Gerry McNamara Says 'Loyalty' and 'Love' Drew Him to Siena

Two weeks ago, the Siena Saints made an announcement about the future of their men's basketball program:

The hiring of long-time Syracuse assistant Gerry McNamara, 40, came on the heels of the dismissal of Carm Maciariello. That news broke on March 20th, and by March 29th, the Saints had found their new coach.

Given the rapid pace of the college athletics world, with the transfer portal and NIL money constantly impacting one's ability to build a roster, Siena had to act quickly, and given the quick turnaround time, they did an outstanding job in my opinion.

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Days later, Coach McNamara was welcomed to the Capital Region through an introductory press conference held at MVP Arena, the home of the Saints. You can watch his introductory speech by clicking the link below.

After the press conference was over, it was time to get to work, and McNamara began to assemble his staff. Rumors are floating around that Ben Lee and Ryan Blackwell may both be part of that staff.

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With all of that in mind, we were honored to welcome Coach McNamara onto The Drive with Dan Bahl on Tuesday afternoon. Among other topics, we discussed why he chose Siena as his next destination, and how NIL and the transfer portal will impact him as the leader of this program.

Here is the recording of our conversation with Coach McNamara:

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