Who Is Gerry McNamara?
McNamara, from Scranton (Pa), was a consensus top-50 recruit in 2002 and picked Syracuse over several offers, including Duke and Florida. He had quite a collegiate career, finishing with over 2000 points, 600 assists, 400 threes, and 250 steals.
McNamara, along with Carmelo Anthony and Hakim Warrick, led the Orange to the 2023 NCAA national championship. McNamara was a three-time All-Big East selection (twice first team) and the 2006 Big East Tournament MVP. He ranks (25th) in scoring, 19th in assists, 13th in steals, and second in free-throw percentage.
After graduating, McNamara appeared in 6 games in Europe over 2 seasons while also totaling 58 appearances in the NBA G League over 2 seasons. McNamara returned to Syracuse in 2009 as a grad manager and was promoted to assistant coach in 2011. He was promoted to associate head coach after Autry was hired to replace Jim Boeheim in 20223. However, Siena came calling after just one season on Autry’s staff.
“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. This program has given me everything, and I am ready to give everything back to it,” said McNamara at his press conference. “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. What hasn’t changed is what Orange Nation expects, and what this place deserves. We are going to build something special here.”
