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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The excitement surrounding Syracuse basketball has returned, and it's due in large part to a familiar figure. Gerry McNamara, the fiercely competitive guard who as a freshman helped the Orange capture their lone NCAA national title in 2003, has been given the task of reviving a program that has struggled recently, missing the last five NCAA Tournaments.
Such a decline would have been hard to imagine during the glory days under Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim. McNamara, hired as head coach in March, is well aware of the challenge ahead, but he insists that any external pressure is minor compared to the expectations he places on himself.
"I'm going to try to bring this program back into national relevance," McNamara said Wednesday at the ACC Tipoff. "I believe that can be done because I have been part of it. So that's the goal -- to be back on that national stage."
Given his deep ties to the university and his recent coaching success at Siena, McNamara was an obvious choice for new Syracuse athletic director Bryan Blair. The fan base had been calling for McNamara's return for the past couple of years as the Orange struggled under another former Syracuse player-turned-coach, Adrian Autry. When Siena won the Metro Conference last year and took No. 1 seed Duke to the wire in the first round as a 16 seed, those calls grew even louder.
While Carmelo Anthony was the star of that 2003 championship team that defeated Kansas, McNamara was the backbone. He became a folk hero in Central New York for his knack for hitting clutch 3-pointers long after Anthony left for the NBA after his freshman season. McNamara was known for his fiery demeanor and for diving on the court or into the stands to save loose balls, often disregarding his own well-being.
McNamara plans to demand toughness from his players on "every possession of every game for a full 40 minutes." "That's a non-negotiable here," McNamara said. "That was non-negotiable at the last place and will be for every team that I ever coach. There is a demand given how hard winning is, and there is a price that has to be paid. If you're not willing to pay it, you're not going to the result that you're looking for."
Blair was thoroughly impressed by McNamara during the interview process, citing his undeniable energy, enthusiasm, and contagious competitive spirit. He walked away thinking, "I flat out love this guy." Seven months later, Blair is confident McNamara was the right hire.
"You can't leave a conversation with Gerry and not want to work harder, and be a better version of yourself," Blair said in an interview with The Associated Press. "That's his superpower. He makes everybody around him better, and you want to be better."
McNamara said his plan for Syracuse's return to the top begins with recruiting his type of players. "You have to make sure you are recruiting guys that love basketball and want to be competitive," McNamara said. "Those are the guys we are after." That's why McNamara brought three players with him from Siena, including Gavin Doty, who scored 21 points in the loss to Duke. McNamara believes Doty will help set the standard at Syracuse for years to come.
When recruiting Doty, a Fulton, New York native, McNamara saw a player who was "relentlessly competitive" and "won every loose ball" despite often playing against more talented opponents. "You couldn't take him off the court because he impacted winning," McNamara said.
His Syracuse team won't look much like the one he played for under Boeheim. He doesn't plan to use the 2/3 zone as his primary defense, although he still expects to lean on his former coach for advice, meeting with him regularly to talk basketball and life.
McNamara knows winning at Syracuse will take more than just competitive players. It requires money. Lots of it. In today's NIL world, it's hard to attract top-level players without the financial means to pay them. That's why Syracuse officials have repeatedly asked McNamara to speak at fundraising events.
That is where McNamara's reputation may benefit Syracuse the most. He understands what Syracuse is about. He's lived on "The Hill" and is familiar with how people live and die with Syracuse basketball, and how badly they want a winner. He knows if they get back to winning, there will be 30,000-plus fans at the JMA Wireless Dome providing a huge home-court advantage.
When McNamara attends a fundraising event in the community, Blair jokes that members of his staff say it is like one of The Beatles walking into the room. "He talks about this Block-S in a way that frankly I don't know that a lot of other people could," Blair said, referring to the school's large orange 'S' logo. "He knows what it represents and is protective over what our product looks like on the floor and how it represents this broader community really well. He just gets what Syracuse means to all of Central New York, to this entire campus and community."
McNamara isn't putting a timeline on when Syracuse will return to national prominence, but believes it will happen. Why? Because he's lived it. "I won a national championship here. I have been back to two Final Fours as an assistant coach," McNamara said. "I feel like we can do it because I have absolutely been a part of it. Historically this program is one of the elite brands in college basketball. And with the climate that we're in, I know we will get the financial support we need to be competitive."
Originally reported by espn.