Gerry McNamara’s first season as Syracuse’s coach has started with a more challenging week than he could have imagined.
The Orange (1-0) hope to deliver a second straight win for their new coach on Thursday night when they host Central Connecticut State.
McNamara, a star on the 2003 Syracuse national championship team, was brought in to revive a program that has not reached the NCAA Tournament since 2021. He earned a 74-58 win over New Haven in his debut Monday, but that hardly was the only obstacle McNamara has faced this week.
Gerard McNamara, his father and long-time supporter, died Saturday at the age of 78 after battling cancer. Gerry McNamara coached through the emotions Monday, when his team scored the first 18 points en route to the comfortable win.
“I would definitely say it meant a lot to give him something to smile about, especially going through something like that nobody really wanted to go through,” transfer guard Garwey Dual said after defeating the Chargers. “I feel like we handled our job and definitely gave him something to be happy about today.”
Kiyan Anthony led Syracuse with 17 points, while newcomer Gavin Doty (14 points, 13 rebounds) and returnee Sadiq White Jr. (14 points, 10 boards) began their seasons with a double-double.
Gerry McNamara, though, said he wasn’t pleased following the 16-point win, particularly after his team got outscored 41-35 in the second half.
“My dad was a hoop junkie, just like me,” McNamara said, adding: “He’d be as disgusted as I am right now.”
Central Connecticut State (0-1) was outscored by Temple 36-16 in the first half of its season opener on Monday before besting the Owls 40-32 after intermission. In the end, the Owls won 68-56.
Ashton Reynolds led the Blue Devils with 18 points, while Raphel Laurent added 13 points and seven rebounds.
Central Connecticut State likely won’t be intimidated by playing in the massive dome on Syracuse’s campus. The Blue Devils won at Boston College and Rutgers last season and won at Saint Joseph’s and Massachusetts the previous campaign.
“Two years ago, we were No. 1 in the country in road wins,” Blue Devils coach Patrick Sellers said. “Last year, we were one of the top teams in the league in road wins. We have that ‘us vs. the world’ mentality on the road.”