0:00
He can sit wherever he wants. With those
0:02
six words, Gerry McNamara proved he is
0:06
the perfect head coach for the Syracuse
0:08
basketball program. Here's why.
0:14
You see, when McNamara does it, it comes
0:17
off differently than another coach.
0:18
Because if another coach says that about
0:20
Carmelo Anthony sitting courtside as his
0:25
it feels like somebody getting pushed
0:28
over by the legend, by the star that is
0:33
You know, but this is a guy that doesn't
0:35
really know Syracuse, or a guy that
0:37
doesn't have hardware himself, or a guy
0:39
that didn't play in the NBA. And he
0:41
says, "He can sit wherever he wants." It
0:44
comes off as placating a program legend,
0:47
which obviously Carmelo is. But when
0:49
Gerry McNamara says it,
0:52
it comes off as confident and I know the
0:57
And I think that right there is how you
1:03
talent to the program. There's a lot of
1:05
layers to this, but let's start here.
1:08
The last coach, Adrian Autry, played at
1:12
the Carrier Dome, but the job itself
1:15
felt too big for him. Three years, no
1:19
NCAA tournament appearances, sniping
1:22
with the media at times, even the did
1:25
not play situation with Kiyan Anthony
1:28
early in earlier in this calendar year,
1:32
felt like either he was putting his foot
1:35
down because Carmelo was the huge brand,
1:41
making a major strategic misstep because
1:45
he was going to get bowled over by
1:47
public sentiment, or again, the brand in
1:50
Carmelo. Hey, I appreciate you watching
1:52
everybody. Thanks so much. Subscribe to
1:55
the channel. Make sure you're clicked on
1:56
this button below me. That way you are
1:58
notified and in the feed when we do
2:00
Syracuse coverage like this for the
2:02
Orange Fizz. If Gerry McNamara is to
2:05
bench Kiyan at any point this season,
2:09
I don't think any of those things come
2:12
into play where you feel like the job is
2:15
Now, it really helps that Gerry McNamara
2:18
is a teammate of Carmelo. And it really
2:20
helps that McNamara has the ultimate
2:24
kind of sign-off and credibility because
2:26
he was a star, a fellow freshman starter
2:30
on a team that won the national
2:31
championship. So, Carmelo, I'm sure,
2:32
looks at G-Mac as his boy, his running
2:36
mate. I trust your judgment here.
2:38
But again, it comes back to the
2:40
sentiment that McNamara can say, "Man,
2:43
he can sit wherever he wants and it is
2:45
not I'm going to bend over backwards for
2:48
Carmelo. It is I get it."
2:51
All right? I I understand this.
2:55
Now, when Carmelo says this on Q Sports
2:58
Talk, I should say when McNamara says
3:00
this on Q Sports Talk, it comes
3:03
as part of the conversation, "Hey, there
3:05
are There are Syracuse fans calling in
3:08
who have voiced criticism that Carmelo,
3:10
you know, sitting courtside is a
3:12
distraction or is putting too much
3:14
pressure on the coach or the player."
3:18
And McNamara laughs at that and says,
3:21
if my son is is playing on this team, I
3:25
would want to be courtside. And
3:27
Carmelo's got credibility because it's
3:29
not like when he left the program, he
3:31
just totally detached. He was rooting
3:33
for Syracuse basketball, which is
3:37
But let's take this a a step deeper.
3:40
This is also important because it's not
3:44
necessarily just about Kiyan Anthony.
3:46
It's not really about Carmelo.
3:50
It's about getting the next Carmelo
3:53
It's about making sure somebody like
3:55
Carmelo still remains a cheerleader for
4:01
part of hopefully this next wave of
4:05
Because what are you you are hunting is
4:07
not just Carmelo Anthony success. You
4:09
are hunting the next Carmelo Anthony.
4:11
Now again, there's only one Carmelo
4:14
But there's a a a sea
4:18
of NBA players, maybe not Hall of
4:20
Famers, but NBA players
4:22
who have kids, who have sons, who got to
4:26
I mean, look at how many players in the
4:29
NBA are children of former NBA players.
4:33
Even somebody like Jalen Brunson, whose
4:36
dad is Rick Brunson and and kind of had
4:38
a cup of coffee in the NBA, still played
4:42
You want to make sure you are
4:44
comfortable around that level of
4:49
And McNamara might not have played in
4:52
but in handling it like this, it tells
4:54
me he can handle other guys who have
4:59
who want to play college ball at
5:00
Syracuse and have played in the
5:05
You've got to have a confidence without
5:11
I think Gerry is going to be a work in
5:13
progress. I mean, it's his first big
5:16
And there are so many expectations and
5:20
so many people that now are reconnected
5:23
to the program that if it's bad, if they
5:25
lose, there's going to be a lot of
5:28
scrutiny and a lot of disappointment and
5:29
a lot of frustration and a lot of oh my
5:31
gosh, even this didn't work.
5:34
But what I really liked about Gerry
5:36
McNamara so far, and I'm really excited
5:39
to talk to him at some point this
5:42
right here on this channel.
5:44
I want my head coach to be convicted
5:49
without being an a-hole.
5:52
He's got conviction in this. You hear
5:55
blast critics that think his roster
5:59
doesn't have enough high-level talent on
6:03
I don't need high-level talent. I need
6:05
dogs here. I don't care what anybody
6:08
When somebody goes after one of his
6:11
and he's going, "Man, you didn't see him
6:13
play. I've seen him play."
6:16
I've seen him in camps. I've seen him in
6:19
How did he do? I got no problem
6:22
with that type of confidence, okay? And
6:26
when he addresses critics or doubters
6:28
that Carmelo could be a negative a net
6:30
negative for the program by being too
6:33
close to things and he scoffs it off,
6:36
I don't take any of that as arrogance.
6:39
There might be a level of
6:44
but I don't think that Gerry McNamara is
6:45
not listening. I don't think that he
6:47
thinks he's got all the answers. I don't
6:49
think he thinks he's got this all
6:52
What I think is there's a very specific
6:54
line you walk with I got this
6:58
as well as a little humility
7:03
you know that if you know, you walk into
7:06
a room and it's not working or you get
7:08
it to a game and you're losing, hey, we
7:10
can make adjustments too. We are not
7:11
totally wedded to I got all the answers.
7:15
I think this is just a really important
7:18
microcosm of how Gerry is going to coach
7:23
this program and and handle this
7:25
This is not an easy program. This is not
7:29
a turnkey winner. We have learned the
7:31
hard way over the last 5 years
7:34
that no matter how many final four
7:35
banners hang in the Carrier Dome, no
7:37
matter what the attendance is inside the
7:39
JMA Wireless, no matter what the brand
7:43
is nationally, no matter how many
7:45
all-Americans or whatever NBA players
7:47
have played for this for this
7:52
It doesn't mean a damn thing right now.
7:55
You got to win here with the new players
7:58
and a new life and a new dynamic and a
8:01
new sport in many ways.
8:05
when I look at this program,
8:09
I'm also not looking at a program that
8:10
yet has all of its rocket boosters for
8:14
fundraising firing yet.
8:16
I think they've got a lot of good
8:19
I think when you see Brian Blair's
8:21
history and you see who they've hired as
8:23
GM and you hear what they're talking
8:26
about with NIL and you hear some of the
8:29
the talking points of those that are
8:30
running point on NIL,
8:32
I think you get the the vibe that okay,
8:35
they're starting to get in sync. They're
8:36
starting to to brand new ideas. They're
8:39
starting to create new streams, which is
8:41
really important. But all this is hard.
8:43
This is a brand new landscape for
8:45
everybody, specifically Syracuse who's
8:46
not done a good enough job in this space
8:49
over the last 5 years getting ahead of
8:51
the curve. And Adrian Autry admitted
8:54
this on the podium last year.
8:57
they weren't ready for the new NIL world
9:01
in college basketball.
9:02
So, I'm not going to sit here and say
9:04
they're going to immediately win and
9:07
that everything is solved and it's only
9:09
bright skies. You're not going to get
9:10
that from me. I don't think that's
9:12
I don't think it's realistic or honest
9:14
to say something like that. But what is
9:19
Gerry McNamara, if anybody is going to
9:24
I feel like he's got the most cards in
9:27
the deck to have a winning hand.
9:30
I think he's got the most
9:32
of what it would take to do it.
9:36
And one of those pieces, one of those
9:39
is confidence without arrogance. And
9:43
I get this. And I'm not worried about
9:45
criticism. I'm not worried about what
9:47
the doubters say. That's not going to
9:49
throw me off course cuz I know what the
9:51
right answer is and will do the right
9:54
That part of it is very encouraging to
9:56
me. So, the Carmelo thing, again, is a
9:58
microcosm of a bigger thing.
10:01
When he says he can sit wherever he
10:06
I know there's noise out there.
10:08
I know there's skepticism about some of
10:11
I'm not worried about it because
10:14
it's the right thing.
10:16
And is his X Y or Z might be different
10:20
But I think his X Y or Z probably pretty
10:23
similar. Pretty similar. And because of
10:28
it's going to give Syracuse the best
10:31
chance to get back on top.
10:33
Thanks for watching, everybody.
10:34
Appreciate it very much. Hey, you got to
10:36
read The Orange Fizz. That's my website
10:38
with Syracuse news every single day. But
10:41
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10:58
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11:03
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11:04
See you then, everybody. Appreciate it.
