SU is ‘biggest mystery’ in college hoops, analyst says

Undeniably, there is excitement in the air as Adrian Autry prepares for his first season as the head coach of Syracuse basketball, after Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim retired this past March.

I will say it over, over and over again. Autry and his assistant coaches have done a wonderful recruiting job this off-season, in terms of bringing in new players out of the NCAA’s transfer portal, retaining 2024 four-star commit Elijah Moore and picking up a verbal commitment from 2024 four-star power forward Donnie Freeman.

But off-season recruiting is one thing. How Adrian Autry fares in the upcoming 2023-24 season is something entirely different. He’s replacing a legend, and the Orange has also failed to make the NCAA Tournament in each of the past two terms, while also struggling in numerous regular seasons since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference from the Big East Conference in 2013-14.

Based on media reports and social media commentary from national and Atlantic Coast Conference pundits, the ‘Cuse isn’t projected as a preseason top-25 team. The Orange also isn’t showing up in super early bracketology predictions for the 2024 Big Dance.

I’m sure when the ACC releases its preseason poll this fall, Syracuse basketball won’t be highly placed. All of this is understandable. The team has a lot of new players, a relatively young roster, and a first-year head coach. Yet on paper, to me, the ‘Cuse boasts a talented and intriguing line-up – one that should contend for a March Madness berth next spring.

An analyst calls Syracuse basketball, this coming season, a “mystery.”

A few days ago, I came across an insightful and interesting tweet from Terrence Oglesby, who is part of The Field of 68 and also serves as a college basketball analyst on various networks, including ESPN and FOX.

He characterizes the Orange as “the biggest mystery in college basketball in my eyes.”

Oglesby wonders whether Autry will play zone or man (the Syracuse basketball head coach has said he’s likely to play both, although I envision him playing a lot of man-to-man defense).

Adrian Autry was an assistant for Boeheim for years, and he also worked at Virginia Tech under then-head coach Seth Greenberg. Thus, other than his time with the Hokies, Oglesby writes, “There’s no precedent outside of (Autry’s) experience with Boeheim to go on. We shall see… From a sheer talent perspective, this team is really intriguing.”

Oglesby goes on to discuss the Orange’s promising backcourt, led by sophomores Judah Mintz and J.J. Starling. The analyst highlights sharp-shooting wings Chris Bell and Justin Taylor, both sophomores, along with sophomore…