McNamara Ditches Zone, Syracuse Basketball's New Era

0:00On April 29, Syracuse Men's basketball has been down bad, missing the NCAA tournament for the last five seasons after years as a top program. They just made a big move, hiring Orange Legend Jerry McNamara as the new head coach to turn things around. McNamara comes off a solid-run at Sienna, where he almost pulled off a huge upset against top-seated Duke and the tournament, that near-wind showed his coaching chops and got fans excited about what he could do back home. McNamara runs buzzing because Jim Bohyme's famous two-three zone defense defines Syracuse for decades, wrecking opponents and building that championship. Squad back in 2003, fans want to know if McNamara will keep that tradition alive. On Tuesday, he shut that down quick, saying they won't run it primarily this season. At Sienna, he only switched to it when the game needed a shake-up, like late against Duke, and he'll practice it in short bursts over summer and fall. Just to have a ready of needed, the roster is loaded with long athletic wings and big perfect for the zone anyway, so it's in their pocket.

1:03McNamara is carving his own lane out of Bohyme's shadow, and with this fresh energy, Syracuse looks primed to climb back up in Central New York.