Sadiq White is Proof Autry is Changing Syracuse Hoops

For the last five years or so, it's felt like Syracuse basketball completely stagnated under Jim Beehime

An icon, a legend, a Hall of Famer. But there certainly seemed to be a ceiling of where Syracuse basketball could eventually go or ultimately get to

I think that that ceiling's been shattered by Adrian Autry. When his first season had better results on the floor than Jim Beheim did over the last decade

and now on the recruiting trail, another big victory. Sadiq White, top 25 player in America, commits to the orange

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Click on this button below me. Be one with the channel. Sadiq White's a really interesting player

coming out of the Charlotte area. He's the best player in the state of North Carolina

which has a lot of basketball talent. He's 6-7-68, bouncy, springy, gets up and down the floor really well

elevates around the basket. He kind of looks like your prototypical college basketball

high-end NBA player, a guy that's rangy, lanky, and can get up and down the floor

very athletic, can finish. That's the type of guy that Syracuse has

for many years, targeted, and now has become kind of the, it type of body, the it type of player that the NBA looks for. So this is a player in Sadiq White

who lots of scouts, lots of schools were very, very interested in. For Jim Beheim, really since

the Syracuse Orange entered the ACC, there's really been only a certain level they've been

able to get to. Yes, they've had a couple of final four runs. So you can't say they weren't

able to win anything. But regular seasons, I mean, let's face it, aside from that first year

in the ACC Everything else inside the conference since they move from the big east has been 17 18 maybe 20 wins Cross your fingers on selection Sunday and hope that you did just enough

in the ACC tournament to just kind of inch your way and squeak into the NCAA tournament and

pray you're the inside of that bubble instead of the outside of the bubble. And then

roll the dice, take your chances in March and hopefully you win a couple of games to get

to the second weekend of the tournament. But last year, in Adrian Autry's first year at the helm

he had a better regular season record than any that Jim Beheim had in his final six seasons

inside the carrier dog. Year number one, SU didn't make the tournament

and yes, they decided, I thought incorrectly, to not play in the NIT

So there was really no postseason. But still, it was a Syracuse season

that by most measures was a success, and that was Autry's year number one

Well, now on the recruiting, trail, Adrian Autry is also paying massive dividends because his first commit was Donnie Freeman

a five-star kid who's going to play Power Forward. And now he's got Sadiq White added as well

another five-star recruit. Syracuse hadn't won 11 ACC games, 11 games in the ACC regular season

since that first year under Beheim in the ACC, which was a decade ago, two of his first three recruits

commit to the Orange are both five-star guys. Anybody following Syracuse basketball knows

that those have been few and far between in the last decade for Jim Beheim

There's usually been, again, a bit of a level that Syracuse has been unable to get beyond

both on the floor and in recruiting under Beheim. And I think the program really just stagnated

Beheim had been there for so long, I think that his touch, while he certainly had the respect from a resume standpoint

of all of these high school kids and high school coaches I think in terms of connection with a younger generation in terms of a fresh attitude a fresh approach in terms of an energy a vibe around the program it really been lacking for a long time until Autry took over Now certainly people could worry about well can Adrian Autry fill those shoes

But this is what I think the Sadiq White and Donnie Freeman commitments show us about Adrian Autry

Autry's best qualities take a little bit from Beheim and then do the opposite of Beheim

Here's what I mean. When White added what made him decide to choose Syracuse, he said

they're a coaching staff that's willing to tell me things I don't want to hear

And that's how I'm going to get better. Well, that sounds a lot like Jim Beehive, a tough coach, sometimes an overly critical coach

a coach that can put players in dog houses and never let them out. And yes, sometimes that tough love led to a better player

sometimes that tough love led to a player completely ignoring the team

team and the coach and wanted to transfer out or just always being emotionally detached and

never being very productive. So the fact that you have a young man in Sadiq White who wants

that says a lot about White, but also says that Adrian Autry still has the roots of what made Jim

Beheim really effective. The old school, I'm going to tell you things that other people

won't tell you. I'm not just going to patch you on the back. I'm going to tell you things that

you need to hear to be better and so that we can win. Great. And White likes that. But also

So I think Adrian Autry feels like a new version of an NCAA coach

He's not as cynical and bitter and negative as Beheim was. He's not picking a fight with every media member, every official

Autry can be stern, but Autry also has a much more positive vibe

And I think you do need that in today's college basketball world

And I can tell you, being a Syracuse grad, they became exhausting every year to look at your head coach

and kind of feel like he didn't want to be there. Or he was kind of cynical and he didn't like the places that college basketball was going

I'm a fan. I want to be enthusiastic I want to be excited And of course winning does that But also the temperament of the face of the program and in many ways the face of the school

also dictates that. And Autry has a much better temperament for bringing fans into the frame

feeling like, oh, this is our program. And then also players feel more connected, more revived

more energized by Autry's attitude. Let's also look at the schools that Syracuse beat for Sadiq White

The biggest one being Alabama, who was definitely in on White and was one of the finalists

just coming off a final four appearance. And that program under Nate Oates has completely exploded

So you beat out a program that's been much better than you over the last couple of years

especially in March. They've been a very good team in the last handful of seasons

You beat Tennessee, another huge SEC school that went to the elite

this past season. He also chose Syracuse over Texas and the Longhorns, made the NCAA tournament

and won a game as well, and chose Syracuse over USC. Now, the Trojans didn't have much

success at all last season. It is Los Angeles, the sun, the fun, the surf of Southern California

in January and February, and Sadiq White chose gray skies and a lot of snow in central New York

in January and February. So that says something as well, wouldn't you say? All of this suggests

The Syracuse basketball program made the right higher. This is good news for Orange Nation

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