Gerry McNamara says Syracuse will thrive in college basketball’s NIL era
Gerry McNamara feels Syracuse can thrive in college basketball’s modern era with him at the helm. Zoe Xixis | Asst. Photo Editor
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Gerry McNamara knows he’ll be dealing with name, image and likeness contracts in the millions instead of tens of thousands of dollars going forward. But at his introductory press conference Monday, Syracuse’s new men’s basketball head coach expressed utmost confidence that he’s ready to lead a power conference program to success in college basketball’s modern era.
McNamara, who pulled Siena from the abyss of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and led it to an NCAA Tournament berth in 2025-26, has already proven he can coach against anybody. Just ask Jon Scheyer. Now as Syracuse’s boss, McNamara will have the resources to potentially win big. He said he’s prepared to properly use them.
“The good thing here (at SU) is I’ve got a lot more help than I had last year,” McNamara said, referencing the university’s NIL budget — one he expects will be plentiful enough.
SU is all-in on winning with McNamara at the helm; Chancellor-elect Mike Haynie said the new men’s basketball coach will have “everything” he needs to build a championship program. Though McNamara acknowledged managing NIL and the transfer portal is a different beast in the Power Four, as opposed to a mid-major conference, he said he’s up to the challenge.
McNamara has the administration’s financial blessing. He knows what it takes to build a winner after his Siena experience and believes his relationship-building skills can secure quality recruits year in and year out. He thinks that under his guidance, the Orange will thrive within college basketball’s hectic nature, which hasn’t been the case amid their five-year NCAA Tournament drought.
And he wants the transformation from losing to winning to happen fast. On Monday, McNamara displayed a certain sense of urgency Syracuse fans have been dreaming of from their head coach.
“Yeah, I want to be immediately relevant,” McNamara said emphatically.
Many new head coaches love discussing why their schematic expertise will bring a team future success. But McNamara brought a fresh perspective, saying he will adjust his scheme to his players’ needs. Before that, he simply wants Syracuse to attract the best players in the country, whether through the transfer portal or incoming freshmen.
Good coaching isn’t enough; he knows he needs powerful horses to win the race.
“Not just X’s and O’s, I want the Jimmys and the Joes, all the players,” McNamara said. “We’ve got to get talent here.”
McNamara feels there’s a lot of high-quality talent on Syracuse’s 2025-26 roster and hopes to retain many of those players. While he wouldn’t provide specifics on who he’s talked with about returning next season, McNamara thinks roster building begins with retention — incoming sophomores Kiyan Anthony and Sadiq White Jr. come to mind as possible returnees.
When it comes to the transfer portal and getting into bidding wars for top players, he knows the Orange need more ammo.
“We’re going to have to position ourselves best we can to strike when we need to,” McNamara said of Syracuse competing financially with other teams.
Part of what comes with being a successful college hoops coach these days is igniting the fanbase. For McNamara, he got off to a simmering start. His introductory event drew more than 2,000 fans who packed into the Miron Victory Court, hanging on McNamara’s every word during his heartfelt speech and regularly shouting “G-Mac” and “Gerry” at ear-piercing volumes.
As head coach, McNamara’s presence will need to inspire donations. He accomplished the first step of that journey Monday.
“Obviously, the financial piece is so huge,” McNamara said. “We’ve got a lot of energy right now, a lot of people stepping up. They want to help. The work’s not done.”
At the same time, McNamara has the humility necessary to deal with players on a human level in today’s business-oriented sports culture. He quickly answered “relationships” when asked what has stayed true throughout college sports’ rapid series of changes. A small-town guy who values personal connections, McNamara is confident his ability to attain and maintain relationships will go a long way with building a roster.
He looked back at himself. McNamara had a four-year career at Syracuse from 2002-06, which is almost unheard of in today’s world. He knows that still won’t happen much in the future, but he stayed at SU as a player and coach for so long because of the relationships. He wants to bring back that same feeling.
“I played four years here, laid it on the line. You can’t put a price on that,” McNamara said. “So to me, the relationships and the love for a place is always going to stand the test of time.”
But above all else, McNamara has winning in his blood — on the court and on the sidelines. He told Syracuse fans they should expect to win. With McNamara’s keen knowledge of how modern college basketball works, why shouldn’t they?
“Anybody who knows me knows why I’m here. I’m here to win,” McNamara exclaimed as he leaned closer to the mic, while thousands hooted and hollered in front of him. “It’s who I am. And it’s who I will always be.”
