More to the Orange than McNamara- finally

By Sean Quinn

It was never Gerry McNamara’s fault. A player with his heart doesn’t get motivated by some meaningless newspaper articles. He was already motivated, has been since his days in Scranton, Pa. The attacks on the Orange’s leader, though, was the kick in the pants that woke up his surrounding cast.

It’s nice to finally see Darryl Watkins reading something other than Marmaduke.The Orange big men, Watkins and Terrence Roberts, have put more pressure on McNamara this season than any publications. They had decent games here and there, but for the most part they lacked intensity even in Syracuse’s early-season victories. Roberts scored four or less points four times in SU’s final seven regular-season games, which included a 39-point shellacking against DePaul. He grabbed just 10 or more rebounds in just one of those games.

Watkins scored in double-figures just seven times all season before the Big East Championship.

And don’t forget to add in junior swingman Demetris Nichols’ inconsistency. Nichols finished as the Orange’s second leading scorer, improving his point production by almost 10 pointer per game from last season, but he should have worn a prom dress for the second-half of the conference season because he was a tease. He scored in double-figures in all but one of SU’s first 22 games, but slumped at the end of the season. He missed open jumpers, pull-up jumpers and mid-range jumpers, scoring just 34 points in the last five regular season games. This is a guy who put up 28 points against Connecticut in January.

Perhaps it wasn’t what McNamara had around him, but what he didn’t – a point guard. Billy Edelin was the only point guard McNamara had in college and that was primarily during his freshman year. McNamara has a quicker release than John Wayne. He can come off screens better than J.J. Redick or Adam Morrison.

He has been forcing all year, though. That’s not his fault. His teammates supported him about as well as a training bra could support Pamela Anderson.

In New York City, the junior class stepped up and freshman guard Eric Devendorf set McNamara up for open shots. Like any pure shooter, all McNamara needed was a good look at the basket, even if it was for just a split-second.

The big men averaged more than 22 points per game and that was with Roberts’ gopher performance with no points against Georgetown. Nichols went back to his old ways, regaining his confidence with every jump shot he made, scoring in double-figures in all four games. The freshman made some mistakes defensively, but his penetration complemented the outside scorch of McNamara. Devendorf scored 46 points in four games.

The bench, hardly considered deep, was all it needed to be for the Orange. Matt Gorman stole minutes to give the big guys a rest and Josh Wright made big free throws and ran the offense as a point guard. That’s right, setting up McNamara, a true 2-guard, for open looks.

McNamara did what he’s done all season, this time it finally showed up on paper. His 16 3-pointers were the biggest part of his 65 total tournament points, but his 33 assists were just as clutch.

His buzzer-beater to beat Cincinnati got the Orange off the NCAA Tournament bubble. His 3-pointer to tie Connecticut in regulation got the Orange into the NCAA Tournament. His 3-pointer to beat Georgetown got him a bid to run for Governor of New York. But his intensity and heart finally rubbed off on his teammates.

And when they weren’t available, he stepped up anyhow.