Something a little more personal from Nunes’ NEPA rep
A crowd of 8,209 would look very meager inside the Carrier Dome, but on the final Tuesday night of 2005, it was easier to consider that crowd to be the group that didn’t have to make the two-and-a-half-hour drive up I-81 for a Syracuse Orange basketball game.
Instead, they packed like sardines into the then-Wachovia Arena, filling the building to watch their hometown hero and National Champion suit up for SU. And did he ever deliver.
Gerry McNamara – affectionately known as the “Prince of Scranton” – put up a stat line of 20 points, seven assists, and five steals in his return home, leading Syracuse to an 86-52 victory over Towson. His first make of the night was one of four trifectas, giving the Orange an early 9-0 lead. After a shaky stretch that tied the game at 11, Gerry and SU settled in and took control for the rest of the night.
I was much too young myself to have a personal stake in the game, but it’s an understatement to say the opposite was true for many in attendance. Professional sports in Northeast Pennsylvania were on the rise in the early 2000s, and Gerry’s emergence as a college basketball legend only added to that trend.
The Arena where the game was played was still relatively new: opened in 1999 as the normal home of the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, it quickly became one of the rowdiest hockey barns in the league, selling out a record 39 games in 2001-02. Not far away, the core of the ‘08 World Champion Phillies was working their way up with the AAA Red Barons. Both were special in their own right, but this event was something different – a chance to see true homegrown talent on display.
“It’s great for the area and for Gerry to go back home and play,” Syracuse Head Coach Jim Boeheim said leading up to the game. “They love Gerry and for good reason. He’s the kind of player that everybody likes. He goes out and gives it everything he’s got every game.”
It didn’t end up being the flashiest game of G-Mac’s career, but it was still another massive win for the region. Both Boeheim and Towson coach Pat Kennedy sung their praises for the welcoming environment and the facility. Another local product, freshman guard Tim Crossin, suited up for the Tigers as well.
Tonight, Gerry returns to the since-renamed Mohegan Arena, this time as a coach. He and his Siena Saints face off against the Patriot League’s Bucknell Bison in the first D1 basketball game played there since his late Christmas gift in ‘05. It may not be packed like last time, but the sentiment stays the same.
“I am so excited to bring Siena Basketball to compete in my hometown in my first year as head coach,” McNamara said in a press release. “It’s an incredible area of passionate sports fans, and those people helped raise me. Any chance I get to come back home is a blessing, but this opportunity is very special.”