SYRACUSE ASSISTANT COACH
ADRIAN AUTRY
STARTED COACHING CAREER
IN
NORTHERN VA.
ALL-MET ELITE
After his professional career ended following 10 seasons spent overseas, Autry was working in the real estate business in Northern Virginia. He was a settlement agent. Business was good. The real estate market outside of Washington D.C. was booming.
Autry, though, dreamed of getting back into basketball. He wanted to coach.
In the summer of 2006, Autry attended Syracuse's Elite Camp. He visited with SU assistant Mike Hopkins, a former teammate of Autry's at Syracuse. Then he talked with Boeheim.
"He said get involved with a good high school or AAU program,'' Autry said. "He said you should be coaching somewhere where people will see you and remember you.''
Autry went back to Northern Virginia and got a job as an assistant coach at Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, Va. But he still kept his job as a settlement manager.
"I did real estate and basketball,'' Autry said. "I was working early in the morning to late at night. I had a very understanding boss, who let me do the coaching as long as I got my work done, but it was a hard year.''
Around that time, Autry got an interview with Jim Larranaga, the coach at Miami who was at George Mason University at the time.
"Do you know these AAU programs?'' Larranaga asked. Autry did not. Larranaga asked if Autry knew some of the area's top movers-and-shakers in the AAU circles. Autry did not.
"He said before you start, you need to know those guys,'' Autry recalled. "You need to establish relationships to have a recruiting base.''
One of the names Larranaga mentioned was Keith Stevens, who was with an AAU outfit called Triple Threat. That spring, Autry was working with the 15-and-under squad for NOVA (Northern Virginia) United's AAU team. His team played a group from Triple Threat. The other coach was Keith Stevens.
"I was, like, oh, that's Keith Stevens,'' Autry said.
Autry and Stevens connected. Stevens wondered if Autry would come over to Triple Threat, which would evolve into what is now known as Team Takeover. Stevens knew Autry's name and background would resonate with players and coaches.
"The first question he asked me was 'What are you trying to do with AAU coaching?'' Autry said. "He wanted to know if I wanted to coach at the college level. And I said not really. Right now, I just want to coach.''
Autry worked with Team Takeover in the spring and summer of 2008. By that time, he had also taken a job as an assistant at Paul VI High School in Fairfax, Va.
One day that summer, Stevens called Autry with some news.
"Something's about to open up at Virginia Tech,'' Stevens said. "It's a basketball operations job. It's not a lot of money, but it's an opportunity.''
Between his New York City roots and his background in the Washington D.C. AAU scene, Autry has recruited the likes of Jerami Grant, Michael Gbinije, Tyler Ennis, B.J. Johnson and incoming recruit Chris McCullough to Syracuse.
He's home now, coaching at his alma mater. His boss is his former coach and one of his co-workers is a former teammate.
