Everything just didn’t go according to plan for Syracuse basketball under Adrian Autry as head coach and it led to a major change this offseason. The Orange finished just 15-17 last season, ending up in 14th place in the ACC for a second year in a row. As a result, former Syracuse star Gerry McNamara is back in western New York to take the helm after significant work with the Orange as a player and assistant, alongside his recent success at Siena.
Things will look pretty different moving forward for the Orange, giving McNamara and his new staff plenty to do in the offseason. Naithan George and Donnie Freeman were two notable departures into the transfer portal while fellow double-digit scorers Nate Kingz and JJ Starling are out of eligbility. The most notable returners are rising sophomores Kiyan Anthony and Sadiq White, though thankfully there’s new talent around them.
The Orange nabbed some intriguing young pieces, especially a few international prospects for the frontcourt. They also grabbed some very ready athletes from the transfer portal, including Appalachian State center Luke Wilson and Temple guard Aiden Tobiason. Garwey Dual comes from McNeese State and looks like a contributor at the point while McNamara grabbed a few players with him from Siena, including young forward Francis Folefac.
Native of New York
Perhaps the most critical of those additions is another guy very familiar with McNamara’s work in Gavin Doty. A 6-5 wing out of Fulton, New York, he spent his first two collegiate seasons with McNamara at Siena, jumping into the starting lineup as a freshman before really developing last year. Doty is fresh off a sophomore season where he put up 18.0 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. He was named First Team All-MAAC and spearheaded Siena’s postseason push, becoming the MAAC Tournament MVP.
Syracuse now sports a sizeable lineup full of interesting talent and Doty might be the most important of the bunch. The MAAC’s top scorer has plenty of familiarity with exactly what McNamara wants to run back at Syracuse and he’ll likely maintain a huge role in the offense heading into his junior year. He might not necessarily be putting up 18 points a game in the ACC, but Doty certainly has the talent to be a major playmaker for this new-look team.
We are far from able to figure out how things will play out for the Orange this season, but with these additions it’s fair to be hopeful. This is a Syracuse squad that should avoid another 14th place plummet, but a lot will depend on how Doty and these other newcomers adjust into this new program and new system. Can Doty become a leader and help bring Syracuse to the Big Dance much like he just did with the Saints?
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