What Can We Expect in Year One of the G-Mac Era?
By Mason Katz
On March 24, Syracuse Men’s Basketball handed the keys over to their former 2003 National Champion Gerry McNamara in hopes that he’d bring the program back to success.
The Orange have not made the NCAA Tournament in the past five seasons, dating back to 2021 under legendary head coach Jim Boeheim. Following his retirement, head coach Adrian “Red” Autry failed to bring the team anywhere close, and fans were not happy. McNamara, a Syracuse basketball legend and part of the 2003 NCAA Championship team, an assistant coach under Boeheim, and previously Sienna’s Head Coach, takes over with high expectations.
Since his return to Syracuse in March, “G-Mac” has put together and maintained a competitive roster, retaining two key freshmen, Kiyan Anthony and Sadiq White, while bringing in a solid transfer portal class. Sophomore Aidan Tobiasion averaged 15.3 points per game and shot 48% from the field last year for Temple in a breakout season. Garwey Dual, the McNeese defensive demon who averaged 8.4 points and 1.6 steals per game, is expected to be a key defensive anchor in the back-court as well.
The most notable name in this transfer class for ‘Cuse is none other than Gavin Doty. Doty followed his head coach from Siena to Syracuse and is expected to be a key player for the Orange. Doty averaged 18.0 points and 6.9 rebounds per game for the Saints last season, gaining national attention in the Round of 64 against Duke last March.
What can we expect from this new team?
Syracuse tips off the season with a favorable slate against New Haven, Central Connecticut, Cornell, Lafayette, Albany, Colgate, Canisius, and Binghamton. There are some key match ups spread within those games. The Orange will travel to face the Indiana Hoosiers on Nov. 9, the Oklahoma Sooners on Dec. 1 in the ACC/SEC Challenge, and eventually the Providence Friars on Dec. 19.
Syracuse faces a couple of tough match ups early on, but the easier games should give the Orange an opportunity to build confidence before the ACC schedule begins on Dec. 29.
Syracuse’s first ACC game is against Florida State, but their most notable will be in the JMA Wireless Dome against the Duke Blue Devils, on Jan. 5. This will be an electric match up for the new Syracuse team and coach McNamara, who nearly took down Duke in last year’s tournament. However, as this game takes place during Syracuse University’s winter break, turnout of fans and students may be up in the air.
The Orange come into this season ranked 57th in the country according to EvanMiya’s metrics. Furthermore, they are projected 10th in the ACC, with an expected finish of 20 wins, while going 8-10 in conference play. However, more wins could most definitely be in the cards. Getting a breakout season from second-year players Kiyan Anthony and/or Sadiq White Jr. would be critical to heightening team success. The two are expected to have larger roles and thus a greater impact on the program.
Syracuse tips off its exhibition game versus UConn on Oct. 13 to get the first taste of the 2026-27 season. Less than a month and a half remains until the regular season tips off, and this long journey ahead to March begins.
