{"id":143494,"date":"2026-03-20T06:20:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T06:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/143494\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T06:20:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T06:20:14","slug":"siena-coach-gerry-mcnamara-reflects-on-2003-syracuse-title-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/143494\/","title":{"rendered":"Siena Coach Gerry McNamara Reflects on 2003 Syracuse Title Run"},"content":{"rendered":"

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

Siena head coach Gerry McNamara is a legend in upstate New York, having led Syracuse to a national championship as a freshman in 2003 alongside Carmelo Anthony. McNamara spent his entire college playing career at Syracuse from 2002-06, averaging over 13 points per game each season and cementing his legacy with a standout performance in the national title game against Kansas. Though Syracuse has struggled in recent years, McNamara’s name has been floated as a potential replacement for the head coaching job at his alma mater.<\/p>\n

Why it matters<\/p>\n

McNamara’s success at Syracuse, where he was a key part of the 2003 national championship team, has made him a highly sought-after coach. His work at rebuilding Siena into an NCAA Tournament contender has only added to his reputation, and his potential return to Syracuse would be a homecoming for a beloved figure in upstate New York basketball.<\/p>\n

The details<\/p>\n

As a freshman in 2003, McNamara averaged 13.3 points per game and shot 35.7% from 3-point range, helping lead Syracuse to the national title. He became an even bigger offensive focal point in his sophomore and junior seasons, averaging over 17 points per game, though Syracuse failed to make it past the first round of the NCAA Tournament in his final two years. McNamara’s 18-point performance in the 2003 national championship game, with six made 3-pointers in the first half, is one of the most memorable individual performances in Syracuse history.<\/p>\n

McNamara played at Syracuse from 2002 to 2006.Syracuse won the national championship in 2003, McNamara’s freshman season.McNamara became Siena’s head coach in 2024.<\/p>\n

The players<\/p>\n

Gerry McNamara<\/p>\n

A former point guard who led Syracuse to the 2003 national championship as a freshman and is now the head coach at Siena.<\/p>\n

Carmelo Anthony<\/a><\/p>\n

A standout freshman who averaged 22.2 points per game and earned Second-Team All-American honors on the 2003 Syracuse national championship team.<\/p>\n

Got photos? Submit your photos here. \u203a<\/a>
\n What they\u2019re saying<\/p>\n

\u201cI think with what we did, with the job obviously being open, it was inevitable, with my history there, just coming from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Gerry McNamara, Siena Head Coach<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next<\/p>\n

McNamara’s Siena team is set to face Duke in the NCAA Tournament, with a potential return to Syracuse as the head coach looming as a possibility if the Orange continue their search for a new leader.<\/p>\n

The takeaway<\/p>\n

Gerry McNamara’s playing career at Syracuse, highlighted by the 2003 national championship, has made him a beloved figure in upstate New York basketball. His success in rebuilding Siena into an NCAA Tournament team has only added to his reputation, and a potential return to his alma mater as head coach would be a homecoming for one of the most iconic players in Syracuse history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a Siena head coach Gerry McNamara is a legend in upstate…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":126482,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[178,180,179],"class_list":["post-143494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143494"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143494\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}