Gerry McNamara has returned to his college basketball roots, and Carmelo Anthony is all for it.
McNamara has been named by the Syracuse Orange as the program’s new head coach after firing Adrian Autry, who lasted just three seasons on the job.
Fresh off leading the Siena Saints to the 2026 NCAA Tournament, McNamara doesn’t need an introduction for Syracuse fans. He’s an undeniable school legend for the Orange. Along with Anthony, he helped Syracuse win its only national championship to date in 2003.
Now, he’ll look to revive a faded program — and help continue the basketball growth of Anthony’s son, Kiyan.
Anthony sounded optimistic about Kiyan’s outlook under McNamara.
“(Gerry) is going to bring something out of Kai [Kiyan Anthony],” Anthony said during a recent episode of the 7 p.m. in Brooklyn podcast (transcribed by Chris Carlson of Syracuse.com). “And the first way he’s going to do that is giving him that confidence that he needs. … The plan is to build a program. Get a program back. That’s the plan.”
Kiyan is staying with the Orange after an unimpressive freshman season. In the 2025-26 campaign, he averaged just 8.0 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists through 29 games, while shooting only 39.9% from the field and 25.4% from deep. The hope is that McNamara will be able to unlock further Kiyan’s potential.
But McNamara’s main focus is on the entire program, as he tries to turn things around for the Orange, who won just 15 games in Autry’s final season at the helm and missed the NCAA Tournament for the fifth year in a row.
