Syracuse basketball legend Gerry McNamara joins The Knicks Blog’s Anthony Donahue to talk about Orange and Knicks basketball on SNY.tv’s The Knicks Blog Radio. McNamara joins the show at the 18:15 minute mark.
Here are the highlights from the interview:
The Knicks Blog: Can you tell us little bit about what you look for in a recruit?
Gerry McNamara: For us, we recruit so uniquely. With coach’s zone, and our system, length and athleticism are at a premium. When we’ve been really good is when we’ve had length, athleticism, and really skilled players. That’s where we’ve caught on with the quote unquote niche guys. Guys that come in and aren’t necessarily a top ten kid, we’ve been able to get those players as well, but we’ve made a living getting kids and they come in and work. They pay their dues and develop from a skills standpoint. We’ve watched Dion Waiters and Michael Carter-Williams both go through freshman years where they don’t play all that much. But they spend the year getting better and learning the system and improving their skills, getting stronger, and then their next year after they did that, they go out a chance to go out there and play. In a lot of ways, we’re so unique in our system and how we play, that we look for some things, and we look at a guy and say, ‘That’s a Syracuse kid.’ And I think that’s a great thing, and it almost recruits itself. You have people that say to a kid, ‘You would look good in Syracuse’s program.’ We look for that. Skill set. Length. Athleticism. It’s translated so well in what we’ve been able to do.
TKB: Tell us about the new guys coming in.
GM: We feel like we have two freshman who can come in and make a big job. I think Kaleb Joseph, he’s got some things to learn, but he’s got that athleticism and that explosive athletic style like Jonny Flynn. Obviously there’s going to be some bumps and bruises coming in as a freshman point guard. Chris McCullough from the four position is as talented and as skilled as any player I’ve watched coming out of high school. His development is all going to depend on how hard he works and how he matures on the basketball court. His body is going to get physically stronger and he’s got as much potential as anyone we’ve been around. So we’re excited. We’ve got some pieces moving forward that can really help us.
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Rundown:
1. McNamara joins the program at 18:15
2. Remembering McNamara’s days at Syracuse
3. What’s it like being a Syracuse assistant coach?
4. What do you look for when you recruit a player?
5. Talk about some of the new players coming in this year
6. Did Tyler Ennis leave too early?
7. Why did you not continue your professional career?
8. Do you want to become a head coach?
9. Looking back at the 2002-03 championship season
10. Thoughts on Carmelo Anthony
11. What kind of players would you surround Carmelo with?
12. How does he fit in the triangle offense?
13. Thoughts on Adrian Wojnarowski ripping pro players in the Olympics
14. Can St. John’s rise again?
» Related: New Jersey is critical recruiting ground for Syracuse football
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