Siena Basketball: GMAC / Blackwell / AO

[Otto21]

I thought that many were convinced that GMAC was not an adequate recruiter when he was at Cuse. He was often blamed for us not landing recruits, and I’m not sure if that had merit or not from what I’ve read. Is this no longer a concern? Or was that sentiment misguided?

 

[BrookhavenCuse]

of course they're a 1 bid league. don't win the tournament you're praying for the nit. these games have been important for positioning in the tournament. first 2 seeds get byes and of course the higher you finish the easier the road (theoretically).

Agree with everything, good perspective. BTW top 6 get byes into the quarterfinals, 7 through 10 play the first night.

 

[Fly Rodder]

They hire Gerry, I hope everyone is prepared for him to be booed in the dome with chants of “fire Gerry” when it turns out he’s not a high D1 coach either.

The same people who defended JAB for a decade and defended the Red hire, are now rallying around Gmac.

What national buzz is Gerry getting? Where is he on the up and coming coaches? What other hopeful annual tourney schools are interested in a MAAC coach?

 

[BrookhavenCuse]

I watched every minute. ISO down the end was the plan once they got the lead. Great balance, great job by Jerry.

Jerry Seinfeld? It’s not J-MAC it’s G-MAC!

 

[Irishsecra1]

GMAC may allow us to keep some of the players we want and bring Doty over? I am sure they will seek advice from Melo and big donors on this off the record. GMAC would be a risk verses a legit long term proven winner but think he would be a decent hire given the situation.

My guess is Melo would give him a big endorsement.
I would love to see what Gerry could do with Kiyan. He has some real good raw talent there, he just needs to focus better and learn patience.

 

[Cuse_NYC]

Gerry can go somewhere else first then be the guy for Cuse down the road.

 

[Irishsecra1]

They hire Gerry, I hope everyone is prepared for him to be booed in the dome with chants of “fire Gerry” when it turns out he’s not a high D1 coach either.

The same people who defended JAB for a decade and defended the Red hire, are now rallying around Gmac.

What national buzz is Gerry getting? Where is he on the up and coming coaches? What other hopeful annual tourney schools are interested in a MAAC coach?

Heres the thing. The best we are going to get is a mid major head coach or an assistant from a top program. Unless they have gobs of money they are willing to spend, that is it.
If they do that, then I agree there are better candidates than Gerry.
Sadly working as our basketball coach is no more attractive than working as our football coach right now.
Red just killed it like Robinson did to football.

 

[baggerbob]

It will be especially interesting if he takes Siena back to the NCAAT after only 2 years there after taking over a 4 win program.
I just think GMAC has the intangibles that really good coaches need.
As for recruiting, he brought in Doty and Folefac and has a verbal commitment from a top 10 point guard who would be the highest rated recruit in Sienas history..

I always thought GMACs personality and his ability to point to his accomplishments as a player would go a long way in recruiting as a head coach when he basically could call the shots.
Seriously, he won a national championship with Carmelo and had a pretty storied career right up to the final Big East Tournament.

He literally isn't asking his team to do anymore than he did as a player.
He can walk the walk so to speak. I think that still resonates with young players.
He isn't just talking a bunch of hot air.

And he did it with hard work and a never surrender attitude.

Since Gerry was an assistant at SU under Jim , what big name recruits did he bring in during all those down years? If we are going to get back to being a top program you have to have elite players to win.

 

[LAorange44]

They hire Gerry, I hope everyone is prepared for him to be booed in the dome with chants of “fire Gerry” when it turns out he’s not a high D1 coach either.

The same people who defended JAB for a decade and defended the Red hire, are now rallying around Gmac.

What national buzz is Gerry getting? Where is he on the up and coming coaches? What other hopeful annual tourney schools are interested in a MAAC coach?

What’s the difference between GMAC and Hodgson in terms of desirable characteristics????

 

[tptcuse]

Heres the thing. The best we are going to get is a mid major head coach or an assistant from a top program. Unless they have gobs of money they are willing to spend, that is it.
If they do that, then I agree there are better candidates than Gerry.
Sadly working as our basketball coach is no more attractive than working as our football coach right now.
Red just killed it like Robinson did to football.

I disagree with the bolded part above. That is revisionist history. Coaching our basketball program is much more desirable than our football program.

 

[Cstate]

Two things that have recently been said in this thread are true: 1.) have Gmac put his name in the hat during a national search and see what happens AND 2.) IF he were to get the job, the Weistman dynamic with the Lally’s would have to be dealt with.

Weistman and Gmac are close, and with a net worth of 1.5 billion…..if Gmac asked for a few million that is literally nothing to him. However, I’m sure that would come with his old court side seats and luxury box. So something will certainly have to give with the University “Higher Ups”

 

[richmondcuse03]

Two things that have recently been said in this thread are true: 1.) have Gmac put his name in the hat during a national search and see what happens AND 2.) IF he were to get the job, the Weistman dynamic with the Lally’s would have to be dealt with.

Weistman and Gmac are close, and with a net worth of 1.5 billion…..of Gmac asked for a few million that is literally nothing to him. However, I’m sure that would come with his old court side seats and luxury box. So something will certainly have to give with the University “Higher Ups”

He is not worth $1.5B, nowhere anywhere near that. Never been any documented aspects of his wealth besides his curated image. That business is incredibly volatile.

 

[FloridaCuse]

Two things that have recently been said in this thread are true: 1.) have Gmac put his name in the hat during a national search and see what happens AND 2.) IF he were to get the job, the Weistman dynamic with the Lally’s would have to be dealt with.

Weistman and Gmac are close, and with a net worth of 1.5 billion…..of Gmac asked for a few million that is literally nothing to him. However, I’m sure that would come with his old court side seats and luxury box. So something will certainly have to give with the University “Higher Ups”

Maybe with a new Chancellor that can all be resolved. I just think that if the powers that be decide our best shot for sustained future success is with Gerry McNamara that the Lallys would rally around and find a way to resolve any of their differences with AW. Personally I am all for Gerry being our next coach. I thought he should have been 3 years ago. But maybe even more so now. This has given him a new persepective and experience to be even more successful than I think he would have been then. My only slight hesitation is whether Gerry would want to be the one to succeed his friend Adrian Autry who failed miserably at the job. While GMac might hesitate about that I think he would rejoice at the opportunity and challenge. I think he also could put fannies in seats in the Dome. Does anyone know if he has a buyout or any restrictions in his contract with Siena that would make it harder for him to move 2 hours west? As far as what ADJW does, I wonder if he would consult with people like Coach K and Roy Williams for their views on whether they think Gerry could be successful and whether he might be ready. [I can hear Roy's response: He's tough as nails. He made 6 darn 3s against us in just the first half!] Go Orange!

 

[Cstate]

He is not worth $1.5B, nowhere anywhere near that. Never been any documented aspects of his wealth besides his curated image. That business is incredibly volatile.

Understood. I’m just going off of all the internet searches, includes one by Forbes.

 

[rrlbees]

Understood. I’m just going off of all the internet searches, includes one by Forbes.

yea forbes had him barely over $1b then off the list a month later. other sites that track billionaires have him at $1.2b.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

yea forbes had him barely over $1b then off the list a month later. other sites that track billionaires have him at $1.2b.

He is heavily involved with mining cryptocurrency so his net worth is going to fluctuate quite a bit. But, long run, I think he has made quite a bit off it.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/cryptocurrency-billionaire-sells-south-florida-140000117.html

 

[FloridaCuse]

Game today: Siena @ St.Peter's
2pm. ESPN+

Opening & current line is Siena -1.5

 

[Blanko97]

Yes Gerry would be my choice as coach, but not for his legendary status as Cuse Player and need to keep in family. I do watch a lot hoops, prob too much.. Are there possibly better up and coming coahes.. maybe?

1. I am sure I don't want an older coach or a retread hire.. sorry Hop, Mack, Matta, Pitino, Groce. Yu get my drift
2. The Cuse thing. We have a Unicorn of a program with a Coach that lasted 40+ years and won with his High IQ and lets be honest a system gimic in the zone that he mastered.. Yeah we had players, but its like the Military academies and their option FB. We won a lot of games cause there are alot of bad coaches who couldnt figure out the zone. Syracuse is a small private University in wintery Central NY .. With all that said, we could use a coach that knows how Cuse ticks and what can make it successful
3. I have said this before Gerry is not JB and def not Red.. He is his own ID... He cannot be compared to other Cuse players coaching cause he has done what no other has .. Won a title at Syracuse and was a huge part of that. Yes he knows about winning and his competitive drive is off the charts

Finally I am going tp make a comparison that isnt fully parallel but take a look at Todd Goldens journey, yeah the current National title coach at Florida.. He didnt have a major resume before he got to FL.. He spent 2 years assistant at Auburn when they were bad.. He had a bad 2nd year at San Fran in WCC and then got to tourney in 3rd year... Not alot there but they just saw what he was gonna be and now is

Syracuse is not small. Idk where this idea started but it’s a school with 22k total enrollment and a 2B endowment. Are they massive? No but they’re certainly not “small.” Wake, Duke, Vandy, northwestern, BC etc. are “small”

 

[Blanko97]

It's GMAC. It's different. The guy drained 6 3s in the first half that was the difference in our only National Championship. Even last night, I was genuinely emotionally invested in that outcome. I will always root for GMAC success whether that involves Syracuse success or some other schools success. Where it's in spite of Syracuse though, we will cross that bridge if we ever get there.

This is what i fear in bringing him in, emotion would trump reason and we would be hesitant to dump him because he’s Gerry. Cut the alumni garbage and get the best coach we can and lay out clear expectations