GMAC / Blackwell / AO to Siena

[TinyManInside]

Let's suit 'em up like they do in baseball!

Who wouldn't want to see some of these guys in tank tops and shorts?

Ugh. Now I have a mental image of Rick Majerus (rest his soul) and Bobby Huggins wearing uniforms.

 

[orange79]

Ugh. Now I have a mental image of Rick Majerus (rest his soul) and Bobby Huggins wearing uniforms.

I was actually going to use Rick Majerus as an example, then I remembered he passed - RIP.

 

[Irishsecra1]

I agree 100%… I know people here have given me a hard time for letting it known I’m a hs hoops coach when talking about stuff … I can tell you with Great certainty that Gerry has “it”… that post game interview everyone should watch and it will tell you .. No nervousness … Understands his expectations for his players and his culture .. Built from how he played … He has a chip on his shoulder and that is dangerously good in coaching .. . in the interview he said to the announcer “ you know how I played and I could not take a play off” His players love and take in his coaching.. My other thing that will benefit him is Red has talked about “playing the NIL and portal game and not pissing players off” .that’s hard for red in first job at a big school .. Gerry is at Siena and is learning to not give in or lose his edge cause he's wining with lesser players anyway …Gerry won’t cave if your not playing good. Dude is gonna be a great coach!… It’s written all over him

I know most of us on this board could have cared less what JB thought about things in his final years.
But I dare say no one got a better look at who Red and Gerry were and what kind of coach each would make. I think there may have been a reason, other than personal fondness, why JB wanted GMAC to succeed him. Maybe he could see that Gerry had the “it factor”

 

[Irishsecra1]

Doty back again doing it all. Team reminds me of the old bob Huggins WVU teams the way they turn other teams over in the backcourt off inbounds passes etc. It all starts with Doty, he is the ultimate scrapper. Would really love for him to end up in Orange

Surprised we never even gave him a sniff, being a local boy and all.
Gerry said in an interview he was his number one recruiting priority once he got the Siena job.
Basically said Doty epitomized what he wanted the team to be

 

[Red Holzman]

GMac has the charisma and leadership required of a HC -and of course coaching skills.
Good coaching starts with charisma/leadership.
Very happy for GMac at Siena -uplifting to see good things building there when depressed by SU program.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

BIG win by Siena 84-75. Came back from 13 down. Quinnipiac was co-leader of the conference at 9-1. Best win of the season by Siena. Siena full court press in 2nd half and clutch foul shooting down the stretch. The last 4:13 of game time took about 25 minutes. Gavin Doty 19 points after taking a very hard fall late in the game Friday night. Great interview of GMac after the game. If you have ESPN+ replay should be available. Siena is now 10-12, 5-6 in league play. After winning 4 games total last year. And they're still missing 2 starters, including Peter Carey.

Today was another great win for Siena. I think I've been saying it for 20 years that it is amazing the difference between playing at home in the MAAC vs on the road. Siena is 1-5 away from home and 4-1 at home.

The MVP arena was alive today with its largest crowd of the season. The press that Siena played in the 2nd half was probably the most effective defense that I have ever seen, considering it was against a first place team and it was a rookie coach vs a coach with 14 years of D1 head coaching experience who last year was MAAC COY.

And the best part of it was that two players who haven't played a lot of minutes this year, Wilmoth and Ducharme, really stepped up and contributed big time, in addition to Sholtes and Doty who have been key players all year.

Siena has nine MAAC games left. Eight of the nine are against teams .500 and less in conference. The 9th one is against first place Marist in Albany on Valentine's Day. I know where I will be that night.

 

[FloridaCuse]

I know most of us on this board could have cared less what JB thought about things in his final years.
But I dare say no one got a better look at who Red and Gerry were and what kind of coach each would make. I think there may have been a reason, other than personal fondness, why JB wanted GMAC to succeed him. Maybe he could see that Gerry had the “it factor”

About 11 years ago on the YES Network's program Center Stage, host Michael Kay asked Jim Boeheim "if you were trapped in a foxhole, which person would you most want to have in there with you to help you get out?" JB replied: "Gerry McNamara." When asked what makes him so special, JB replied: "toughest guy I ever had". When I heard that then I thought that's who he'd want succeeding him. But JB didn't set it up to have that happen. P.S. Gerry's toughness showed in their win today both by Gerry and by his players.

[I posted the video in this thread in post #1,090 on page 44 (December 31, 2024.]

 

[cliftonparksufan]

About 11 years ago on the YES Network's program Center Stage, host Michael Kay asked Jim Boeheim "if you were trapped in a foxhole, which person would you most want to have in there with you to help you get out?" JB replied: "Gerry McNamara." When asked what makes him so special, JB replied: "toughest guy I ever had". When I heard that then I thought that's who he'd want succeeding him. But JB didn't set it up to have that happen. P.S. Gerry's toughness showed in their win today both by Gerry and by his players.

And if I remember correctly, he didn't even hesitate to say GMAC. Eleven years later, that story is being validated.

I'm sure JAB is getting as much enjoyment watching, the same as if it was Buddy or Jimmy coaching.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

This is a great video from today.

x.com

x.com

 

[FloridaCuse]

And if I remember correctly, he didn't even hesitate to say GMAC. Eleven years later, that story is being validated.

I'm sure JAB is getting as much enjoyment watching, the same as if it was Buddy or Jimmy coaching.

Great statement about JB enjoying watching. Thanks. I'm sure you're right. As for his answer on Center Stage, he actually did have a very slight hesitation, but he said it with a big smile and it seemed he knew people were going to be surprised, as Michael Kay was. I watched it again before my last post so I'd have the quote right. This part of the hour long interview is on YouTube and you can find it by searching Jim Boeheim & centerstage. The clip is 2:23 & this last question is at 1:54.

 

[FloridaCuse]

This is a great video from today.

x.com

x.com

[Hint- when you copy the url in the media imbed - substitute "twitter" for "x" before the .com]

 

[FloridaCuse]

And if I remember correctly, he didn't even hesitate to say GMAC. Eleven years later, that story is being validated.

I'm sure JAB is getting as much enjoyment watching, the same as if it was Buddy or Jimmy coaching.

I posted the video in this thread in post #1,090 on page 44 (December 31, 2024).

 

[Oakland]

I know most of us on this board could have cared less what JB thought about things in his final years.
But I dare say no one got a better look at who Red and Gerry were and what kind of coach each would make. I think there may have been a reason, other than personal fondness, why JB wanted GMAC to succeed him. Maybe he could see that Gerry had the “it factor”

I keep seeing people say JB wanted GMac to succeed him - what is that based on?

 

[Irishsecra1]

I keep seeing people say JB wanted GMac to succeed him - what is that based on?

Reports before the succession.
No clue if they were true but frankly I believe them.

 

[EnviroSciGuy]

My bold prediction is that Doty and GMac will still be together for the beginning of the '26 season.

At Syracuse.

 

[Scott11]

Today was another great win for Siena. I think I've been saying it for 20 years that it is amazing the difference between playing at home in the MAAC vs on the road. Siena is 1-5 away from home and 4-1 at home.

The MVP arena was alive today with its largest crowd of the season. The press that Siena played in the 2nd half was probably the most effective defense that I have ever seen, considering it was against a first place team and it was a rookie coach vs a coach with 14 years of D1 head coaching experience who last year was MAAC COY.

And the best part of it was that two players who haven't played a lot of minutes this year, Wilmoth and Ducharme, really stepped up and contributed big time, in addition to Sholtes and Doty who have been key players all year.

Siena has nine MAAC games left. Eight of the nine are against teams .500 and less in conference. The 9th one is against first place Marist in Albany on Valentine's Day. I know where I will be that night.

Ducharme hasn't played much? This is a guy we wanted and lost out on. Another example of how our talent evaluation has been lacking for the past 5-10 years.

 

[longtimefan]

Ducharme hasn't played much? This is a guy we wanted and lost out on. Another example of how our talent evaluation has been lacking for the past 5-10 years.

Well, Xavier took him, so they didn't think he was chopped liver.

 

[MSOrange]

Ducharme hasn't played much? This is a guy we wanted and lost out on. Another example of how our talent evaluation has been lacking for the past 5-10 years.

Reid Ducharme - Siena Saints Guard - ESPN

View the profile of Siena Saints Guard Reid Ducharme on ESPN. Get the latest news, live stats and game highlights.

www.espn.com

 

[cliftonparksufan]

Ducharme hasn't played much? This is a guy we wanted and lost out on. Another example of how our talent evaluation has been lacking for the past 5-10 years.

He played more early on, but then Gavin Doty has taken the minutes as the 3rd guard. But since Marcus Jackson got injured, there have been more minutes available.

Picture Ducharme as a Chris Bell type, even though I hate making any comparisons. But Ducharme is a great shooter. He's not a lunch pail kind of guy. But if his shot is not there, and he's not contributing with the rest of his game, he's not going to play.

That said, Siena would not have won without him on Sunday. And of course, with everyone else as well, because it was a great team victory. And hopefully, some of that will carry forward and give Reid the confidence he needs to contribute on a regular basis. And, he has a tendency to get bumps and bruises, which has affected him as well, I think, physically and psychologically.