Gerry McNamara, one of the best and most popular players in Syracuse basketball history, is back at his alma mater, and he will soon enter his first season as the Orange's head coach after turning around Siena over the past two years.
McNamara recognizes where the 'Cuse has been in recent campaigns, and he's laser-focused on returning Syracuse basketball to its former glory days, when SU was season after season one of the top teams in the sport.
"I'm going to try to bring this program back into national relevance," McNamara said this week at the annual ACC Tipoff event in Charlotte, N.C. "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."
See what GMac had to say at ACC Tipoff 🍊🎥 pic.twitter.com/MbksYXwckg
— Syracuse Men’s Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) October 8, 2026
If anyone can do it, it's McNamara, who helped lead Syracuse basketball to the program's first and only national title in 2003. As a freshman in that campaign, McNamara played alongside another Orange legend, Carmelo Anthony, whose son, Kiyan, is a sophomore guard/wing for SU in the upcoming 2026-27 season.
Gerry McNamara wants to return Syracuse basketball to national relevance.
Under former Hall of Fame head coach Jim Boeheim, the 'Cuse only had one losing season in 47 years, along with that national championship, multiple Final Four appearances and countless trips to the Big Dance.
However, the Orange hasn't reached the NCAA Tournament since 2021. The program has endured two straight losing seasons. McNamara was hired in late March to revive one of college basketball's all-time winningest squads, but it won't be easy.
Not only has SU not heard its name on Selection Sunday for a while, but the 'Cuse has also failed to be a significant contender in the Atlantic Coast Conference, save for its first season in the ACC after moving over from the Big East Conference in the 2013-14 campaign.
With collegiate athletics all kinds of chaotic these days - think ongoing litigation over eligibility, rev-share, third-party NIL deals, conference realignment and more - McNamara is tasked with leading his alma mater back to prominence amid an ever-shifting landscape in college basketball.
Syracuse basketball's 2026-27 roster is filled with athleticism, depth and length, but it's also a lineup that is vastly remade from a season ago, when Adrian Autry was still at the program's helm. McNamara brought over three players from Siena, and he's demanding grit, toughness and a complete effort from his guys during every second of every game.
"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 get the result that you're looking for," McNamara says.
The first-year Orange head coach is also looking for those traits in prospects whom the program is recruiting for the future. "You have to make sure you are recruiting guys that love basketball and want to be competitive," McNamara says. "Those are the guys we are after."
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