New roster, old face as Syracuse Men’s Basketball returns to play

With the prospect of realignment and the expected passage of the Protect College Sports Act, Chancellor Mike Haynie has declared the next two to three years the most important in determining the future of Syracuse athletics.

It was under this pressure that Syracuse’s new men’s basketball head coach, Gerry McNamara, addressed the media at Syracuse Media Day on Friday.

“I think everybody understands what’s at stake here, where the program is, where it needs to go, the tradition, the history, what the fan base is looking for, the community, what they deserve,” McNamara said. “That’s been at the forefront.

“These guys know that.”

The 2003 national champion, who served as an assistant coach at Syracuse from 2011 to 2024 and spent the past two seasons as the head coach at Siena University, understands that he is facing high expectations at his alma mater. However, as he said at ACC Media Day on Wednesday, his goal is to restore the program to national relevance.

To that end, McNamara brought in seven transfers, including three starters from his Siena team: small forward Gavin Doty and power forwards Francis Folefac and Tasman Goodrick. The additions are part of his effort to build a larger, more physical team.

“You look at the size of the bodies of the teams and the size that were in the Final Four, and it was a pretty common theme this past year of, you know, really kind of two bigs in a system, both physical, both have the weight,” McNamara said. “We’re kind of in between that. We are still kind of linked in athleticism, not necessarily brute force, but strength is at the forefront.”

Syracuse has certainly gotten bigger under McNamara. Last year’s team had only one player on the roster taller than 6-foot-9. This year, the Orange have four players in that category: Goodrick, freshmen Abdramane Siby and Iker Martinez, and junior Luke Wilson.

“You know, I’m used to guys being maybe my height or a little bit shorter,” said Wilson, an Appalachian State transfer who stands 6-foot-10. “Having some competition in practice and the weight room, it makes me a lot better and it makes us all physically stronger.”

With seven transfers and five freshmen, there are a lot of new faces on the Syracuse roster. Combined with a new coaching staff, building chemistry among the team, both on and off the court, has been a vital goal this summer.

“I would say it’s a little bit harder to adjust, but in a way, it also makes it better because we all come from somewhere different,” Wilson said. “So we all have something to prove.”

According to Wilson and sophomore Kiyan Anthony, the son of Syracuse legend and 10-time NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony, the team has worked hard to get to know each other off the court by going bowling, playing mini golf and sharing meals at Pastabilities.

But building a team culture goes beyond relationships among players. It’s an atmosphere that coaches often need to create.

“You know, GMac (McNamara) implements a culture that says, ‘How can you not win?’” Anthony said. “He’s super, he’s super stern, he’s super direct, authentic, and, you know, if you don’t do what he wants you to do, you’re not gonna be out there.”

As one of only four returning players from last season, Anthony is one of the few players on the team able to speak about the changes from last year’s 15-17 team, which finished 14th in the ACC.

“I think the whole energy and vibe was off just last year,” Anthony said. “Just even players walking in with a slouch, not ready to practice, just no urgency to get stuff done. I feel like that passed on throughout the team, and this year, you know, we run into practice, we come in, we’re ready.”

ABA League stars

In addition to his transfers, McNamara has brought in two freshmen with professional experience in the Adriatic Basketball Association, a European league featuring many of the top clubs from the Balkans and Central Europe.

Seven-footer Siby played for Mega Superbet, a professional team in Belgrade, Serbia, while Mark Morano averaged 11.8 points per game for the Helios Suns in Domžale, Slovenia.

Adjusting to Syracuse, both in terms of NCAA basketball and moving to a new country, has been a challenge that both players have welcomed.

“Here, the pace is faster,” Morano siad. “There are more tactics. Obviously, here the guys are way more athletic. Everybody [in the ABA] is super strong, but they don’t jump as high or sprint as fast.”

Beyond adjusting to a new style of play and culture, both players must adapt to a slightly different set of rules than the ones they grew accustomed to on the other side of the Atlantic.

“The rules are a little bit different because in Europe we follow rules from FIBA (International Basketball Federation),” Siby said. “For example, some moves that are considered travels over there aren’t travels over here.”

Looking ahead

The Orange are preparing for their first preseason game of the season Tuesday against reigning national runner-up UConn in Uncasville, Connecticut.

“For me, these exhibition games have to be, giving these guys an opportunity to showcase themselves,” McNamara said. “[But] we’re not going to say we’re going to sacrifice a result.”