Siena's Gerry McNamara takes spotlight on odd day for Syracuse basketball future

For fans of Syracuse basketball, Tuesday has the potential to be a very weird day.

The Orange play at 4:30 p.m. in the opening round of the ACC Tournament. They're a 14-seed, taking on 11-seed SMU, in a game that could be the last one for head coach Adrian Autry if SU is eliminated.

Then at 9 p.m., Siena takes on Merrimack in the MAAC Championship Game, with the winner earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Siena is coached by Syracuse legend Gerry McNamara, who was an assistant on SU's staff before taking the head-coaching gig there.

Syracuse's tourney drought will continue unless it pulls off the stunner of all stunners and runs the table at the ACC Tournament.

Meanwhile, G-Mac is on the verge of dancing himself.

It's all a bit confusing for Syracuse fans.

Some are hoping that McNamara is the next head coach, assuming Autry is dismissed. Others want to see the Orange go outside the program's alumni network and find someone totally fresh, hoping that new ideas can rescue SU from the pit it has found itself in.

Autry made sense at the time to be the successor to Jim Boeheim, but it simply hasn't worked. 

Does McNamara leading Siena to the verge of the NCAA Tournament qualify him to be a worthy replacement? That's up to those making the decisions to decide.

And oh yeah, Syracuse is still looking for its new athletic director with John Wildhack retiring. That doesn't make this process any easier.

The Orange were a consistent contender for a long time under Boeheim. They won their lone national title in large part because a freshman from Scranton named Gerry McNamara hit six 3-pointers in the first half of the championship game against Kansas. 

Now, Syracuse is scuffling, McNamara is thriving a few hours east, and SU has to figure out what the future of its basketball program looks like.

Yep, it should be a fascinating Tuesday in early March.

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