Loudonville, N.Y. — The summer is here and the Siena Men’s Basketball team is back on campus, hard at work during their offseason workouts. This Saints group, filled with returners and seven new faces (three from the transfer portal) are a month into a summer program built on getting better day-by-day.
Head coach Gerry McNamara enters year two at the helm a little different than he did this past summer. Instead of building a roster and coaching staff from the ground up, GMac has been able to hit the ground running at practice with a group he knows what to expect of. Year one under coach McNamara could be seen as a success in some way and room for improvement in others. The Saints went from a (4-28) record to (14-18) yet left wins on the table, falling in five one-possession games.
Last year, GMac was vocal about never quitting and showing the fight night in and night out. McNamara spoke to us on Tuesday morning telling us that the fight isn’t good enough headed into this next season. The standard has gone from competing to finding ways to win the games that they had lost in 2024-25 because they were unable to finish. The goal for this group remains the same, win 20 games and earn a spot in the Big Dance by winning the MAAC Tournament.
With the experience coming back this season, comes the expectations. Coach McNamara hasn’t shied away from it and his group knows it as well that they have to take another “big jump” this season.
One potential added game this year could be against GMac’s alma mater, Syracuse. With the ACC going from a 20 to 18-game conference schedule, members have the chance to add to their non-conference list of opponents. Syracuse added a game already against Binghamton, but a slot is still open for a potential meeting with the Saints.
When asked about the possibility of playing Syracuse, a team McNamara won a National Championship with in 2003 and then coached under Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim for 15 years, McNamara said “that’d be nice, wouldn’t it. We’ll see. We’ll see if they’ll play. We’ll see.”
Camp continues through the rest of the month for Siena. Preseason training will begin in the fall.