A
drian Autry’s coaching career began inconspicuously in Alexandria, Virginia, in 2006, when he began working as a part-time assistant at Bishop Ireton High School. He swept courts before varsity games, drove kids to practice and took them out to eat, all while working an additional job as a settlement agent for a real estate company.
Today, Autry is Syracuse’s head coach, and one of the most well-known figures in central New York and college basketball. But over the past 17 years — as he jumped from high school assistant to an Atlantic Coast Conference head coach — Autry kept doing what he started doing back in Northern Virginia in 2006: meeting and forming close relationships with Washington, D.C.-area players and coaches.
Autry was the lead recruiter for Judah Mintz, Benny Williams and Donnie Freeman — a 4-star 2024 SU signee. All three hail from the Washington metropolitan area, a basketball hotbed known as the “DMV” that Syracuse visits Saturday afternoon for its 99th all-time tilt with Georgetown. Autry’s relationships with local high school and AAU coaches — stemming from his two seasons coaching in the region — have helped him establish a recruiting pipeline for Syracuse. And when he was promoted to head coach in March, Autry quickly brought in George Washington assistant — and DMV native — Brendan Straughn to strengthen that base.
“Coach Autry has a ton of respect (in the D.C. area),” said Osman Bangura, a local AAU coach for Team Durant, which Mintz played on in high school. “This was his area, his recruiting base, because of the relationships he’s had. He’ll definitely be successful recruiting from this area, and then adding Brendan in as well helps that a lot more.”
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Syracuse has always had a strong presence in the region — Dave Bing, Sherman Douglas and Lawrence Moten, among others, are natives — and nearly 15,000 alumni live in the D.C. metro area. But Autry has managed to enhance that presence. Including Freeman, he’s helped recruit six 4-star D.C. area-players to Syracuse since arriving in 2011.
Autry began coaching in the area after a 2006 conversation with then-SU assistant Mike Hopkins. He had one-year stints at Bishop Ireton and St. Paul VI (Va.), two powerhouse programs, and coached for Team Takeover, a top AAU program based in D.C. He built relationships with high school and college coaches, and observed recruiting pitches.
Once he joined Seth Greenberg’s Virginia Tech staff in 2008, Autry knew where to go — and who to talk to — when recruiting the area. That carried over to SU, too. He brought forward Jerami Grant to Syracuse from Dematha Catholic (Md.) High School in 2012 and guard Frank Howard from St. Paul VI in 2015.
Mintz said Autry knows how to connect with recruits in the DMV: he’s personable and knows who he’s talking to and what interests them. Mintz’s relationship with Autry was the driving force behind him choosing Syracuse.
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After Mintz decommitted from Pitt in November 2021, Autry called Bangura and asked if it was too late to go after the guard. “How serious are y’all about him?” Bangura asked. “I love him,” Autry replied. “We don’t want to waste any time.”
Bangura gave Mintz his background with Autry: the two had coached together at St. Paul VI and remained close since. Mintz committed to SU in March 2022.
Players in the D.C. area see Syracuse as a place they can be comfortable and have a built-in family, Mintz said, since SU has a track record of “taking care” of local players.
“Syracuse is deeply rooted in the DMV area and I hope it continues,” Mintz added.
Regularly playing games in the area helps its recruiting presence too, area coaches said. Syracuse has continued the Georgetown series since 2015, and UVA is a short drive from D.C. The ACC Tournament returns to the district this season, too.
Those games allow SU to position its brand in front of recruits, and players from the area can compete near home. Mintz said plenty of his friends and family attended the Virginia game, and will have more at Georgetown. He said Saturday’s game is “special” for him and Williams. Both grew up less than 20 miles from Capital One Arena.
“I think them just being in this area at all is huge just for their brand, their brand recognition and just the following that they have in this area,” said Kevin Jones, who coached Williams at St. Andrews Episcopal (Md.) High School.
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Jones is in a group chat with 25 others who will be supporting Williams and are looking for a restaurant near the arena that opens by 10 a.m. Saturday with the early 11:30 tip-off.
Williams said he received a lot of hate after committing to Syracuse over hometown schools Georgetown and Maryland. It’s been a challenge for those programs to keep local players home since the area receives national recruiting attention, Jones said.
Williams has cited his relationship with Autry as a big factor in him choosing SU. When Kobe Bryant, one of Williams’ biggest influences, died in 2020, Autry was the only coach who checked in on him. Williams’ mother couldn’t stop talking about the gesture, the forward recalled. Grant, who also played for Team Takeover and has known Williams since elementary school, pitched the forward on coming to Syracuse.
Autry coached with Jones at Bishop Ireton and St. Paul VI, and was the best man at his wedding. Jones said Autry visits St. Andrews’ gym both when they have Division-I talent and when they don’t. Coaches said Autry has similar genuine relationships with high school and AAU coaches around the area.
“Having a base here and knowing people here with the rich talent is key,” Jones said. “So it’s very advantageous for him to already be rooted in an area that has a lot of talent.”
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The decision to hire Straughn shows SU’s commitment to recruiting the region, coaches added. Straughn grew up and played collegiately in Maryland, and spent five years as a Team Takeover assistant, where he helped develop 70 D-I players and five McDonald’s All-Americans. He then went to Loyola Maryland and GW before arriving at SU.
Straughn’s DMV connections, along with his energy, attention to detail and work ethic, make him a strong coach and recruiter, Jones said.
“It’s easy for him,” Bangura said. “This is home for Brendan.”
Bangura said Autry won’t have an issue recruiting D.C. players as head coach. Jones has heard stories of local coaches calling or texting Autry and being impressed by his quick replies. Those 17 years of relationships — from Bishop Ireton to Syracuse — have already paid dividends for the Orange, and coaches expect that to continue.
“I know there’s a lot of people around here rooting for him to do well,” Jones said.
Photograph taken by Aiden Groeling | Staff Photographer
Published on December 6, 2023 at 10:36 pm
Contact Connor: [email protected] | @csmith17_
