Gerry McNamara coached Syracuse to a victory in his debut as Orange head coach on Monday night, albeit with a heavy heart after losing his father to cancer just days earlier at age 78.
Syracuse defeated the New Haven Chargers 74-58 in the season opener, but the victory was overshadowed at times by the fact that McNamara’s father, Gerald McNamara, was unable to be there in person.
“This has been a tough week for our family and the first person here tonight will be my dad,” McNamara said. “Everyone who knows me knows that. I was hurt a little bit this week. Obviously I’m going to be hurt for a while, maybe forever, so I appreciate everybody who’s reaching out.”
“It’s going to be a tough night tonight when I think back to not having him with me for the first time today,” the new Syracuse coach added, before appearing to have to suppress some of his emotions.
Gerald McNamara died on Saturday after a third bout with cancer.
McNamara told reporters he gets emotional at times but tries to keep it private.
“The national anthem reminds me a little bit of him and his service,” McNamara said of his father, who served in the Marine Corps. “I try to separate it a little bit. I can only focus on the team when I’m around the team. That’s the necessary distraction. My mom was here tonight and I think it was probably a little bit of a distraction for her as well.
“Tomorrow is going to be tough. Wednesday is going to be tough. The next 48 hours are going to be tough, but Thursday I’m going to turn around and do it again and then I’m going to get angry and forget about it for a while.”
The Orange outscored New Haven 39-17 in the first half and their opponents outscored them in the second half, but the game remained out of reach for the NEC program.
Syracuse shot 39.3% from the field and 28.6% from three-point range in the win.
McNamara was a member of Syracuse’s 2003 national championship team and was part of the coaching staff before becoming Siena’s head coach.
He was hired in March to reinstate the Syracuse basketball program.