Gerry McNamara comes home as Syracuse basketball coach
Former Syracuse player Gerry McNamara, who led the Orange to a national title, returns as the new head coach.
Gerry McNamara, the point guard who led Syracuse to its lone national title in 2003, was named the school’s head coach Tuesday. McNamara, 42, was the head coach at Siena the past two seasons, guiding the Saints to the NCAA Tournament this season after winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament. As a No.
16 seed, Siena gave top-seeded Duke a scare in the first round on Thursday before losing 71-65. Before taking over at Siena, McNamara served as an assistant coach under Jim Boeheim and Adrian Autry for 15 seasons. "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," McNamara said. "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.