So here’s an honest question:
Do Syracuse fans have to give Adrian Autry some credit?
Just a week ago, the program felt like it was spiraling. A deflating loss at Virginia. The Kiyan Anthony DNP that exploded into a national storyline. Frustration from Carmelo Anthony. Social media in full meltdown mode. It felt less like a rough stretch and more like a fracture point.
And then the team responded.
A gritty double-overtime win over Cal. A buzzer-beater stunner against SMU. Two games that easily could have slipped away. Two games that, earlier in the season, probably would have.
Instead, Syracuse looked resilient. Locked in late. Connected.
That’s not nothing.
It’s also impossible to ignore the timing. In the wake of the Kiyan drama, Carmelo publicly said his son could benefit from adversity. That’s a powerful shift. And wouldn’t you know it, Kiyan Anthony followed with one of his most complete games of the season against SMU.
You can argue coincidence. You can argue momentum. But you can’t argue this: teams that quit don’t win games like that.
Which brings us back to the uncomfortable part.
If Autry had truly lost the locker room, if players had tuned him out after the Virginia loss and the media firestorm, those two wins don’t happen. You don’t survive double overtime without buy-in. You don’t execute a late-game play with that level of poise if belief is gone.
Does this erase the inconsistency? No.
Does it fix the résumé? Not yet.
Does it quiet every question about direction? Absolutely not.
But it complicates the narrative.
For weeks, the conversation centered on optics, tone, and whether Autry’s messaging was connecting. The team’s response suggests it might be — at least internally — more than the outside noise implied.
Fans don’t have to pretend everything is fixed. They don’t have to forget the frustration of the past month. But fairness cuts both ways. If losses fall on the head coach, then emotional, season-saving wins do too.
So maybe the better question isn’t whether Autry deserves credit.
Maybe it’s whether fans are willing to give it — even cautiously — when it’s earned.
