History of Syracuse First Year Head Coaches

 Adrian Autry becomes the eighth head coach for Syracuse's Men's basketball team. The first year has had different levels of success.

Prof. John A.R. Scott was the first head coach, with his first season 1903-1904.   Scott would go 11-8 his first year, winning his first two games.  Scott took over a team that was 1-8 the prior season, and he would go 64-54 in his career.

Ed Dollard would become the second SU coach in the 1911-1912 season.  Dollard would go an impressive 11-3 his first season, winning his first two games.  Dollard would have big wins over Colgate and Penn to end the season.  He took over a team that was 6-11 the previous year.  Dollard would go 152-58 in his 13 year career at Syracuse, including a Helms Foundation National Championship in 1917-18 season.

Lew Andreas

Lew Andreas became Syracuse's 3rd coach with the 1924-1925 season.  Andreas would have an impressive first year going 15-2, winning his first 11 games.  His first season had two big wins over Colgate.  He took over a team that was 8-10 the previous year.  Andreas would go 358-134 in his career, with two appearances in the NIT, and a Helms Foundation National Championship in 1925-1926 season behind Vic Hanson.

Marc Guley was Syracuse's 4th coach starting with the 1950-1951 season.  Guley would lead the team to the post season his first year going 19-9.  He would win his first three games.  He took over a team that was 18-9 the previous year.  His team beat #14 Toledo, and #6 Bradley on its way to winning the National Campus Tournament Championship.  Guley would go 136-192 in 12 years at Syracuse, with one NCAA Tournament and one National Campus Tournament.  His last season was the worst in Syracuse history with a 2-22 record.

Fred Lewis was Syracuse's 5th coach starting with the 1962-1963 season.  Lewis would go 8-13 his first season, a marked improvement over the 2-22 the previous year.  Lewis would win his first game before losing his second.   Lewis was 91-57 in his six years at Syracuse with 2 NIT and 1 NCAA appearance.

Roy Danforth was Syracuse's 6th coach starting with the 1968-1969 season.  Danforth would go 9-16 his first season, losing his first five games before beating Penn State 71-51.  He took over a team that was 11-14 the previous season.  Danforth would go 148-71 over 8 seasons, with 4 NCAA bids, 2 NIT bids, and a surprise Final Four in 1975.

Jim Boeheim was Syracuse's 7th head coach starting with the 1976-1977 season. Boeheim would go 26-4 his first season, and took the Orangemen to the 2nd round of the NCAA. He would win his first regular season game, before losing his second to West Virginia.  He took over a team that was 20-9 the previous season.  Boeheim would go 1116-441 in his 47 year career with the Orange, going to 35 NCAA tournaments, 7 NIT, 5 Final Four, and the 2003 National Championship.

Adrian Autry is Syracuse 8th and current coach starting with the 2023-2024 season. Autry's career is just beginning; he is already off to a good start at 2-0.

0-2 at Madison Square Garden - A rarity indeed

The Orange basketball team had high hopes for this season, returning all five starters from last year, plus adding some new recruits.  The season has a long way to go, but the results from Madison Square Garden this week were disappointing.

Roy Danforth

The Orange played in the 2K Empire Classic this week, and lost to former rival UConn 83-76 and #13 Oregon 80-65.  This is the first time in the Jim Boeheim era that the Orange have lost two games in a preseason tournament.  The last time the Orange lost two in a tournament was December 1968 at the Far West Basketball Classic in Portland, Oregon.  The Orangemen would lose to Washington State 86-67 on December 27th, and they would lose to Arizona State 93-77 on December 28th.  Syracuse's top returning player, Ernie Austin, was ineligible to play the first semester, and thus missed both these games.  .

1968-1969 was coach Roy Danforth's first season at Syracuse.  The team would finish the year 9-16, after starting out 4-14.  The team did finish strong winning five of the last seven games.   This is the last time the Syracuse men's basketball team had a losing season.  John Suder, Gerry McFadden, Bob Kouwe, Bill Case and Bill Smith were the starters that season.  Smith would lead the team in scoring with 19 ppg along with 11.6 rebounds a game.

Father and Son Duos for Syracuse Basketball

Happy Father’s Day!  In honor of the day, I wanted to recognize the father/son combinations that have played and/or coached for Syracuse basketball.  This fall, Jim and Buddy Boeheim will become the seventh such combination for the Orange.  Below are the father/son combination in chronological order.

The Baysingers (Reaves ‘Ribs’ and Reaves Jr).  The Baysingers were the first father/son combination in Syracuse basketball history.  Ribs was a solid reserve on the 1921-1922 team playing both center and guard, and starting a handful of games.  He would play only his sophomore year.  He was a star on the football field at both guard and end, as well as an outfielder on the baseball team for three years.  Reaves Jr was a reserve center on the Syracuse basketball team for one season. He was a gifted football player like his father, and played quarterback for the football team in 1944.  Reaves Jr would enroll in the Naval Academy as a result of World War II, and would end up a star quarterback for the Navy football team.

The Suprunowicz (Dick and Bill). Dick was a defensive stalwart on the Syracuse basketball team for three seasons, helping guide the Orangemen to their first NIT appearance in 1950.  Dick would score 526 points in his career with 6.7 ppg.  Bill was a reserve guard on the basketball team for three seasons, from 1972 to 1974. He would score 30 points in 20 games.

Vinnie Cohen

The Cohens (Vinnie and Vinnie Jr).  Vinnie Cohen was the best Syracuse basketball player of the 1950’s, a star forward for three seasons.  He would lead the Orangemen to their first NCAA berth in 1957, taking the team to the Elite Eight.  Cohen would be the first Orangemen to score 20+ ppg, with 24.2 ppg, and had a career average of 19.7 ppg.  Vinne Jr. was a walk-on for the basketball team for two seasons, scoring six points in nine games.

The Danforths (Roy and Mike). Roy was the Syracuse head coach from 1969 to 1976, with a 148-70 record. He led the team to its first Final Four in 1975, along with 3 other NCAA berths, and 2 NIT berths.  He brought an entertaining style of basketball to Manley Field House, and helped build a winning program, before heading off to be the basketball coach at Tulane.   Mike was a reserve on the 1975-1976 team playing in seven games and scoring two points.  He would transfer to Tulane when his father became the coach there.

Leo Rautins

The Rautins (Leo and Andy).  The Rautins were probably the best father/son combination at Syracuse University.  Leo was a versatile forward for the Orangemen from 1981 to 1983, scoring 1,031 points. He was an exceptionally skill passer for a forward, averaging 12.1 ppg, 6.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists. He would be drafted in the first round of the 1983 NBA draft.  Leo had three triple doubles at Syracuse.  Andy was a prolific three point shooting guard for the Orange from 2006 to 2010, and was an exceptional passing shooting guard.  He would score 1,121 points, averaging 8.8 ppg, 2.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists.  Andy was drafted in the 2^nd round of the 2010 NBA draft.  Andy is the only son on this list to outscore his father.

The Autrys (Adrian ‘Red’ and Adrian Jr).  Red was a star starting point guard for Syracuse for four seasons, averaging 12.7 ppg and 5.2 assists.  He helped guide the Orangemen to a Big East Tournament Championship (1991), a Big East Regular Season Championship (1992), and three NCAA tournaments.  He has been an assistant coach for Syracuse since the 2011-2012 season, and in March of 2017 was named the Associate Head Coach.  His son Adrian Jr has been a walk-on player the past three seasons, and has scored 10 points in 19 career games.  Red is  the first father to coach basketball to his son at Syracuse.

The Boeheims (Jim and Buddy).  Jim is the 2^nd winningest coach of all-time in men’s Division I basketball, with a record of 1027-371.  He has led the Orange to one National Championship, five Final Fours, and 33 NCAA tournaments.  He was also a solid guard for the Orangemen for three seasons in the 1960s, scoring 745 career points with a 9.8 ppg average.  Buddy is a freshman for the upcoming season, and has a reputation as being a terrific perimeter shooter.

Jim Boeheim has ties to many of the other individuals on this list.  He was the head coach for Vinnie Cohen Jr, Leo  & Andy Rautins, Red Autry & Adrian Autry Jr.  He was an assistant coach under Roy Danforth, and for Mike Danforth and Bill Suprunowicz.