McNamara mum on injury status after 8-point game
In the aftermath of the Syracuse men’s basketball team’s worst offensive performance in the past two years, Jim Boeheim was asked about an obvious concern: the medical status of Gerry McNamara, his second-leading scorer.
‘I’m not a doctor,’ Boeheim bristled.
The SU head coach told reporters curious about McNamara’s injured left groin to ask McNamara himself.
They never got the chance. When approached by a crowd of reporters following the Orangemen’s 66-45 loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday night at the Carrier Dome, McNamara refused to answer questions and quickly walked out of the locker room.
McNamara injured his groin in a 74-67 loss last Tuesday at Seton Hall. The injury limited him during SU’s two practices last week.
On Saturday, he appeared close to 100 percent early in the game, scoring eight points and shooting 2-of-5 on 3-pointers in the first half. But Pittsburgh’s stifling defense held him scoreless in the second half, as he took three shots and missed them all.
‘In the beginning, he looked pretty good,’ freshman guard Louie McCroskey said. ‘Toward the end, I think his groin probably stiffened up on him a little bit. So it’s tough to move when your groin stiffens up.’
McNamara spent the final six minutes of the game on the bench, burying his head in his hands as the Orangemen wilted.
‘Almost invariably it’s a struggle when you don’t practice,’ Boeheim said. ‘He moved all right and looked all right, but when you don’t practice and have an injury like he has, generally your timing isn’t as good as it used to be.’
The McNamara groin saga is the most pressing injury situation the Orangemen have faced in the past two years. Though Kueth Duany suffered a broken nose and Craig Forth endured a nagging Achilles problem, Syracuse was mostly injury-free last season.
Preston Shumpert’s corneal abrasion in his right eye during the middle of the 2001-2002 season marks the last time an SU player of McNamara’s importance suffered a significant injury.
McNamara now has a week to rest his injury before SU hosts Virginia Tech on Saturday. The Orangemen, meanwhile, must deal with the fact that they continue to remain largely two-dimensional on offense, with McNamara and Hakim Warrick carrying the bulk of the load. On Saturday night, Billy Edelin and Josh Pace, SU’s third and fourth options, had four and five points, respectively.
McNamara’s situation is only worsened by the fact that he is the only SU veteran capable of consistently hitting outside shots. His absence renders the Orangemen far too predictable. Opponents can continue to focus on defending the paint, where Warrick, Edelin and Pace thrive.
‘He’s one of the keys,’ McCroskey said of McNamara. ‘Billy can score. He wasn’t himself today, too. Hakim is a superstar. They’re gonna double-team him every time. They played a little physical with him. (The rest of us) gotta pick our spots on the floor and contribute whenever we can.’
