Gerry McNamara walked into his Syracuse coaching debut carrying more than the usual first-game nerves.
Two days before he was scheduled to lead the Orange for the first time, McNamara’s family lost its patriarch. His father, Gerard McNamara, died Saturday at 78 after a battle with cancer. By Monday night, the emotions were already there before the ball was tipped - and they hit hardest during the national anthem.
“The national anthem got me a little bit today,” McNamara said, “thinking about him (and) his service.”
Gerard McNamara, known to friends and family as Chiz, served in the Marines during the Vietnam War and was wounded twice, earning two Purple Hearts. For his son, the night at the JMA Wireless Dome was supposed to be a celebration of a return to Syracuse. Instead, it became something much heavier.
“The first person that would be here tonight would be my father,” McNamara said after Syracuse’s 74-58 win over New Haven. “I think everyone who knows me, knows that.
So I’m hurting a little bit this week. Obviously, I’m going to be hurting for a while, pretty much forever.”
McNamara said the game gave him something to lock into for 40 minutes. Syracuse raced to an 18-0 lead, then coasted through stretches that left the Orange vulnerable, with New Haven outscoring them by six in the second half. McNamara wasn’t happy with how his team finished, but the game also gave him a place to put the grief for a while.
He was in Scranton, Pa., with his family on Saturday when his father died. By Monday, Scranton had come to Syracuse for him.
After his postgame television interview, McNamara was greeted by family, friends and well-wishers. He embraced his mother, who decided to make the trip to watch her son’s Syracuse head coaching debut.
During McNamara’s four years at Syracuse from 2002 to 2006, his parents were at all 135 of his games. He said his mother came because that’s what his father would have wanted, and that was part of why he never considered missing the game.
“He would want me coaching this game, which is why I didn’t think about not coaching,” McNamara said. “That’s what he loved.
This was his life - supporting us. We’ve got the best parents in the world, and that’s what they’ve always done.”
The support didn’t stop there. Behind the Syracuse bench, five members of the 2003 NCAA championship team were in the stands: Matt Gorman, Tyrone Albright, Gary Hall, Ronneil Herron and Josh Brooks. Carmelo Anthony was also courtside, in the spot fans have come to expect.
“Those guys are not just great teammates, they’re great friends,” McNamara said. “They’ve always supported me.
Means a lot to me. People that I played in this building with, went through this program with, we’re still in each other’s lives.”
Before the game, Syracuse played a hype video honoring McNamara’s playing career and his return to the sideline. He didn’t exactly embrace the spotlight.
“This is unnecessary,” McNamara responded when asked about the video.
“I think everyone knows that I didn’t want this to be about me,” he said. “It’s greatly appreciated.
I think that’s pretty clear for how much I love this place. To see it in the video there, it was pretty neat, but I also didn’t want it to be a distraction.”
If anything, the game itself became the distraction. McNamara returned to Syracuse on Sunday to guide the Orange through its final practice before the opener. He had heard from every player on Saturday, and then again on Sunday and Monday, he didn’t bring up his father’s death to the team.
“I think every single one of them texted me, ‘Coach, you’ve got family here, too. We’re good.
We got you,’ ” McNamara said. “I don’t think I needed to say anything because I felt like they had already said kind of the perfect piece of what I needed to hear.
“Like, now I can just go do my job.”
That job continues Thursday, when Syracuse hosts Central Connecticut State at the JMA Dome. The next two days will bring more grief, with calling hours for Gerard McNamara set for Tuesday and the funeral scheduled for Wednesday morning.
“Yeah, tomorrow’s going to be really hard,” McNamara said. “Wednesday’s going to be really hard.
The next 48 hours are going to be tough. But then I get to turn around and do this again on Thursday.
“So then I’ll get angry and forget about it for a minute.”
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