Syracuse basketball national champ set to become next head coach

Carmelo Anthony led the 2002-03 Syracuse men’s basketball team to a national championship in his lone season with the program.

It turned out to be the only NCAA title of legendary Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim’s 47-year career.

But Anthony and Boeheim had plenty of help. Point guard Gerry McNamara directed the offense that season as a freshman, turning in a team-high 4.4 assists per game to go along with 13.3 points. A clutch performer, he knocked down 90.9 percent of his free throws.

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In the national final against the Kansas Jayhawks, McNamara knocked down six 3-pointers for 18 points as Syracuse pulled out an 81-78 win. McNamara finished his Syracuse career with 2,099 points.

Now, as ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported, McNamara is returning to western New York to take over the Syracuse program.

McNamara just completed his second season as the head coach for the Siena Saints after serving as a Syracuse assistant from 2009 to 2024. Siena won the MAAC Tournament title this season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 16 seed. The top-seeded Duke Blue Devils struggled before dispatching the Saints, 71-65, in the first round.

The Orange fired former head coach Adrian Autry on March 11, per ESPN, after the team missed the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season. Syracuse finished 15-17.