A basketball legend from Scranton, Gerry McNamara, now leads Siena to its first NCAA tournament in 16 years.

SCRANTON, Pa. — Gerry McNamara’s AAU jersey hangs high inside Riverfront Sports in Scranton, his name synonymous with basketball in the Electric City and across the country.

“People just, they, they love Gerry McNamara. Anything that he’s involved with because he’s a natural-born winner, but he’s also one of them.” Al Munley was a head assistant coach during McNamara’s time as a player at Bishop Hannan High School.

Today, he’s a proud fan. Getting to watch McNamara in his second year as head coach lead Siena basketball to its first appearance in the NCAA tournament in 16 years.

“He’s already proven his worth as a player and, you know, and an icon in several communities, and now with his cutting his teeth at the collegiate level as a head basketball coach, it’s just awesome to see the results and see them happen so quickly,” says Munley. 

GMac, as he became known, changed basketball fandom in the northeast during his time at Bishop Hannan and Syracuse University.

A filled arena watched him win a state championship in 2002.

The next year, fans filled buses headed upstate, where, alongside former teammate and NBA star Carmelo Anthony, McNamara helped lead the orange to a national championship in 2003.

Munley says, “He had so many doubters, you know, because he was a 6 ft, 6’1, you know, skinny guy from scranton. What’s he going to do on the big stage? And sure enough, as soon as he got there, he lit that place on fire to the point where he’s a cultural icon in Syracuse. The Scranton people never left his side.”

As head of the Siena Saints, GMac turned an average program around.

Getting back to the national stage, going against the number one team in the country, the Duke Blue Devils.

“People have a natural affinity for the first couple of days of the tournament, and they’re always looking for those big upsets and the, you know, the 1 and 16 hasn’t happened too often, but anytime that you underestimate gerry mc namara. You know, he has a history of proving those people wrong,” says Munley. 

Just a kid from Scranton, who stopped in Syracuse, then found more success in Siena.