Gavin Doty has been waiting for this moment long enough that he can feel it closing in by the minute.
The Fulton native is set to make his Syracuse debut Monday night when the Orange open the regular season against New Haven at the JMA Wireless Dome, and for Doty, it’s the kind of homecoming he’s pictured for years. He said as much at Syracuse men’s basketball media day on Oct. 9.
“I’m so excited, man,” Doty said. “I can’t wait.
I’m counting down the minutes. That November 2nd game is gonna feel quite special.”
That anticipation comes with a familiar face on the sideline. Doty followed Gerry McNamara from Siena to Syracuse after McNamara took the Orange job, and the coach has made no secret of how much Doty fits what he wants in a player. After Siena won the MAAC Championship last March, McNamara said Doty was as close as any player he’d coached in terms of competitiveness.
The connection between the two goes back to Doty’s first season at Siena, when he arrived as a young freshman after playing 17U EYBL for Albany City Rocks. He had considered taking a prep year, but chose Siena and quickly made an impression in practice before the 2024-25 season.
“By the third day,” McNamara said after winning the MAAC Championship. “He was everywhere. I was like ‘jeez, he’s gotten like five offensive rebounds every day in this segment’.”
Doty didn’t crack the rotation right away. Siena leaned on veteran guards to start the season, but he forced his way into the picture. By January, he was in the starting lineup, and not long after that, he was part of the Rookie of the Year conversation.
McNamara said on media day, “I watched him go from sixth man to starter to arguably the best and most consistent player in the league in the span of five weeks his freshman year.”
Doty didn’t win Rookie of the Year, and he also came up short in the Player of the Year race as a sophomore. But he did leave with the biggest postseason honor available to him: MAAC Tournament MVP after helping Siena beat Merrimack in the title game. The next week, he scored 21 points against Duke in Siena’s near-upset of the Blue Devils.
When McNamara left for Syracuse, Doty’s next move was never really in doubt.
“There was no thought at all,” Doty said. “I didn’t even think about going anywhere else. I’m sure people were trying to get after me, but I was really just focused on helping GMac get this program back.”
Last season at Siena, Doty averaged 18 points and 6.9 rebounds per game while shooting 45.8% from the field. His game is built around toughness and force - the spin move, the ability to finish while falling, the willingness to dive into traffic and keep possessions alive. He also expanded his perimeter game as last season went on, something McNamara had emphasized with him and Siena point guard Justice Shoats.
That work continued over the summer.
“I’ve got a lot of hours in the gym with Coach (Ben) Lee,” Doty said. “I don’t know the amount of hours, but it’s a lot. I’m really focusing on that three-point shot and seeing significant growth.”
He showed more confidence from deep in Syracuse’s exhibitions, taking 11 threes against Siena and six more against Niagara. That kind of volume may matter, because Syracuse’s outside shooting is one of the clear weak spots on the roster.
Still, Doty’s calling card has never been just scoring. It’s the effort, the edge, the nonstop work.
He grabbed 21 rebounds across Syracuse’s last two exhibition games, and that kind of physical play has long been part of his identity. At Siena, he played like a guy who didn’t care what the scale said.
He was listed at 177 pounds as a freshman, but he says he’s up to 200 pounds now for his junior season.
Even with the added size, Doty says the role he’ll bring to Syracuse won’t change much.
“Definitely the same role in terms of leadership and how hard I play,” Doty said. “In terms of shot creation and going to get a bucket, still the same stuff.
I’m really looking forward to just coming together with these guys. Same thing we did at Siena, just pour our heart and soul into each other and flip another program around here at Syracuse.”
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