Gerry McNamara needs to be the next coach

[Dick_in_MI]

Jim was awkwardly so. I tell the story to everyone but at the 96 elite 8, boeheim didn’t even turn to say hi in an elevator to the buses to the arena. Personality of a snail to anyone below him. This is 1 of 100 interactions. I’m sure cto will say otherwise but she’s a booster and important.

When we got to McNichol, we ran into Roy Williams. He slapped me on the back and said “can’t wait for this game! What a day!” A real nice authentic guy.

No idea why I wanted to present this other than to say boeheim had a negative personality. Gerry is cocky and probably
Carries himself much better than Ichabod Boeheim.

My two experiences with JB were 180 degrees opposite of what you describe. I found myself seated next to him on a flight in the late 1980’s and he was very engaging. In addition, he chatted with anyone who talked with him as we walked off the plane.

When SU came to the Breslin Center to play MSU in 2003 and no tickets were to be had, I left a “good luck” card at the team hotel for the team. When he got the card while checking in, he turned to the team manager and had him track me down. My family sat behind Gerry’s folks at the game, courtesy of JB.

I was not a big donor and ,in fact, didn’t donate to athletics at all in those days. I realize that everyone’s interactions are different but I choose to judge JB by the outstanding interactions I had with him. He also messaged my wife the day before she passed in hospice and that gesture too will always stay with me.

 

[Eric15]

Hear me out. Gerry knows how to be a coach. He has proven his chops at Siena. In two years he has taken them from a 4 win season to a winning season with a team that might make the tourney. He should have been chosen over Red but politics forced him out. As far as I know, he went graciously and left the town that he and his family truly loved.

I know many here think we should get some kind of established coach from a major program. But taking a coach from a mid-major, one who is hungry and has the coaching chops, has proven to be quite successful in college basketball. Or even football. Look at Indiana!

Gerry is an outstanding person who is uniquely qualified to be the head of our faltering program. He inspires loyalty and confidence. He bleeds Orange. He is beloved. And I believe he has what it takes to lead our program back to real gosh-darned good-ness, if not greatness. Let’s go, Orange!

Happy New Year.

bballbeadle I think the world of you as a poster, but this just isn't a good idea. We have to hire outside the family. GMac is very young -- it's certainly possible he could be an option 10 years down the road.

 

[OrangeCrush22]

Anyone connected to the program is a huge red flag. Maybe down the road but the program needs something different desperately

 

[elimunelson]

The BC job is suicide for any coach. No one who has big aspirations should take it.

So Gerry should turn down Boston College to stay at Siena? Ok.

Gary Williams, Jimmy O'Brien and Al did fine in the past 40 years there. It's a graveyard w a bad coach...kinda like Syracuse right now.

 

[elimunelson]

My two experiences with JB were 180 degrees opposite of what you describe. I found myself seated next to him on a flight in the late 1980’s and he was very engaging. In addition, he chatted with anyone who talked with him as we walked off the plane.

When SU came to the Breslin Center to play MSU in 2003 and no tickets were to be had, I left a “good luck” card at the team hotel for the team. When he got the card while checking in, he turned to the team manager and had him track me down. My family sat behind Gerry’s folks at the game, courtesy of JB.

I was not a big donor and ,in fact, didn’t donate to athletics at all in those days. I realize that everyone’s interactions are different but I choose to judge JB by the outstanding interactions I had with him. He also messaged my wife the day before she passed in hospice and that gesture too will always stay with me.

i met him 20-25x. he's a cranky dude. i have a pretty good feeling for guys who are people you want to hang out with and guys who have no time for anyone underneath them.

I don't think he's a mean person and it's nice he did that for you. sincerely.

but this is a message board and i'm passing along the non interactions i had with and the very authentic 1 interaction i had with a coach on the opposing team before a massive game. Pasqualoni wasn't Mr. Sunshine either btw. And frankly I don't care if they are if they are winning (see Belichick). Just trying to talk about how people are just coming out of the woodwork with Gerry Mac now being an ogre of an egomaniac. First time i'm hearing this stuff.

 

[Cusefan0307]

So Gerry should turn down Boston College to stay at Siena? Ok.

Gary Williams, Jimmy O'Brien and Al did fine in the past 40 years there. It's a graveyard w a bad coach...kinda like Syracuse right now.

If he has bigger aspirations he should.

Al Skinner was 20 years ago at this point and they started to crater before he left. They've had 2 seasons above .500 in 18 years and have the worst NIL situation in the conference. The Cornell coach who was a hot name after he took them to 3 tournaments including the Sweet 16 had one of them and he ended up getting fired after he went 8-24.

 

[elimunelson]

If he has bigger aspirations he should.

Al Skinner was 20 years ago at this point and they started to crater before he left. They've had 2 seasons above .500 in 18 years and have the worst NIL situation in the conference. The Cornell coach who was a hot name after he took them to 3 tournaments including the Sweet 16 had one of them and he ended up getting fired after he went 8-24.

BC is like Syracuse. They step on rakes w their hires. NIL comes w success. I bet UMass in 1995 would have had a decent NIL. Wonder why? Oh yeah they were top flight.

Bc can win just like uconn turned it around w a marble mouthed lunatic from Dedham via Noetheastern.

To say Gerry would turn down an ACC job in a top city is preposterous. He’s got an ego. He would assume he could turn it around .

 

[FrancoPizza]

Hear me out. Gerry knows how to be a coach. He has proven his chops at Siena. In two years he has taken them from a 4 win season to a winning season with a team that might make the tourney. He should have been chosen over Red but politics forced him out. As far as I know, he went graciously and left the town that he and his family truly loved.

I know many here think we should get some kind of established coach from a major program. But taking a coach from a mid-major, one who is hungry and has the coaching chops, has proven to be quite successful in college basketball. Or even football. Look at Indiana!

Gerry is an outstanding person who is uniquely qualified to be the head of our faltering program. He inspires loyalty and confidence. He bleeds Orange. He is beloved. And I believe he has what it takes to lead our program back to real gosh-darned good-ness, if not greatness. Let’s go, Orange!

Happy New Year.

Julie’s burner account.

 

[MSOrange]

BC is like Syracuse. They step on rakes w their hires. NIL comes w success. I bet UMass in 1995 would have had a decent NIL. Wonder why? Oh yeah they were top flight.

Bc can win just like uconn turned it around w a marble mouthed lunatic from Dedham via Noetheastern.

To say Gerry would turn down an ACC job in a top city is preposterous. He’s got an ego. He would assume he could turn it around .

I don't know if waiting on success for NIL will work for Gerry. As I remember, there was a delay in officially announcing him as Siena coach and reports were it was because boosters needed to step up and meet the NIL demand he felt he needed to be successful there.

 

[Grbac]

I respect you Beadle, but I have to vehemently disagree with this premise. Gerry hasn’t proven anything yet.

We need a proven commodity from the mid major level but someone from a higher level mid-major like the A-10 is the way to go. Josh Schertz, who has demonstrated himself to be a winner at multiple different schools and different levels, is the answer, imo.

I’m not 100% sold on Schertz. This season they haven’t played anyone. A really weak strength of schedule so it’s hard to determine how good they really are. I do like him and think he could be good just not sold that he is ready for a big time school.

I’m still on the Bryan Hodgson train. He has experience in bigger schools. Proven big time recruiter. Ties to our area. He destroyed Schertz’s team when they faced off in NIT last season. Uses analytics and has a great offense.

 

[sweetpea]

Gerry loves Gerry. He’s not that likable. People like him because he was a good player. But I can’t think of many people who have a bigger ego than him if I’m being honest. Smartest guy in the room just ask him

At least if we hired Gerry, when he fails we won't have to preface each post by saying what a great guy he is like we do Red.

 

[MikeSU02]

Go get a guy that wasn’t part of our downslide. If GMac jumps to another school and blows up, cool. Down the line he can always be a candidate.

But new blood is needed. Respect the past, but be smart about the future.

Should have happened before but the next best day to plant a tree is today.

 

[Chip]

We should cycle through every alum until we hate them all. Then look outside the program.

Note: I already hate Mike Edwards for closing down Sutters, so he doesn't get a 2nd chance.

 

[JaySU22]

Timing is off. Needed Red to be good for a decade then hand baton to a proven GMac. Maybe next time job opens it can be Gerry but not now.

 

[5OutFred]

Gerry is not qualified and will not be a candidate, end of story.

Again, to reclaim our place as a national, big-time program, we need to stop thinking like a mid-major, regional program. It's what got us here - time to move on.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

BBB you're one of my favorite posters but I am not on board with GMAC being head coach.

Yeah, i was going to say the same thing. This seems like the first time i've disagreed with OP, like ever. It is only her consistent grace that keeps me from giving it a red emoji.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

Hear me out. Gerry knows how to be a coach. He has proven his chops at Siena. In two years he has taken them from a 4 win season to a winning season with a team that might make the tourney. He should have been chosen over Red but politics forced him out. As far as I know, he went graciously and left the town that he and his family truly loved.

I know many here think we should get some kind of established coach from a major program. But taking a coach from a mid-major, one who is hungry and has the coaching chops, has proven to be quite successful in college basketball. Or even football. Look at Indiana!

Gerry is an outstanding person who is uniquely qualified to be the head of our faltering program. He inspires loyalty and confidence. He bleeds Orange. He is beloved. And I believe he has what it takes to lead our program back to real gosh-darned good-ness, if not greatness. Let’s go, Orange!

Happy New Year.

I'm not as 'plugged in' as some, but... what were the "politics" that forced him out? He was below Red on the succession ladder, and he chose to accept a HC position rather than wait for his turn. What did i miss?

 

[Sherman20]

I’m not 100% sold on Schertz. This season they haven’t played anyone. A really weak strength of schedule so it’s hard to determine how good they really are. I do like him and think he could be good just not sold that he is ready for a big time school.

I’m still on the Bryan Hodgson train. He has experience in bigger schools. Proven big time recruiter. Ties to our area. He destroyed Schertz’s team when they faced off in NIT last season. Uses analytics and has a great offense.

Schertz’s track record is far longer and proven than Hodgson, who has been a head coach all of 3 years now.

 

[OttosDad]

I’m very much not in favor of GMac as the next HC. He has to prove himself more. Big test tonight. Siena at Iona.

I strongly feel that severing ties with the Boeheim coaching tree, at least for a while, is the best plan of action

 

[Jasoncuse]

If we hadn't been an irrelevant program for 10 years, then perhaps there could be some merit to this. He was as much a part of the erosion of this program as anyone not named JB or Red, whether that’s completely fair or not.

Fresh blood, clean breaks, whatever you want to call it, but this program needs a refresher in the worst way.

 

[ar inj]

When it comes to recruiting, you are your last 7 years. Let that sink in. Why would any youngster today dream of playing for Cuse?

Good to know because SU never actually lands any kid who once said, “SU is my dream school.” To confirm just review the history of recruiting posts.

 

[Scooch]

When it comes to recruiting, you are your last 7 years. Let that sink in. Why would any youngster today dream of playing for Cuse?

Despite our lack of success, SU hoops still is a strong brand. In the same way that SU lacrosse was despite all those years of not making the final 4. Legacy doesn't land you recruits, but it keeps you relevant.

Syracuse still has a TON going for it. It's still a powerhouse brand in the northeast. UConn is tops, no doubt, but we're right up there in the upper tier with Nova and St. John's.

We play in a 30K seat arena. While we bemoan the sparse crowds recently, recruits can still dream on filling the place for big games. It's a helluva venue for them to see, when most of the barns in the northeast are small gyms.

And we'll pay them. That's todays reality.

There's zero reason to think SU hoops is toast forever because we've had a down 7 years. The right coach, with the right support, can turn things around in 1 season. That's the nature of college hoops.

 

[Scooch]

BC is like Syracuse. They step on rakes w their hires. NIL comes w success. I bet UMass in 1995 would have had a decent NIL. Wonder why? Oh yeah they were top flight.

Bc can win just like uconn turned it around w a marble mouthed lunatic from Dedham via Noetheastern.

To say Gerry would turn down an ACC job in a top city is preposterous. He’s got an ego. He would assume he could turn it around .

Obviously if BC offered McNamara a job he'd take it and never look back.

But BC cannot win like UConn. I know both well. I was a huge BC fan in my younger days, and my best friend's father was in the administration there. I have childhood friends who went there and know the current dynamic well. I live in CT and have several friends who are Huskies boosters.

The culture of the two schools couldn't be more different.

For all the grief UConn gets here, they are VERY serious about competing at the highest level of every sport. That they've been shut out of a power conference, largely for circumstances beyond their control, hasn't prevented them from fielding championship-winning hoops teams and a surprisingly competitive football team.

BC mostly wants to project an illusion of caring about sports, but does not fund them in any way close to what's necessary (other than hockey) and not close to UConn, that's for certain.

BC would need a RADICAL change of culture to ever support the kind of athletic department that UConn has.

**edit** BC could hire Dan Hurley. But BC would never have paid Dan Hurley to keep him from going to the Lakers like UConn did.

 

[tbonezone]

We play in a 30K seat arena. While we bemoan the sparse crowds recently, recruits can still dream on filling the place for big games. It's a helluva venue for them to see, when most of the barns in the northeast are small gyms.

must be happy hour somewhere

our attendance this decade is almost as bad as that movie. the entire boeheim coaching tree needs to be uprooted and run thru the woodchipper ." Coughlin's Law: anything else is always something better."

 

[NortheastOHSUfan]

I’m not 100% sold on Schertz. This season they haven’t played anyone. A really weak strength of schedule so it’s hard to determine how good they really are. I do like him and think he could be good just not sold that he is ready for a big time school.

I’m still on the Bryan Hodgson train. He has experience in bigger schools. Proven big time recruiter. Ties to our area. He destroyed Schertz’s team when they faced off in NIT last season. Uses analytics and has a great offense.

Uses analytics and has An offense. I am sold. Would just like to know some system is in place rather than what I have been watching for the past few years.

And maybe find a PG who can handle the ball well and consider passing rather than jacking up his own shot as option #1.