Boeheim says goodbye as new coach Autry is introduced at Syracuse

Syracuse formally introduced new men’s basketball coach Adrian Autry on Friday, but it turned into more of a celebration of Jim Boeheim, the Hall of Fame coach Autry is succeeding.

The practice facility was packed with Syracuse officials and coaches, current and former players, and Otto the Orange, the mascot.

All of them were there to watch the passing of the torch from the 78-yearold Boeheim, who led the program for 47 years and turned it into a national brand, to Autry, who played for Boeheim from 1990-94, became an assistant coach prior to the 2011-12 season and was promoted to associate head coach in March 2017.

Autry told the crowd he was committed to the “Orange standard” Boeheim had built, “the history of winning, the history of playing hard and competing for championships.” He added that decisions were yet to be made on his coaching staff, but noted that his teams would be “versatile” on defense as opposed to sticking 100% with Boeheim’s legendary 2-3 zone.

But when Boeheim walked onto the gym’s floor — accompanied by his wife, Juli, and daughter, Jamie — it became apparent this was his day. Boeheim coached his final game Wednesday, a 77-74 buzzer-beater loss to Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Director of Athletics John Wildhack reviewed Boeheim’s myriad accomplishments, numbers he called “extraordinary”: “35 NCAA Tournament appearances, five Final Fours, 2003 national championship, 20 Sweet 16 appearances … enshrinement in the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2005.”