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Message: [QUOTE="bballbeadle, post: 5321169, member: 548"] I haven’t read through this thread but I saw Mike Waters’ column today and was interested in what he said. I copied and pasted because I wasn’t sure the link would work. Does this answer seem like rainbows and lollipops? I thought he made some good points. [B]Q: Do you think Syracuse officials are talking about a basketball head coaching change yet? Jim L. Mike:[/B] I thought long and hard before answering this question because I didn’t want to give oxygen to a conversation that I don’t believe is going to be, or should be, had. But I decided to answer the question because I’ve received similar questions regarding Syracuse’s struggles this season under second-year head coach Adrian Autry, and I’ve heard the chatter on social media. I think it would be very short-sighted for Syracuse officials to consider a coaching change. Autry has already shown that he can coach. I think some fans forget that he won 20 games last year. That was the most regular season wins for Syracuse since 2014. And it’s not like Autry took over the Syracuse program at the height of success. Let’s remember that just three years ago, Syracuse went through a losing season, going 16-17 in 2021-22 under former head coach Jim Boeheim. This is a transition year. The roster was almost completely overhauled after last season. In my opinion, Syracuse wasn’t ready to approach such an overhaul in the age of the transfer portal. Autry, to his credit, realized this. Last June, he hired Alex Kline, a Syracuse alum who had spent the previous eight years as a scout in the NBA, as the Orange’s general manager. [IMG alt="Syracuse Orange Basketball 2024-25: Syracuse vs Albany"]https://www.syracuse.com/resizer/v2/3BWSODT2Y5CPJOLPN3YALQBO4I.jpg?auth=93cc2667baea68ab7b3016cb4e3ee1902bd644c1dda0d1344ee1d1c7acd90fba&width=500&quality=90[/IMG] Syracuse general manager Alex Kline (second row, wearing glasses) watches a play during the Orange's game against Albany earlier this season. Dennis Nett | [email]dnett@syracuse.cumdennis[/email] nett | [email]dnett@syracuse.com[/email] Kline’s duties include preparing for the transfer portal during the season. They also include managing SU’s NIL budget, player retention and evaluating high school recruits in addition to the potential transfers. Kline came on too late to have any input on this year’s roster. I think Kline’s GM position is incredibly important because Syracuse does not have the NIL resources available at a lot of other programs in the SEC, Big Ten and even the ACC. So the Syracuse staff, including Autry, Kline and the assistant coaches, have to be smarter in how they approach the transfer portal and recruiting. Kline is also trying to close that NIL gap, working with alumni groups and potential donors to get more support. If Syracuse officials moved on from Autry after this year, they would be denying Autry and his staff the opportunity to put together a roster in conjunction with Kline. I also think things would look a lot better this season if SUguard JJ Starling, the Orange’s leading scorer at 19.8 points per game, had not injured his left hand. I’m not saying Starling would make Syracuse a great team, but he could’ve made a difference in losses to Notre Dame, Georgetown and Wake Forest. The Orange’s 8-9 record could be 11-6. Another factor that would favor Autry and his staff is the promise of current Syracuse freshmen Donnie Freeman, Elijah Moore and Petar Majstorovic. Those three players are the first class brought in post-Boeheim. And next year’s class includes a five-star forward in Sadiq White, a four-star guard in Kiyan Anthony, plus an international prospect in Australian guard Luke Fennell and an under-the-radar recruit in Aaron Womack of Milwaukee. There’s an old saying among coaches, “It’s the Jimmy’s and the Joe’s; not the X’s and the O’s.’’ Retain the freshmen, bring in the 2025 recruits, target the right players in the portal and things could look a lot different next year for Syracuse. [/QUOTE]

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