<\/p>\n
Syracuse turned to its past by hiring former star guard Gerry McNamara on Tuesday in a bid to guide a fading men\u2019s basketball program back to prominence.<\/p>\n
The 42-year-old McNamara, nicknamed \u201cG-Mac,\u201d is returning to where he and Carmelo Anthony led the Orange to a national championship in 2003. McNamara then spent 14 years as an assistant under Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim and an additional season under his successor, Adrian Autry.<\/p>\n
Now he replaces Autry, who was fired after three largely disappointing seasons in which the Orange went 49-48 and extended their NCAA Tournament drought to five seasons \u2014 the school\u2019s longest since 1967-72.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love this place. I love what Syracuse means to the fans, to the players who have worn this jersey, to the people of central New York,\u201d McNamara said in a statement released by the school, which plays in the Atlantic Coast Conference. \u201cThis program has given me everything, and I am ready to give everything back to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
McNamara returns to Syracuse after spending the past two seasons at Siena, where he went 37-30. That included a 23-12 finish this year in which the Saints won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament and clinched their first NCAA berth since 2010.<\/p>\n
The 16th-seeded Saints then nearly knocked off Duke in an eventual 71-65 first-round loss on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Incoming athletic director Bryan Blair referred to McNamara\u2019s hiring as \u201ca critical moment for Syracuse basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt every stop in his playing and coaching journey, he has elevated those around him \u2014 student-athletes, staff and the broader community \u2014 through his energy, his standards and his ability to connect,\u201d said Blair, who was hired on March 12. \u201cHe honors our past, but he is driven to build for the future. \u2026 We welcome Gerry home and can\u2019t wait to see where he takes our program.\u201d<\/p>\n
In McNamara, the Orange hire a coach who has name recognition and connections to a program\u2019s proud past in which Syracuse was an established basketball power over Boeheim\u2019s 47-year tenure that featured 35 tournament berths and five Final Four appearances. During McNamara\u2019s time as an assistant, the Orange made nine tournament appearances, including Final Four runs in 2013 and 2016.<\/p>\n
From Scranton, Pennsylvania, McNamara has a strong track record for recruiting and developing players. Working under Boeheim, he was credited for having a primary role in mentoring eventual NBA players Michael Carter-Williams, Dion Waiters and Tyler Ennis.<\/p>\n
Boeheim, whose name graces Syracuse\u2019s home court, remains a fixture with the team as a special assistant.<\/p>\n
\u201cGerry McNamara\u2019s story is as authentically Syracuse as they come,\u201d said the school\u2019s chancellor-elect, J. Michael Haynie.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe came here from Scranton with something to prove and became one of the greatest players this program has ever seen and one of the most trusted coaches to sit on our bench,\u201d Haynie said. \u201cNow he\u2019s coming home with a singular mission: to return Syracuse basketball to where it belongs, among the elite programs in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
McNamara\u2019s hiring comes with Syracuse in transition with Blair replacing John Wildhack, who is retiring in July following a 10-year tenure.<\/p>\n
Under Blair, Syracuse is expected to place an emphasis on increasing its financial commitment to recruit players \u2014 something the program lacked under Wildhack.<\/p>\n
\u201cCollege basketball has changed. How you build a program, recruit talent, compete for resources and win looks different than it did even five years ago. I know that. I\u2019m ready for it,\u201d McNamara said. \u201cWhat hasn\u2019t changed is what Orange Nation expects, and what this place deserves. We are going to build something special here.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a player, McNamara finished fourth at Syracuse in career points (2,099), and remains the program\u2019s career leader in minutes played (4,799) and 3-point baskets (400). His No. 3 jersey was retired in 2023.<\/p>\n
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