On Wednesday, Siena parted ways with its head coach, and a college hoops insider floated a notion on social media that Syracuse basketball associate head coach Gerry McNamara could prove a candidate as the Saints look for a new head coach.
Naturally, when this came across from the X account Trilly Donovan on Wednesday, a lot of Orange fans didn't like hearing it. McNamara, known as GMac, is beloved by 'Cuse Nation.
McNamara helped lead the Orange to its only national championship in 2003. He is a top-five scorer in the history of the program. When Adrian Autry took over Syracuse basketball as its head coach, replacing the retiring Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim, for the 2023-24 stanza, Autry promoted McNamara to associate head coach.
McNamara is an ace recruiter. He's a good coach, without question. And I've always kind of felt that he could leave the Hill, at some point, for a head-coaching position. Let's see how this plays out.
Might Syracuse basketball associate head coach Gerry McNamara get a head-coaching job sooner rather than later?
Trilly Donovan, by the way, operates what he calls a “ubiquitous and mysterious burner account" on X. His true identity (I assume it's a "he"), to the best of my knowledge, has never been revealed.
A name I was told could be in play at Siena is Gerry McNamara. https://t.co/QF8Qfm7UGB
— Trilly Donovan (@trillydonovan) March 20, 2024
As far as I can tell, he's about as plugged-in in college basketball as any other expert out there, and he often provides scoops on coaching searches, commitments by high school prospects and college transfers, and other news in the sport.
Trilly Donovan's post on X that was published on Wednesday read, "A name I was told could be in play at Siena is Gerry McNamara."
On Wednesday, a press release from the Siena athletics department Web site announced that Carmen Maciariello will not return as the team's head coach next season, according to athletics director John D'Argenio. The release stated that a national search to fill this vacancy "will begin immediately."
Siena, which is located in Loudonville, N.Y., near Albany, is a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference ("MAAC"). The Saints had a rough 2023-24 term, finishing at 4-28 overall.
In his five campaigns leading Siena, Maciariello sported an overall mark of 68-72 and a record of 53-43 in MAAC competition. The Saints won the league's regular-season title during the 2019-20 stanza.
This past term, Syracuse basketball (20-12, 11-9 in the ACC) won 20 regular-season contests for the first time in a decade. Forecast to finish at No. 10 in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings, the Orange earned the No. 7 seed during last week's ACC Tournament in Washington, D.C.
The 'Cuse saw its 2023-24 season come to an end when Syracuse basketball lost to No. 10 seed and eventual champion N.C. State by 18 points in the ACC Tournament's second round. The Orange announced that it had opted out of a possible invite to the 2024 NIT, assuming the 'Cuse would have received a bid to that event.
Autry, in his first stanza at the helm on the Hill, did a strong job guiding the program to 20 victories amid various challenging circumstances. His three assistants were McNamara, assistant coach Allen Griffin and first-year assistant coach Brenden Straughn, who most recently was an assistant at George Washington.
I would be sad if GMac does ultimately depart Syracuse basketball for another job, whether at Siena or elsewhere, because he's a great coach and recruiter. At the same time, if his goal is to become a head coach, and he achieves that goal, I'd wish him nothing but future success.