Opening statement
GERRY McNAMARA: We’re thrilled to be here. We’ve got a great group of kids. This last week for us has been such a joy, a loot of energy in the building. To watch them accomplish what they accomplished in Atlantic City to stay together, we’ve gone through a lot this year in terms of injury.
I didn’t hear my guys speak, but if they did, I’m assuming they all praised one another. It’s the type of group we have.
We obviously have a tall task ahead of us. Duke‘s terrific. Jon’s done a great job. Their average margin of victory in ACC play is 18, 19 points a game. The way they rebound, defend, they’re outstanding defensively. It’s going to be a big test for us, but the one thing we’ve talked about this week, we’ve earned the right to play in this game, what we did in Atlantic City and how we played this year.
Really looking forward to hopefully playing our best basketball on the biggest stage and giving them everything we’ve got. That’s the one thing I know my group’s going to be ready to play tomorrow, confident, stay together. We’ve been really good defensively this year. We were terrific defensively in our conference tournament. If we’re going to have a chance tomorrow, we’ve got to defend at a high level and take care of the basketball. We’re really looking forward to the challenge.
On facing Duke
GERRY McNAMARA: I haven’t had the pleasure of playing against them, but I’ve coached against them a ton. Par for the course, they’re terrific every season. We’re probably talking back to back years they’re going to have National Player of the Year. I think Cam Boozer is the National Player of the Year, if you ask me. He needs to be in the discussion for the Number 1 pick. I don’t know why no one’s talking about him.
If you saw the kid in high school, he won everything. He won three Peach Jams, won the National Championship, he just won the ACC.
Year in and year out, you know what you’re getting. You’re getting a team that the brand speaks for itself. You know what they’ve done. The accomplishments, the players, the tradition, or as they call it, the brotherhood.
It’s a great task. It’s a good thing when they’re good. You either love them or you hate them. That’s how it works, I think, in their brand. The one thing I know as coaches and players, we all respect them, and I think that’s the biggest compliment you can pay to a program is the respect that they’ve earned with their long storied tradition and success that they’ve had.
On Antonio Chandler’s injury status
GERRY McNAMARA: He won’t be available. That’s unfortunately not concluded. The one thing I’m happy about through that process, the administration’s here, they saw how our team rallied around that situation in terms of Antonio.
What I’ll say about Antonio Chandler, he’s one of the best kids I’ve ever been around, and his story is a good one. If you go back and look at his story and where he came from and how he ended up playing one year of Division I basketball with us, it’s a good story. It’s a shame that it ended the way it did, but I’m really proud of him, and I’m really, really proud of our guys in terms of how they handled the situation, in terms of rallying around their brother and being there for him.
It’s a wonderful thing. When we played in Atlantic City, he came out for the championship game, and he wore his shirt. Right before we took to the court, he put his jersey on. Even that gave me a jolt. Watching his family, their support while we were there. He won’t be with us, but he’s with us.
The thing that makes me really happy is as a coach you want the guys you coach in your program to have a wonderful experience, create lifelong relationships and friendships. I know I’ve got a group of kids in there that that’s exactly what has happened this year. These guys are going to be bonded tight forever, and Tone is right at the top of the list. He was such an emotional and incredible leader for us.
On the situation at Syracuse and his interest in the job
GERRY McNAMARA: My situation with that right now is I’m here at the NCAA Tournament for the first time as a head coach, and I get an opportunity to coach Siena University, and the kids in that locker room deserve that opportunity. They’ve got my full attention. That’s where my focus is.
These kids have given me everything they’ve got every day this season, and they deserve my full attention, and they’ve got it.
On Maliq Brown
GERRY McNAMARA: I texted him last night. I love Maliq Brown. I loved him from the first time I watched him. I think, when you watch — I think, when he was in high school, it was the offensive side of the ball. Hey, there’s a lot to be determined on the offensive side of the ball. It wasn’t because he didn’t have the ability, it’s because he was selfless.
If you watch him play with Duke, it’s the same thing. Maliq Brown could care less if he scores a point, but when they double the post on Boozer, he’s the guy on the weak side setting a weak side flare for Evans. Evans gets a wide open shot, it comes from Boozer, but Maliq is the one who sets the screen. He is elite defensively.
He’s a great kid. As good a kid as I’ve ever been around in my career, player, coach. I’m so happy for him.
Before last night, the last time I texted him was to congratulate him on Defensive Player of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year because he earned both. Just really happy for him. I left for Siena. He left for Duke.
The third time Jon called me at Duke, I answered the phone and said, “Stop calling me. Take him. He’s really good.” I had texted Jon a few times over the years saying just, “Maliq Brown.” I’m happy that he’s really happy. I think Jon’s done a great job with him, and I’m just happy that on a national stage he’s proven his worth and how good he is as a player. It couldn’t happen to a better kid.
On bringing up No. 16 seeds beating No. 1 seeds
GERRY McNAMARA: I’ve said to the team it’s happened before. It’s clearly happened before. It’s not something that hasn’t been done. The conversations that we’ve had about this matchup have mainly been focused on what we would normally do in terms of regular prep, how we would prepare, how we would scout, but I’m trying to do my best for them to not make the moment too big, that it’s just another game. You have to go through your process of how we prepare for everything else.
This has been done before, so you have to have your full attention. It can’t be one of those things where you defeat yourself going in. We have to be fully confident like we have all year. I didn’t bring up UMBC and FDU. I know it’s the two that have won the 16 seed matchup. I just said it’s been done before. I haven’t brought up their particular cases. I’m just focused on us, like I always have been, like our group always has been.
We’ve got to go through our process and keep this as par for the course in terms of how we prepared all season and have some normalcy to it, even though it’s on a much bigger stage.
On the Syracuse job again
GERRY McNAMARA: I’ll say this, and I said it this week. I think with what we did, with the job obviously being open, it was inevitable, with my history there, just coming from there.
I will reiterate again my full focus is on the team in that locker room that has an opportunity to play against the best team in the country tomorrow at 2:50.
I have not deviated from that from Tuesday night from when we won in Atlantic City. My focus has been on them. The reality is because of them, my name is coming up. That’s the way I look at this. You get good players, you coach them right, you win, everybody gets recognition. I think the situation with the job opening and what we’ve done in the last week, there was obviously going to be some speculation.
I have not brought it up to the team. No one’s asked me about it because we’ve gone, just as we’ve always done, and prepared the last week for the sole intent of being prepared to play tomorrow.
On preparing his team for the spectacle of the NCAA Tournament
GERRY McNAMARA: Kind of going back to the week of preparation, I’m trying to do what — I’m not trying. We have done exactly what we’ve done in terms of preparation for every other game. I think that’s my experience as a coach, as a player when I was in this, played in a lot of big games in this tournament and have coached in a lot of big games in this tournament.
When I was at Syracuse with Coach Boeheim, we always prepared the same way. I’ve talked about what’s the biggest thing I’ve taken from him all these years is how consistent every day was. There was a lot of the same things every day, repetitive, over and over and over. That’s what I’ve done quite a bit.
Now, in a different way, I do it in my own way, but very, very normal this week to prepare them just like we did for Atlantic City, just like we would for a split Friday-Sunday game in the MAC.
But obviously tomorrow when the pregame speech hits, there might be a little bit more juices flowing.
This article originally appeared on Duke Wire: Everything Gerry McNamara said ahead of Siena’s matchup against Duke
About the Author
