Syracuse turned to its past by hiring former star guard Gerry McNamara on Tuesday in a bid to guide a fading men's basketball program back to prominence.
The 42-year-old McNamara, nicknamed “G-Mac,” 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.
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 — the school's longest since 1967-72.
“I 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,” McNamara said in a statement released by the school, which plays in the Atlantic Coast Conference. “This program has given me everything, and I am ready to give everything back to it.”
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.
The 16th-seeded Saints then nearly knocked off Duke in an eventual 71-65 first-round loss on Thursday.
Incoming athletic director Bryan Blair referred to McNamara’s hiring as “a critical moment for Syracuse basketball.”
"At every stop in his playing and coaching journey, he has elevated those around him — student-athletes, staff and the broader community — through his energy, his standards and his ability to connect," said Blair, who was hired on March 12. "He honors our past, but he is driven to build for the future. ... We welcome Gerry home and can't wait to see where he takes our program."
In McNamara, the Orange hire a coach who has name recognition and connections to a program’s proud past in which Syracuse was an established basketball power over Boeheim’s 47-year tenure that featured 35 tournament berths and five Final Four appearances. During McNamara's time as an assistant, the Orange made nine tournament appearances, including Final Four runs in 2013 and 2016.
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.
Boeheim, whose name graces Syracuse’s home court, remains a fixture with the team as a special assistant.
“Gerry McNamara’s story is as authentically Syracuse as they come,” said the school's chancellor-elect, J. Michael Haynie.
“He 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," Haynie said. "Now he’s coming home with a singular mission: to return Syracuse basketball to where it belongs, among the elite programs in the country."
McNamara’s hiring comes with Syracuse in transition with Blair replacing John Wildhack, who is retiring in July following a 10-year tenure.
Under Blair, Syracuse is expected to place an emphasis on increasing its financial commitment to recruit players — something the program lacked under Wildhack.
“College 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’m ready for it," McNamara said. "What hasn’t changed is what Orange Nation expects, and what this place deserves. We are going to build something special here.”
As a player, McNamara finished fourth at Syracuse in career points (2,099), and remains the program's career leader in minutes played (4,799) and 3-point baskets (400). His No. 3 jersey was retired in 2023.
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