Gerry McNamara needs to be the next coach

[Dcuse]

You are comparing apples and former Oranges.

GMac was a big part of the slide into obscurity before Red got the gig.

And while he’s having a nice season at Siena, they are a low low low mid major.
Doty is pretty much the team.

BH had success as an assistant w Oates at UB and Bama, and then at 2 different programs now as HC.

And USF is substantially further up the food chain than Siena.

BH has a proven system on O, with metrics amongst the very best across all of D1, P4’s included.
And solid D also.

GMac’s metrics are - meh.

They are in no way comparable.

Once again, with feeling:
If the Siena HC was named Gerry Smith, and had never been involved w Cuse in any manner -
no sane fan would be considering him for the HC gig.
None.

He’s getting ZERO buzz for ANY other P4 opening.

He received 3 P4 calls last night. Possibly the worst post I've ever read.

 

[Cuseregular]

This board was the source for that article.

Ha this board! Amazing

 

[Dcuse]

He is not getting the SU job but he has still done a great job with Siena.

Who did we hire?

 

[CuseFaninVT]

jb just said on orangenation that gmac has heard from bc and georgia tech.

Sure

 

[rrlbees]

Sure

actually he said he's heard from other schools including bc and gt.

 

[rrlbees]

 

[Orangezoo]

Two places I’d not want any part of if I was Gerry…

 

[Irishsecra1]

I dont want him to go to Georgia Tech, dont know how I feel about BC.
Kind of funny that so many think hiring GMAC is beneath us but BC and Georgia Tech don't.
Same conference.
BC does have a basketball history though.
Would be a challenge.

 

[RF2044]

I dont want him to go to Georgia Tech, dont know how I feel about BC.
Kind of funny that so many think hiring GMAC is beneath us but BC and Georgia Tech don't.
Same conference.
BC does have a basketball history though.
Would be a challenge.

With all due respect and no disrespect intended, that is a straw man take. And IMO, a complete misrepresentation of the majority of arguments being made about GMac for our job, at the current point in time.

The concern isn't that he's "beneath us." It's that given the precarious state of the program, and the fact that we just hired and quickly fired an unqualified internal candidate, that it is too big of a risk for the program to take AT THIS TIME.

 

[Irishsecra1]

Two places I’d not want any part of if I was Gerry…

Why? He took over a 4-28 win team at Siena.
Doesn't get much worse than that.

Still, selfishly, I would rather he stay at Siena than go to either of those.

 

[Cuse2023]

I dont want him to go to Georgia Tech, dont know how I feel about BC.
Kind of funny that so many think hiring GMAC is beneath us but BC and Georgia Tech don't.
Same conference.
BC does have a basketball history though.
Would be a challenge.

Why is that funny? BC is the worst job in power 5 basketball, and Georgia Tech is one of the worst jobs in the ACC.

 

[Irishsecra1]

That is a straw man take.

The concern isn't that he's "beneath us." It's that given the precarious state of the program, and the fact that we just hired and quickly fired an unqualified internal candidate, that it is too big of a risk for the program to take AT THIS TIME.

Not sure what straw man take means, to be honest.
But what you say is true for some, not true for others.

 

[Orangezoo]

Why? He took over a 4-28 win team at Siena.
Doesn't get much worse than that.

Still, selfishly, I would rather he stay at Siena than go to either of those.

Both jobs at this level are far worse than the Siena job at its level. You wouldn’t ever compare those jobs as you are talking different levels. For Siena it’s about conference and peer low-mid major programs. You don’t compare those jobs beyond what they might pay.

 

[CooperCuse]

Gerry McNamara, good enough to coach ACC peer programs. Not good enough for Syracuse University basketball fans.

 

[Cappy3]

It is all relative. I don’t think it is any easier to turn around a MAAC team than in other leagues. Recruiting is still hard and coaching still needs to be good. NIL funding is low in the MAAC.

He took a 4 win team to 23 wins. Another year of that and he will get looks. Teams will take him seriously. Sure, BC coach might win the MAAC but not necessarily with Siena’s players.

C’mon. The P5 leagues all have multiple perennial top 25 teams. The MAAC has zero. Much easier to compete with that level of opposition.

 

[Cusefan95]

Final 4 in 2016. Sweet 16 in 2018 and 2021. I don’t care much they didn’t have single digit losses those years.

The Final Four is a decade ago - kids in high school now either don't remember that, or barely remember it. And we were a double digit seed on a miracle run. Yippee. Making the Sweet 16 is the equivalent of playing in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in college football. Its not nothing...but its also not much. Relevant is a number in front of your school name most of the time, and a top 4 seed in the NCAA tournament regularly. We can debate what "regularly" means - but hopefully we can agree not once in a over a decade doesn't remotely qualify.

I think those Sweet Sixteens were the absolute worst thing that has ever happened to Syracuse basketball. Syracuse was mediocre at best for a decade, and two hot weekends in that decade gave people delusions that we were still relevant (and also gave JB's sycophants ammo to defend keeping him around even though the program was circling the drain).

As a die hard fan, its not a big deal that the double digit losses don't mean much to you in a Sweet Sixteen year. But if you think a high end recruit in Philly that we want (or a college basketball fan in Michigan or California or Arizona) will feel the same way - you are very, very wrong.

 

[xc84]

Why is that funny? BC is the worst job in power 5 basketball, and Georgia Tech is one of the worst jobs in the ACC.

Lol. BC and GA Tech fans are probably saying that about SU

 

[MSOrange]

Both jobs at this level are far worse than the Siena job at its level

Exactly. Siena had very good support financially for the level they are competing at. I wouldn't say the same for BC or Ga Tech.

 

[Blanko97]

If SU wants my fanny back in the seats, hiring GMac gets that done.
Yes -risk in this hire, but NOT a given that GMac's success turning Siena around can't be duplicated at a higher level.

I'm all for giving GMac the chance to raise SU from the ashes NOW.
Hammer me for emotions > common sense, but the risk is worth it.
GMac is a WINNER -I won't let the Red experiment blind me to a potentially great story that brings back the excitement.
This seed from the "JB Tree" is going to have a great coaching career. The blanket "no JB Tree hire" is not something I'll let blind me to considering this hire.

I'd rather ride with GMac now and risk potential disappointment than potentially live through hiring a "proven" coach who doesn't live up to expectations while watching GMac's star continue to rise elsewhere. I'm already following GMac's career and Siena more than SU.

Let's bring our guy home now. Can anyone not see how fast this train wreck could turn around with fan excitement seeing our guy on the sidelines and a team that plays like Siena AT A HIGHER LEVEL?

I've come to believe GMac is the Savior -and hopped off the "No JB Tree" train. So shoot me LOL.

I can 100% see fans saying why would syracuse pass over much better options to go the alumni route again and continue to pull from a coaching tree that has never been successful at the top level.

 

[RF2044]

Not sure what straw man take means, to be honest.
But what you say is true for some, not true for others.

It means a position that one argues vigorously against, but nobody is actually saying.

I would be surprised if anybody on this board isn't rooting for GMac to succeed as a coach. Not wanting him at this specific point in time, when our program is teetering on the brink of sliding into a danger zone for P4 realignment, when we haven't made the tournament in 5 seasons, and when an internal guy who's systems stunk on offense isn't as much about Gerry as it is about needing to go in a different strategic direction, instead of continuing to do things that have failed and hoping for a different outcome.

Did you see the article yesterday about how far behind the times our program, our athletic department, and Red were? That needs to change. The only way it WILL change is to change direction. Not cross our fingers and wish for things to be different.

 

[KevMonstah]

Here is the concern with GMac, and it is the same concern you get when you hire any mid-major coach
to a high major school...

You were able to motivate kids at a mid to play, to buy in, kids who are likely not going to leave in a year
or two, unless they now are poached away to a high level program, and you now are able to get the kids
who are leaving the high level programs for whatever reason, who you can develop.

Can you now do that at a program where the kids are wanting to leave at the drop of a hat for more
NIL elsewhere, or for the NBA, and who have little interest in developing as players?

Do you trust that GMac is ready to do that at SU? I'm not sure - at this moment - he has had the
exposure as a head coach to that level of talent yet, cuz I think we can agree SU's talent has dropped
a bit the last decade or so. I'm of the opinion he probably can do the job; I'm of the opinion in a
couple of years, he'd be better at the job, but he needs success at a level above Siena first. But I
would hate to see him lock into a school like Providence, and succeed to the point where the
Syracuse job isn't necessarily the next best step for him.

Kev

 

[Blanko97]

Lol. BC and GA Tech fans are probably saying that about SU

maybe in football, not in basketball. That just wouldnt make any sense, the 3 jobs arent even comparable. One has been a basketball school for 50 years.

 

[Irishsecra1]

If Siena has all this great financial support, why did it take 16 years to get back to the Dance?
If Red showed us anything this year, it is that it takes a lot more than financial support to build a winning team.

 

[Blanko97]

It means a position that one argues vigorously against, but nobody is actually saying.

I would be surprised if anybody on this board isn't rooting for GMac to succeed as a coach. Not wanting him at this specific point in time, when our program is teetering on the brink of sliding into a danger zone for P4 realignment, when we haven't made the tournament in 5 seasons, and when an internal guy who's systems stunk on offense isn't as much about Gerry as it is about needing to go in a different strategic direction, instead of continuing to do things that have failed and hoping for a different outcome.

Did you see the article yesterday about how far behind the times our program, our athletic department, and Red were? That needs to change. The only way it WILL change is to change direction. Not cross our fingers and wish for things to be different.

can you link that article?

 

[sufan59]

Why is that funny? BC is the worst job in power 5 basketball, and Georgia Tech is one of the worst jobs in the ACC.

GMAC should be working to try and land a premier mid major job like a South Florida or. St Louis when they could possibly open or stay at Siena and wait for the next cycle. GMAC is the real deal. I want him to be in a position to land at a high major whether that is Syracuse or somewhere else to actually have success. Unless GT or BC all of sudden gets a ton of money to support their program.