ACC Preview #10 – Syracuse

#1 – UNC || #2 – NC State || #3 – Wake Forest || #4 – Virginia || #5 – Clemson||#6 – Miami || #7 – Louisville || ACC Preview #8 – Pitt  || ACC Preview #9 – Georgia Tech

Syracuse is going to be one of the most interesting teams to watch in the ACC this season.

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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.

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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?

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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…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/acc-preview-10-syracuse-113300061.html

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Publish date : 2026-08-10 11:33:00

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