Rising star Gerry McNamara leads Siena back to NCAA Tournament: ‘This is what you get when you create something special’
By JAMES MADDEN
For the first time since 2010, the Siena Saints are headed back to the big dance. Led by head coach Gerry McNamara in his second season in Albany, Siena knocked off top-seeded Merrimack 64-54 in the MAAC final on Tuesday night in Atlantic City.
The Saints entered the MAAC tournament as the No. 3 seed and rattled off three straight wins over Mount St. Mary’s, Fairfield and Merrimack to punch their ticket back to the NCAA Tournament.
Siena was the beneficiary of the apparent No. 1 seed curse in the MAAC tournament, which has only seen three top seeds win the tournament since 2010, one of which was Fran McCaffery’s Siena team.
McNamara is widely viewed as one of the northeast’s top rising stars in the coaching profession, being mentioned as a potential suitor at his alma mater, Syracuse, among other jobs in the area.
The 42-year-old spent many years alongside legendary head coach Jim Boeheim at Syracuse and started for the Orange in its 2003 National Championship win against Kansas.
With Red Autry’s future at Syracuse uncertain, a potential reunion with one of the program’s most well-known players has been mentioned as a possibility.
McNamara was asked about his journey as a player and coach, which all started at Syracuse and he paid homage to his former head coach on ESPN.
“I’ve been around so many wonderful people, to go to a place like Syracuse and to get to learn with coach (Boeheim), for him to bring me back and get my feet wet in this industry… I fell in love with the development process,” McNamara said on ESPN. “That’s kind of how I still coach. I’ve got my own thing now… and this is what you get when you create something special.”
On the other sideline, Merrimack’s Joe Gallo, another young star in the profession, saw a stagnant offense become the Warriors’ demise on Tuesday.
Failing to score in the second half, until the 10:53 mark, regardless of Merrimack’s elite zone defense, the Warriors were unable to mount a comeback in Atlantic City.
Gallo’s squad was just one win away from its first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, but that accomplishment will have to wait another year in North Andover. In just its second year as an eligible tournament team, Merrimack finished 23-11 and ran the table to win the regular-season title in the MAAC.
While McNamara’s name has been speculated in potential job openings, the second-year head coach will have his sights set on accomplishing something his program hasn’t in 17 years. Winning an NCAA Tournament game.
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