The Syracuse Orange football team suffered its second loss of the season last Thursday and around these parts that can only mean one thing: it’s time to answer the clarion call from our editorial staff and start writing basketball stories immediately.
That brings Syracuse basketball to the forefront as the program ushers in its ninth head coach of all-time to begin its 127th season. March marked a news-heavy month and welcomed a whirlwind of change as Syracuse basketball underwent its second leadership change in three years. Adrian Autry was let go at Syracuse after three seasons without an NCAA Tournament appearance.
After leading Siena to the NCAA Tournament in his second season with the Saints, Gerry McNamara makes his return to Syracuse, this time as the head coach of his alma mater. The newly minted Syracuse coach let the fanbase know he’s here to win. He constructed a roster and staff in short order with the idea of continuity — or a “multi-year build” — in mind.
As basketball season draws closer, here are some of the biggest storylines to look for as the 2026-2027 Syracuse season begins under new leadership.
Can Syracuse fans take back the dome?
Syracuse basketball’s average attendance fell to 17,726 in 2025-26, the lowest attendance figure in over 20 years. That would be impressive by college basketball standards (sixth highest nationally), but strikingly deficient by Syracuse basketball norms.
With McNamara back in the fold and new life injected into the program, will Syracuse fans respond by taking back the dome to support a program legend? At its best, the dome is daunting for opponents with raucous, oversized crowds at scale uniting to form one of college basketball’s most unique home court advantages. At its worst, 9pm mid-week tip times in snowstorms with middling teams churn out crowd sizes under 15k, making the cavernous dome give off a pickup basketball feel.
The days of 35,000 fans showing up to the dome for basketball are behind us. Basketball’s capacity is 30,219 following the chairback seating installation in 2024 but Syracuse hasn’t eclipsed 30k fans for a single game since 2022.
Can Syracuse fans get back to the median, with strong crowds and average attendance back over 20k for the first time in three years?
Syracuse’s competitive ability with the Carolina schools and the top of the ACC
In the last half decade specifically, the gap has widened between Syracuse and the top of the ACC. The Orange has suffered disappointing drubbings on national television against Duke and North Carolina.
Syracuse’s NIL resources were believed to be middle of the pack in the conference the previous three years, and that’s about where Syracuse has finished record wise. The Orange are believed to have upped the ante this year in spending, but so has everyone else.
Can McNamara do more with the less? It will be interesting to see if Siena’s near defeat of Duke in the NCAA Tournament serves as a one-off or a positive sign of things to come of McNamara’s coaching ability. You can bet Syracuse assistant Ben Lee will have a game plan in place.
Kiyan Anthony legacy
It’s not just that Kiyan Anthony is back at Syracuse for a second season. He’s also back playing for his father’s teammate on the 2003 National Championship team. We’re talking in decades when it comes to relational trust between McNamara and Carmelo Anthony.
The younger Anthony has added significant muscle to his frame this offseason with noticeable development in upper body strength. He’s listed at 198 lbs, up from 185 lbs as a freshman. Anthony’s talent is obvious — we know he’s highly skilled offensively, and especially crafty in one-on-one scenarios. Can he improve his play off ball and develop as a catch-and-shoot guy? Can he round out his defense to step up from a bench player his freshman season to a reliable starter/rotation player in his sophomore campaign?
Anthony will look to build upon the family legacy while working to carve out an identity beyond Carmelo’s son. Getting those aspects to work in concert with one another is no easy feat but both could be accomplished by becoming highly skilled, productive and reliable on both ends of the floor.
Local boys come home to play
Syracuse has two local prospects on its roster this season. After playing two years at Siena for McNamara, Gavin Doty followed McNamara home to Syracuse after playing high school basketball at nearby Fulton. Doty nearly became a bona fide NCAA Tournament darling a season ago when Siena went toe-to-toe with Duke.
Meanwhile, freshman guard and Chittenango native Ryan Moesch signed with Syracuse after getting his release from Siena. What the (listed) 6-foot point guard lacks in stature he makes up for with craft — he’s a shifty guard with good speed, passing ability and creativity off the bounce. In an interview with ESPN Radio Syracuse, McNamara has already stated he expects Moesch to back up Garwey Dual at point guard.
“Backup point guard? Ryan Moesch is as pure a point guard as you’re going to find,” McNamara said. “I know guys will question his ability. I’m not. I don’t care that he’s five-eleven. Watch him play.”
We’ll see how that affects things in man-to-man and switching scenarios when Syracuse goes from 6-foot-5 point guard to 6-foot-0, but as of now Moesch is expected to play a role as a freshman.
Amarri Monroe’s eligibility
Fifth-year senior Amarri Monroe was a late transfer to Syracuse this August by way of Quinnipiac. After the NCAA passed the five-in-five rule this summer — granting college athletes five years to complete five seasons of eligibility starting after their high school career ends — many high school class of 2022 players are combating the NCAA by seeking an additional season of eligibility, including Monroe.
Monroe is currently eligible to practice at Syracuse, per Mike Waters’ reporting of Syracuse.com. Syracuse has offered the 2025 MAAC Player of the Year a financial aid package worth hundreds of thousands of dollars contingent upon his eligibility, per Waters. Monroe had a hearing on Sept. 17 at New York State Supreme Court in Syracuse in which the judge did not issue a ruling as of that day. State Supreme Court Justice Jean Marie Westlake granted Monroe a temporary restraining order allowing him to practice with the team, but a final written decision on Monroe’s eligibility is pending.
Whether Monroe, a 6-foot-7 forward who averaged 15.6 points and 8.3 rebounds per game last season, will officially be able to suit up and participate in games for the Orange is something to monitor.
Style of play and “positional size”
McNamara has the 2-3 zone is in toolkit, but Syracuse fans should expect to see a predominantly man-to-man defensive team. Interestingly, this team seems tailor made for zone given its length and positional size. Outside of Moesch, every player on the roster is 6-foot-5 or taller. But if you could be a good zone defensive team, you could also be a good man-to-man defensive team.
Tempo is less of a consideration. McNamara prefers the word “efficient.” Siena played mostly at a slower pace last season in a halfcourt game with methodic pace. It could also be argued that the slowed tempo was due to a shortened rotation.
Nevertheless, every competitor looks to find an edge and McNamara seems to identified his: this Syracuse team has the makings of a roster that wants to muck it up and turn games into a defensive battles. With top dollars being allocated to big time scorers and offensive players, Syracuse is looking for value in positional size and defense. The thought is McNamara’s coaching and leadership style can elevate the team to something more than the sum of its parts.
Plus, McNamara knows Syracuse better than anyone. Grit won’t be a hard sell to the fanbase.
“This is a blue collar town. There are hard-working people in this community. They deserve a group that plays the way that they are in the community. We owe that to them,” McNamara said.
Return of the Mack
McNamara wouldn’t like to make this about himself, but this is the storyline heading into the season. Syracuse basketball is in a five-year NCAA Tournament drought and its most beloved son has returned with the hope to elevate the program to relevance. Can McNamara lead his alma mater back to the promised land? Keep in mind the NCAA Tournament expands from 68 to 76 teams in 2027.
As the fanbase has grown more apathetic in recent years, it will be interesting to see whether fans give McNamara patience or whether they expect him to win right away. There are more headwinds at Syracuse and much larger challenges in college athletics than just who occupies the head coaching seat for the Orange basketball program.
Beyond that, what is Syracuse basketball and what kind of non-Boeheim led program can Syracuse basketball become in the modern college basketball landscape? We’re left to hang out in the question as the program navigates the uncertainty of succession and the subsequent messy middle period of a major coaching transition.