Former Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, who retired earlier this week following the team’s second round loss in the ACC tournament after 47 years at the helm, introduced new head coach Adrian Autry on Friday morning.
Autry, who has worked as an assistant under Boeheim and played for him Syracuse, was named the head coach in a press release by the university on Wednesday.
Boeheim believes that Autry, as well as assistants Gerry McNamara and Allen Griffin who remain on the staff under him as the new head coach, are ready for the challenge.
“He’s a great coach,” Boeheim began. “I think someone said that Adrian should get an older mentor to help him coach. Adrian Autry does not need an older mentor to help him coach. He can coach. He’s not here as a recruiter or player, he’s here as a coach, and he knows how to coach… and he’s got a couple assistants that are both good enough to be head coaches. There will be no problem coaching going forward. None,” Boeheim said.
Before he concluded his full endorsement of Autry, Boeheim mentioned that he inserted the coaching ability of the staff into his speech against his wife Juli’s wishes, which got the whole convocation laughing.
“My wife told me not to put that in there,” he quipped.
As for Autry, he was thankful for the opportunity to coach his alma mater and promised the fans that the standard of Syracuse basketball would not change.
“I am a new voice, a new face with new ideas,” he said. “But the standards that have helped build this program will not change.”
The 51-year-old Autry is a career assistant at both the high school and college level. This is his first head coaching job.
