Syracuse Basketball Searching for Offensive Identity as Growing Pains Persist
In the tunnel beneath the JMA Wireless Dome, the mood felt routine. Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry stepped to the podium after a 76-62 win over Mercyhurst, offering a familiar mix of disappointment and optimism. He talked about his team’s “fight,” praised their “level five energy,” and acknowledged the second-half lulls that have become all too common.
But the conversation shifted when the topic turned to Syracuse’s offense - and the room got quiet.
“Oh yeah, I’ve seen a lot of growth,” Autry said, pausing for several seconds before declaring, “There’s nothing wrong with our offense.”
That’s a bold statement. Because the numbers? They’re telling a different story.
After the win over Mercyhurst - a team in its first season at the Division I level - Syracuse’s adjusted offensive efficiency on KenPom dropped from No. 107 to No. 118.
That’s a step back, not forward. For context, the Orange finished last season ranked 106th in that same metric, and that was during a 14-win campaign.
Autry’s not shying away from how demanding his system is. “What we’re trying to do is very, very hard,” he said.
“But we got the ingredients, and we have the people that can do it. You guys have seen it.
Everyone has seen it. It’s just a matter of us getting more consistent.”
That’s the key word: consistency. And it’s been elusive.
Part of the challenge is personnel. Donnie Freeman, Syracuse’s leading scorer at 17.8 points per game, has missed the last seven games with a lower-body injury.
That’s left J.J. Starling as the only healthy returner from last year’s squad - and a lot of new faces trying to find rhythm in a system that demands movement, sacrifice, and a high motor on both ends of the floor.
Starling knows what Autry is asking isn’t easy. It’s not just about running plays - it’s about constant motion, sharing the ball, and staying locked in on defense.
“But if we do it, we can be really good,” Starling said. “And just do it consistently.”
That consistency hasn’t shown up during Syracuse’s last three games. There was a nail-biter win over Saint Joseph’s, a disappointing home loss to Hofstra, and now a 14-point victory over a Mercyhurst team still adjusting to the Division I level. None of those performances inspire confidence that this offense is close to clicking.
Freshman Tyler Betsey put it bluntly: “I feel like sometimes we get stagnant, like we don’t have ball movement or player movement,” he said. “But when we get rolling, I think we’re a good offensive team.”
That’s been the story of the Orange so far - flashes of potential, but not enough flow. The talent is there.
Autry said it himself: this team has the “ingredients” to be a championship-caliber group. Kiyan Anthony echoed that, pointing to the number of players who can create, score, and facilitate.
But when plays break down - and they will, especially against high-level defenses - Syracuse tends to fall back on isolation and ball screens. Anthony noted that other teams seem to have a Plan B ready when their first set gets blown up.
Syracuse? Not always.
“As far as that, I would say the players and the coaches could be on a better page when the first initial play breaks down,” Anthony said. “We could just figure out what to do after that.”
To his credit, Anthony didn’t put the blame solely on the coaching staff. He made it clear the players share responsibility.
And that’s a fair assessment. Execution, adjustments, and communication - those are team-wide issues.
Then there’s the free-throw shooting. Syracuse is currently the second-worst team in the country at the line.
That’s not just a stat - it’s a problem that’s already cost them games, including a golden opportunity to upset No. 8 Houston.
Autry pointed out that if they were hitting their free throws, they’d be averaging close to 80 points a game. But that’s a hypothetical.
In reality, those missed points are stacking up.
And while Autry has leaned on moral victories - like saying the team “scored enough” to hang with top-tier opponents - that messaging starts to lose weight when the team is struggling to put away mid-majors.
The KenPom rankings tell the story. Syracuse has slipped to No. 79 - a season low - just weeks after peaking at No.
- That’s not just a dip.
That’s a trend.
Autry insists he sees growth. And maybe it’s there - in the film room, in practice, in the way players are buying into the vision. But until it shows up consistently on the court, Syracuse remains a team with potential, still searching for its offensive identity.
The pieces are there. The question is whether they can come together in time to matter.