Q and A with Sports Illustrated Syracuse Basketball Mike McAllister
I recently sat down with Mike McAllister from SI.com to discuss the future of Syracuse men’s basketball. Here it is:
ML: Jim Boeheim is officially retired. Weird ending or proper Boeheim ending?
MM: I’m not really sure there was ever going to be a “proper Boeheim ending.” Perhaps if he had elected to call it a career after the Buddy Boeheim team went to the Sweet 16, that would have been a cool way to go out. At the end of the day, I think the press conference introducing Adrian Autry was well done and was a proper way to honor a legend while passing the torch at the same time. It still is weird to me that Boeheim is not the head coach of Syracuse basketball. He has been my entire life, so that is definitely something that will take some getting used to.
ML: What are your expectations for Adrian Autry?
MM: Expectations should definitely be high for coach Autry. He has a lot of experience, is very well respected in the coaching community and has been a strong recruiter for Syracuse. I think the expectations are getting Syracuse back to what everyone expected Syracuse to be year in and year out. An NCAA Tournament caliber team that wins 20+ games every year and is a team no one wants to see in March. I think he can get back to that.
ML: How will you remember Joe Girard as an SU player?
MM: I tend to look at the positives when remembering a player’s career. With Girard, I will remember him as a lethal shooter who gave everything he had every night. He is in the Top 20 in scoring in Syracuse history. He is Top 5 in three pointers made. A bad player does not reach those achievements. I say that because I will also remember the often unfair and over the top criticism he received. Despite that, he was a classy kid who played hard.
ML: What does the roster look like next year?
MM: Much depends on decisions of Judah Mintz and Jesse Edwards, but let’s work under the assumption they both return. I like how potentially deep that roster can be. A starting backcourt of Mintz and JJ Starling with Chris Bell and Benny Williams at forward along with Edwards at center is a potentially strong group. Then you have Maliq Brown, Justin Taylor, Quadir Copeland and Mounir Hima off the bench with the potential of adding another guard in the portal. That will certainly give coach Autry a lot to work with.
ML: UConn just won the title with a poor football program. Many have success with no football at all. Should Syracuse invest more in hoops and just let football go?
MM: It depends on what you mean by let football go. The problem is the football money is so enormous that Syracuse is not going to change conferences for basketball’s sake. They will do what makes the most money, which means letting football make those decisions. That said, just because you do that does not mean basketball cannot be successful. UConn is an example of how a program can get back after a legendary coach moves on with the right coaching hire. I think Autry has the potential to be that for Syracuse. That is far more important than what football does, from a basketball perspective.
ML: How will recruiting change under Autry?
MM: I think you will see coach Autry much more front and center. Within weeks after taking the job, he has already been in attendance watching priority target’s high school games. He will do the same on the AAU circuit. I think coach Autry will be much more hands on with recruiting and much more visible with top targets. He is after some big names in the 2024 recruiting class to pair with commit Elijah Moore. Forward Donnie Freeman, who officially visits Syracuse April 6-8, and guard Jalil Bethea, are among the more notable targets. Both are Top 35 prospects and would be huge recruiting wins for coach Autry. If Syracuse lands those caliber of players, I think fans should be excited about the direction of recruiting.
ML: Thanks Mike.
MM: Happy to help my friend.
Mike Lindsley is the host of the ML Sports Platter Podcast. Download and subscribe on Apple, Spotify and Google Play. Follow him on YouTube @mikelindsley7060.
