#1 – UNC || #2 – NC State || #3 – Wake Forest || #4 – Virginia || #5 – Clemson||#6 – Miami || #7 – Louisville
|| ACC Preview #8 – Pitt || ACC Preview #9 – Georgia TechSyracuse is going to be one of the most interesting teams to watch in the ACC this season.
The Jim Boeheim era, which was nearly as long as the Cretaceous era, ended in 2023, and his former player and assistant Adrian Autry took over.
He might be a really good coach, but Autry took the job at a difficult time. It’s hard enough to replace
a legend, but the game has gone through sweeping changes in the last several years, and he was behind the eight ball from the start.
Autry was forced to compete with a smaller NIL budget, which affects roster construction at every level, and in the shadow of a legend. Not surprisingly, he struggled, and was let go at the end of the season.
His replacement is former Syracuse star and assistant Gerry McNamara. He is coming off a two-year stint at Siena, where he had a career record of 37-30. His first year, the Saints finished 14-18, and last year, Siena was third in the MAAC, and got to the NCAA Tournament, finishing 23-12.
That’s kind of a quick ascent for a young coach who is above .500, but not by much. So why did Syracuse choose McNamara?
Two reasons. First, he’s very familiar. He played on the 2003 national championship team, and he is a touchstone to the Boeheim era, which really defines Syracuse basketball. And second, #16 Siena pushed Duke very hard in the first round of the 2026 NCAA tournament.
Duke was up 44-32 at the half, and won, 71-65, but it certainly wasn’t your typical 1 vs. 16 seed game, and Siena’s performance naturally made an impression on the Orange brain trust.
This is not a knock on McNamara at all, but who else were they going to hire?
Syracuse is not what it once was. The program has grown musty over the last decade-and-a-half or so, and aside from everything else, not many people are excited about playing in a city that gets about 21 inches of snow per month between November and April.
Money would be a convincing argument, and Syracuse has committed to improving NIL resources, so we’ll see.
As for McNamara, most of us are familiar with him because Siena played Duke last spring, and played Duke very well. Overall, what’s his style like?
Offensively, we can’t be sure. At Siena, he wasn’t going to get top-level athletes, so the Saints were more deliberate. Siena didn’t shoot a ton of threes last season, focusing more on the interior. Efficiency was a key goal, and that makes a lot of sense – at Siena.
Will he stick with that at Syracuse? Or will he open things up, maybe follow analytics more?
We’ll find out soon.
Unlike his old coach, McNamara doesn’t lean on the 2-3 zone. He’ll zone when he needs to, but he’s much more of a man-to-man guy. At Siena, he sought toughness, discipline, and situational versatility, all of which should translate to Syracuse just fine.
It’s worth noting that against Duke, Siena held Cameron Boozer (4-11), Dame Sarr (1-7) and Isaiah Evans (6-14) to a collective 11-32.
Like most new coaches, the jury will be out on McNamara until he proves himself at the ACC level, but our gut sense is that he’ll be fine. So what’s he working with?
Roster
Returning
- Kiyan Anthony -6-5/SO
- Sadiq White Jr – 6-8/SO
- Noah Lobdell – 6-0/JR
- Calvin Russell III -6-5/SO
Portal
- Amarri Monroe (Quinnipiac)
- Gavin Doty – 6-5/JR (Siena)
- Tasman Goodrick -6-10/SR (Siena)
- Francis Folefac – 6-7/SO (Siena)
- Garwey Dual – 6-5/SR (McNeese)
- Aiden Tobiason – 6-6/JR (Temple)
- Luke Wilson – 6-10/JR (App State)
Freshmen
- Ryan Moesch – 6-0/4 star
- Mark Morano Mahmutovic – 6-7/4 star
- Adramane Siby – 6-11/NR
- Iker Martinez – 7-0/Mexico
- Ethan Butler -6-4
As a freshman, Anthony, son of Syracuse, NBA and Olympics legend Carmelo Anthony, wasn’t strong, didn’t shoot all that well, and was not a particularly good defender. He also missed the tail end of the season with an injury, and there seemed to be some tension between the family and Autry.
However, Anthony inherited at least some of his dad’s talent as a scorer. If he can address his weaknesses, he may get more minutes. The fact that his dad and McNamara were Orange teammates on the 2003 national championship team won’t hurt, and at a minimum, should help make a better relationship between family and coach. McNamara will insist on more toughness from Kiyan, though.
White may also benefit from the coaching change. He is highly athletic, and at 6-8 with a 7-0 wingspan, he can be a monstrous defender who can guard multiple positions. He plays hard, too, which McNamara will love. However, White is still quite lean at 207 and will need to bulk up. He’s also genuinely awful from the foul line, hitting just 51.3% as a freshman.
McNamara brings three transfers from Siena, all of whom should be respected.
First, there is Gavin Doty, who gave Duke fits in March, scoring 21 as #16 Siena pushed for a first-round upset (it’s worth mentioning that he shot just 7-20 overall and 3-12 from behind the line. That said, he really made his case).
He’s really good with the ball, and he drives well, and when he gets to the line, he converts 85.8% of the time.
His outside shooting is still suspect, but that should improve over time. Like White, he’s still a bit thin (190), and some ACC defenders are going to go after him like an Orca goes after a seal.
However, he’s also going to emerge quickly as a leader, because he works his ass off. McNamara calls him a “psycho” competitor.
There’s not much to say about the other two returnees, who were walk-ons, other than noting that Lobdell’s father is one of Syracuse basketball’s main donors and fundraisers, which kind of makes Noah a nepo baby.
We don’t really know a lot about Goodrick, because he missed last year with a knee injury, but he’s a strong inside player. He’s a high-percentage shooter inside and he’s a solid rebounder who’s going to leave some bruises.
On the downside, he’s strictly an inside player, and like White, he’s a dreadful free throw shooter (58.3%).
We don’t know if he’s fully recovered from his injury, but if he has, he should help.
Also a bruiser: Francis Folefac, who, like Doty, gave Duke fits last March. He’s a big, physical forward, and he’s also really smart. You look at him and think, bully-ball, but he also averaged 3.2 assists as a freshman last season.
However, like Goodrick, he doesn’t venture outside much.
He’s a good defender who proved it against Cameron Boozer. It’ll be an adjustment to get used to ACC play, but he should only get better. Incidentally, he also played on Team Melo with Anthony.
With finds like Doty and Folefac, you have to give McNamara props, because he seems to have an eye for talent.
Dual is very likely to start at the point and to give Syracuse some real grit. He is 6-5 and has a 7-0 wingspan, so he really has the tools to get after you on D. He’s also the oldest and most experienced player on a young roster, so he’ll be counted on for leadership.
Think of Tobiason as McNamara’s microwave. He scored 15.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game last year for Temple, and he’ll be asked to score a lot for Syracuse as well.
He can fill it up from outside, which should open the court, too, and can play multiple positions.
Wilson was a superb defender for Appalachian State, and that should translate reasonably well for Syracuse. He was the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year last year, and should help shut down the lane. Purdue and UCLA were in hot pursuit, among others.
And finally, just in the last few days, McNamara got a commitment from Quinnipiac’s Amarri Monroe.
That might slip under the radar a bit. When you see guys coming in from places like Quinnipiac and South Dakota, it’s easy to say, well….Quinnipiac? South Dakota? How good can that guy be? And it’s hard to tell, honestly, until you see them play.
Well, McNamara got to see Monroe play for two years, since Siena and Quinnipiac are both in the MAAC, and Monroe was a solid presence for the Bobcats. In 2024-25, he was the MAAC Player of the Year, averaging 18.1 ppg and 9.1 rpg. Last season, he averaged 15.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.3 steals per game.
He’s a multi-positional defender, a good mid-range shooter and driver, a solid rebounder and passer, and he’s good at the line, too. Three-point shooting is a weakness, but his teammates can handle that.
He’s a tough-minded player, smart, and he really wants to win. He still has to show he can make the leap, but we’re guessing he can do it.
Apparently, Syracuse has always been Monroe’s dream school, and now he gets to wear orange. That’s really cool.
As for the freshmen, Moesch had committed to Siena, and in fact, was their highest-rated recruit ever. He’ll most likely be a backup this year. Allegedly, he’s a really smart point guard, with a major knack for the pick-and-roll. He’s said to be an excellent passer. Most of the questions are because at 6-0, he’s kind of on the smallish side.
Mahmutovic is a native of Slovenia, and Jonathan Givony says his skill level would have made him a McDonald’s All-American if he had played stateside. He’s a very dangerous threat from outside.
He’s also physically mature, weighing 230, and like several of his new teammates, he’s very versatile. He looks like a real pain.
Siby, a Malian, is 7-0 but with a 7-6 wingspan. He’s got some work to do on offense, but he’ll buttress Wilson in the lane. Scoring against Syracuse has officially gotten more difficult. At 220, he needs to bulk up a bit, but he’s got time
The other day, we said that we didn’t remember a Mexican player in the ACC, and that Georgia Tech’s Victor Valdes would be the first. Well, depending on who plays first, it might be Martinez.
Like Siby, he’s going to get some time to develop, but also like Siby, he has real potential. However, this is what we like best about him: he got offered more money elsewhere, but he picked Syracuse because he liked what McNamara is going to do. That speaks well of everyone involved.
Finally, Butler was not highly rated, but McNamara wanted him at Siena, and obviously thinks highly of him. He’s also a development piece, so we may not see much of him this year. Down the road, though? He might turn out.
He’s 6-6, he can shoot, and as he expands his game, can carve out a role. It probably won’t be this year, but he’s apparently a hardass, and as we saw in March, McNamara likes hardasses.
So what to make of the new-look Syracuse?
Well, the proof is in the pudding, as they say, so we’ll have to wait and see.
We really like what McNamara has put together on relatively short notice and with only two years as a head coach. Obviously, a lot of his credibility comes from Siena giving Duke a really good game in the 2026 NCAA Tournament, but he seems to be a smart, organized, and highly competitive guy.
He may have some limitations with this group, notably at center, but he has brought in a lot of guys who are versatile and very competitive. He’s got three-point shooters. He’s got shot blockers. And most importantly, he’s got dogs who will defend.
The talent level may not match the best teams in the conference right now, but our bet is that the passion will be at levels Syracuse fans haven’t seen in years. Even if the record isn’t that great, even if Syracuse misses the tournament again, the fans will love this team.
And we think there’s an excellent chance Syracuse exceeds expectations.
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