and 100% should be fired are extreme. And that is a non-productive stance to take.
• Fans (and apparently administrators) that take the position that Adrian Autry absolutely cannot be fired and 100% must be given the job next year? That's wrong too.

Why are so many so damm entrenched, so unable to have a real, level-headed discussion of the pros and the cons of making a change? I hear so many people calling into radio sounding like their best friend has died, saying this is the worst they have seen this program in 50+ years, saying they have no interest any more, and then saying "We have to give him one more year". Its gaslighting to the Nth degree. No we don't. Maybe we should. Maybe that's where we land after a discussion of all options. But NOTHING is entitled in this world, especially when it comes along with offensive and defensive schemes that look dusted off from the days of underhanded free throws. Nothing innovative is happening under Autry. It's awful. We lose to bad teams, and get destroyed by good ones.

I believe Autry is likely in way over his head and like Jerod Mayo, the beloved but unqualified former Patriots coach, likely needs to be relieved of his duties. That's not an absolute, but I feel confident enough about it that I believe it needs serious consideration.

But that said, I'm not even saying a change MUST be made. But I'm so tired of this defeatist attitude that we have NO choice but to eat one more season of terrible basketball, taking us one season farther from competitiveness.

I saw a social post that was a mind fark. It said that this current graduating class will have NEVER seen this team in a Tourney. That's INSANE. We need to do everything to make sure next year's doesn't suffer the same fate. That may include Autry and this staff, if may not. But ALL OPTIONS need to be considered at the highest levels.

There has GOT to be a way to save the incoming class without sacrificing the future of the program. Isn't it worth even trying?

It just feels so hopeless.

I think the biggest issue is these decisions are influenced by who has the most money to contribute (or withhold), and sometimes those interests don’t align with what’s best for the program.

 

[5OutFred]

All eyes turn to the Chancellor's office. JW and the AD's office knows the score and has for a while, however, as noted before he doesn't have carte blanche on hiring/firing. The non sports Admin and BOT has to sign off on moving on from Autry this soon into the contract.

This is true and fair, but public perception cares little, and is uninformed about Admin/BOT workings. The attention and pressure always falls on the AD in these cases, from a PR perspective.

 

[JeremyCuse]

This is true and fair, but public perception cares little, and is uninformed about Admin/BOT workings. The attention and pressure always falls on the AD in these cases, from a PR perspective.

Different dynamic at a private school at SU. In another month + the season will be over and the casual fan will be onto Lax and the football team. Wildhack has zero pressure internally.

 

[5OutFred]

Different dynamic at a private school at SU. In another month + the season will be over and the casual fan will be onto Lax and the football team. Wildhack has zero pressure internally.

I'm not talking about internally - nationally, the program's reputation is the lowest it's been in some time. National media are talking about how bad Syracuse basketball is, and in the public's eyes, who the HC is falls under the AD.

That is pressure on JW and his reputation.

 

[Cusefan95]

All eyes turn to the Chancellor's office. JW and the AD's office knows the score and has for a while, however, as noted before he doesn't have carte blanche on hiring/firing. The non sports Admin and BOT has to sign off on moving on from Autry this soon into the contract. That's why he is likely to get a third year with a tourney mandate.

I’ll make a prediction - if Red is back and next year isn’t going well, Dan LeBatard is going to start regularly pointing out Syracuse’s record on his show and congratulating JW on his “leadership”. Given a platform and an opportunity to publicly annihilate the career of someone he despises, there’s no chance LeBatard will be able to resist the temptation.

 

[JeremyCuse]

I'm not talking about internally - nationally, the program's reputation is the lowest it's been in some time. National media are talking about how bad Syracuse basketball is, and in the public's eyes, who the HC is falls under the AD.

That is pressure on JW and his reputation.

I can assure you there is no pressure on JW currently, The dynamics of how Red became the coach ensures that regardless of how it works out. Again JW knows the deal, Red will either make the tourney next year or he will be gone.

 

[JeremyCuse]

I’ll make a prediction - if Red is back and next year isn’t going well, Dan LeBatard is going to start regularly pointing out Syracuse’s record on his show and congratulating JW on his “leadership”. Given a platform and an opportunity to publicly annihilate the career of someone he despises, there’s no chance LeBatard will be able to resist the temptation.

And the 19 people who listen to LeBatard will have no idea what he's talking about. It's not 1997, Dan Lebatard is irrelevant. Not saying SU is blameless in where we find ourselves and the sorry state of the program but he's not moving the needle even a centimeter.

 

[Cusefan95]

I have no influence on firing the coach, but having watched this team for fifty years, and knowing a well coached team from a poorly coached team(won/loss record not part), I know this team is poorly coached.
My decision is do I want to keep spending money for season tickets. Right now I am leaning for no, still will be a tough call for me. For the first time I no longer enjoy going to the games.

In 2025, it is so incredibly easy to just walk away. I had season tickets from about 2001-2020, switched to just a couple single game tickets after that, didn’t bother getting any tickets this year. Haven’t really bothered watching games this year; I flipped on the Miami game with about 6 minutes left, thought “you gotta be kidding me” and flipped it off.

The likelihood I’ll ever be a season ticket holder again is negligible. That’s one of the problems - it costs far more to acquire new customers than it does to retain old ones. It’s a big risk for Syracuse basketball - JB was worried about no home court advantage playing in front of 14,000 fans when the Dome was built. That didn’t happen regularly, but may in the very near future - that would likely accelerate the decline of the program. The Dome has been a huge asset to basketball; it may be about to become a massive liability.

 

[FloridaCuse]

I’ll make a prediction - if Red is back and next year isn’t going well, Dan LeBatard is going to start regularly pointing out Syracuse’s record on his show and congratulating JW on his “leadership”. Given a platform and an opportunity to publicly annihilate the career of someone he despises, there’s no chance LeBatard will be able to resist the temptation.

Why does Dan LeBatard dislike ADJW? Wouldn't think he'd even know who he is.

 

[Scooch]

Why does Dan LeBatard dislike ADJW? Wouldn't think he'd even know who he is.

Le Batard worked for John Wildhack. He’s had a bug up his ass about John for years. Which is weird because 99% of people who worked for John really love him.

 

[FloridaCuse]

Le Batard worked for John Wildhack. He’s had a bug up his ass about John for years. Which is weird because 99% of people who worked for John really love him.

Oh yeah. I forgot that. Thanks!