Syracuse Basketball: Jim Boeheim says Gerry McNamara is ready to be a head coach

Hall of Famer and former long-time Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim says that his former player and assistant, Gerry McNamara, is more than ready to be a head coach.

GMac, who in the 2023-24 season served as the Orange's associate head coach under first-year head coach Adrian Autry, could be a candidate for the head-coaching vacancy at Siena, according to some media reports this week.

In an interview with Mark Singelais of the Times Union, Boeheim said that Siena "is a great job" and that regarding the 40-year-old McNamara, "There's nobody better prepared than he is to be a head coach."

Boeheim didn't comment to the Times Union as to whether Siena athletics-department officials have an interest in McNamara for the team's head-coaching vacancy. Singelais wrote in his article, "Two sources confirmed Siena's interest in McNamara."

On March 20, the X account Trilly Donovan wrote, "A name I was told could be in play at Siena is Gerry McNamara." That same day, Siena athletics director John D'Argenio announced that Carmen Maciariello would not return as the team's head coach next season.

Jim Boeheim says that Syracuse basketball associate head coach Gerry McNamara is ready to be a head coach.

McNamara's playing career on the Hill was glorious. He helped lead the 'Cuse to its only national championship in 2003, and GMac ended his tenure with the Orange as a top-five scorer in the history of the program.

During the 2011-12 season, McNamara was promoted to a full-time assistant coaching post, and he ascended to the No. 2 coach behind Autry in 2023-24, when Syracuse basketball won 20 regular-season games for the first time in a decade.

GMac is beloved by Orange Nation, given his achievements as a player and also his success as an assistant coach, both in developing 'Cuse guards and also with his prowess on the recruiting trail.

Siena, based in Loudonville, N.Y., near Albany, is a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference ("MAAC"). The Saints had a brutal 2023-24 stanza, finishing at just 4-28 overall.

Boeheim said in part to Singelais, "Obviously, name recognition is important when you hire a head coach. Most assistants, nobody knows who they are. Everybody on the East Coast knows who Gerry McNamara is. Everybody in Albany knows who Gerry McNamara is and that's helpful, but you have to be a great coach, and he is. I think Siena's a great job. I know of four coaches that won there and moved on to significant head-coaching jobs. I think it's a really good job. They have good support and I can't think of a better candidate for being the head coach at Siena than Gerry McNamara."

Boeheim said that McNamara, if he becomes a head coach at some point, would have no problem dealing with today's complexities in the sport of college basketball, including the explosion of the transfer portal and NIL opportunities.

The legendary former Syracuse basketball boss noted that GMac is a great on-the-floor coach, excels in player development, and recruits well. "One thing you have to do, if you're going to be the head coach at a smaller school, really any school, but at a smaller school, the head coach has to be the main recruiter, even though you have other guys who can recruit," Boeheim said. "Gerry has unbelievable contacts in the AAU world because he's a great guy and he works at it. I've never had anybody work harder at being a coach."