After legendary Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim finally called it a profession, the torch was officially handed over to assistant coach Adrian Autry.
Who exactly is Boeheim’s 51-year-old successor?
Autry was born in Monroe, North Carolina before moving to Harlem where he grew up along with his mother and sisters.
He was a highly recruited player outside of highschool, winning state championships with St. Nicholas of Tolentine and was crowned a McDonald’s All-American in his senior 12 months.
Like Boeheim, he began his profession with Syracuse as a player.
During Boeheim’s 47-year tenure as Autry’s head coach, he was a 6-foot-4-foot fullback who played from 1990-94.
He had an exceptional profession with Orange, scoring over 1,500 points and rising to the Big East first team as a senior.
In his senior 12 months, he averaged a formidable 16.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.6 steals.
Following his college profession, Autry entered his name within the NBA draft but was not chosen.
As an alternative, he began a 10-year profession playing in Europe and in the US Basketball League.
When his football profession got here to an end, Autry decided to pursue coaching.
In 2006, he began coaching at the highschool and AAU levels before moving to college in 2008.
He was able to get a job as Virginia Tech’s director of basketball operations, eventually being promoted to assistant coach after two years.
The University of Dayton had its eye on Autry for the assistant head coach position in 2011, but when an assistant coach arrived at Orange, he couldn’t help but reunite along with his former coach at Syracuse.
During his time as Boeheim’s assistant, Autry was instrumental in the event of a few of Syracuse’s final stars. Jerami Grant, Tyler Ennis, Oshae Brissett and Tyler Lydon have all grown up to be solid picks within the NBA draft.
Above all, Grant has been a key player for the Trail Blazers this season, averaging 20.6 points per game.
Becoming the heir to the legendary coach, Autry spoke about how his time with Boeheim affected his life.
“There have been only a few influential forces in my life more powerful than Syracuse University and Jim Boeheim. They each played such essential roles and without either of them I’m sure I would not have had this amazing opportunity ahead of me,” Autry said in a Wednesday announcement.
“I’ve spent plenty of time playing basketball learning from Jim and I’m very grateful to him for preparing me to proceed the winning tradition that is Orange Basketball,” he added.
Syracuse.com recently spoke with former Syracuse basketball players who had a robust relationship with Autry.
“He was a born leader. I saw it the primary day I met him. He just at all times told you the suitable things as a teammate and quarterback,” exclaimed Autry’s former teammate John Wallace. “I saw how hard he worked to grow to be knowledgeable player. He wore a weighted vest and did all the additional work just to rejoice. He was tough too. He played the weak Achilles for 2 years in “Cuse” and never missed a game. I expect his teams to adopt one of these personality.”
The university will officially introduce its latest head basketball coach Friday at 10:00 a.m. on the Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center.
ESPN ranked Autry the fifth assistant coach aged 40 and under in 2012. Becomes the primary African-American head coach in Syracuse history.
Current Washington Huskies head basketball coach and former Syracuse assistant Mike Hopkins said it best.
“He understands tradition and what he represents there,” he told Syracuse.com. “It’s DC, Melo, John Wallace and Rony Seikaly. It’s history. He was a terrific player himself. He knows what level you wish to be to reach this arena.