Syracuse basketball hosted its annual media day on Friday.
Last season, Syracuse basketball finished with a record of 20-12 and finished tied for fifth in the ACC.
Heading into head coach Adrian Autry’s second season, what were the three biggest takeaways from their annual media day?
Takeaway #1: Newcomers to make an immediate impact
Syracuse used the transfer portal to match a strong recruiting class heading into year two under head coach Adrian Autry.
The freshman class includes five-star Donnie Freeman, four-star Elijah Moore, and 6-foot-8 forward Petar Majstorovic.
Freeman originally committed to the Orange as a four-star recruit, before earning the coveted fifth star after committing to play for coach Autry. The McDonalds All-American also played with the Bahamas National Team in an Olympic Qualifying tournament over the summer.
“He’s a young man that is battling, you know he’s not scared. He wants to do well, he’s never going to quit. I’ve been impressed with that,” coach Autry said.
Elijah Moore also came into the season as a highly touted recruit, after playing in Overtime Elite last year. Although Moore is uncertain about his role for the Orange, he said “All I know is that I’m ready to win and do whatever it takes for us to do that.”
Syracuse basketball and Adrian Autry also hit the transfer portal hard over the offseason, adding Eddie Lampkin, Lucas Taylor, Jaquan Carlos, Jyare Davis and more.
Lampkin, a graduate student who spent last year at Colorado, is looking forward to making an impact for the Orange.
“I want to pass first… being able to pass the ball I can really take pressure off of the point guards and shooting guards,” Lampkin said.
With Syracuse’s experienced returners, JJ Starling, Chris Bell, and Kyle Cuffe, the newcomers are developing their chemistry as the season moves closer.
Takeaway #2: Autry is focusing on chemistry
Following his first season as the head coach of the Orange, Adrian Autry has formed a clearer view on what he wants the program to be.
Although he is still deciding some off the court aspects of the program, chemistry is the focus of his development going into year two.
In his first year as head coach, Autry focused on making changes to the program and spent most of their time in the gym.
“I was just so focused on trying to make the changes,” Autry said. “We were changing styles, so I really wanted to try to do as best as possible to get them prepared for what we wanted to do.”
But with roster turnover from last year and the large class of newcomers, the team spent more time off the court developing chemistry.
“This year we took some time away. We had a trip down to New York, we had a softball game… just different things like that to get outside the gym and just kind of relax and be around each other,” Autry said.
The Orange hopes that off-the-court chemistry can translate directly to on-court success as they are just seven days from the first exhibition against Clarion.
Takeaway #3: Creating a low-post game
Last season, the Orange ranked inside the top 50 in the country in two-point scoring. However, the paint presence revolved around talented guards getting downhill to create opportunities.
“Last year we weren’t able to go inside as much as we wanted,” Autry said.
This season, coach Autry is optimistic about their chances to have a more traditional post presence with the return of Naheem McLeod and the addition of Lampkin, Davis and Freeman.
“This year I think we do have that because Eddie (Lampkin) can provide low-post scoring, Jyare (Davis) can provide low-post scoring and Donnie Freeman as well,” coach Autry said.
If the Orange can find efficiency scoring in the low post, it will open up opportunities for shooters to get clean looks.
While at Colorado, Lampkin often found himself as a passer. “For me I like assists more than points regardless…at Colorado I played at the top of the key a lot and ran the offense a little bit,” Lampkin said.
Coach Autry also believes that Lampkin’s low-post game can expand the offense further than scoring.
“Obviously being able to score around the basket, but he rebounds the ball well. He passes the ball well, high IQ, great team guy his leadership has been off the charts,” Autry said.
With talented and experienced returners like JJ Starling and Chris Bell, an inside presence for Syracuse could expand the hopes of a return to the NCAA tournament.
Syracuse basketball opens the season with an exhibition game against Clarion on Oct. 26 (1 p.m.)