Gerry McNamara

McNamara exploded for a career-high 55 points (41 in the first half), putting him in 2nd place for the most points scored in a basketball game in PIAA history, as the Golden Lancers advanced to the Class AA championship game, 83-76.

Three days later his 32 points led all scorers as Hannan held off Sto-Rox High School and won the Class AA state title, 70-68.

Gerry McNamara (born August 28, 1983) is an American former basketball player and current associate head coach of the Syracuse University men's basketball team.

The team also went to the finals his sophomore season and finished the state runner-up in both 1999 and 2000 to Kennedy Christian High School of Hermitage, Pennsylvania.

After and before, but not during the 1999 and 2000 seasons, Bishop Hannan was named under the AA class of PIAA.

McNamara was named the Lackawanna League Division II Player of the Year for four years in a row, was a three-time Associated Press Pennsylvania Small School All-State First Team selection and was the AP's Pennsylvania State Player of the Year in 2001 and 2002.

McNamara finished as Pennsylvania's seventh all-time leading scorer with 2,917 points.

He still holds the scoring record at Holy Cross.

Bishop Hannan advanced to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class A championship game after defeating Susquehanna Community High School of Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, in the semi-finals of his freshman year.

In 2001 the Golden Lancers were defeated by eventual PIAA Class AA champion Trinity High School of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, in the Eastern Final.

A former guard for the Orange, he never missed a start in his career which lasted from 2002 to 2006.

After McNamara graduated in 2002, the school, and all the neighboring Bishop schools except Bishop Hoban, went back to A for population reasons.

In 2002 Bishop Hannan and Trinity met once again in the Eastern Final.

Following his senior season, McNamara was named the 2002 Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year and a fourth-team Parade Magazine All-American.

He also helped lead the team to the 2003 national title.

After graduating from Syracuse, McNamara played professionally for Panionios BC, Olympiacos BC, the Bakersfield Jam, BK Ventspils, and the Reno Bighorns.

McNamara helped Syracuse win its first Basketball National Championship in 2003.

McNamara started every game in his freshman year, helping lead the Orange to a 30-5 record, including a perfect 17-0 at home.

He averaged 13 points, 4.6 assists and 2.2 steals a game while shooting 35 percent from 3-point range and 91 percent from the foul line.

McNamara showed early on that he was a clutch performer, nailing a game-winning 3-pointer as then-No.

17 Syracuse notched an 82-80 win over then-No.

10 Notre Dame in February.

In a March game at Georgetown, McNamara missed a free-throw with 10 seconds left that allowed the Hoyas to force overtime.

Until that point, McNamara had been a perfect 41-for-41 in conference play.

However, McNamara made up for his miss, hitting two 3-pointers and adding another jumper in an 11-3 run to start overtime as Syracuse beat Mike Sweetney and the Georgetown Hoyas, 93-84.

Ten of McNamara's 22 came in overtime.

In the NCAA Tournament second-round game against Oklahoma State, McNamara scored 14 points and added six assists as the Orangemen overcame a 13-point first-half deficit.

In the semi-final game against T. J. Ford and the University of Texas, the Orangemen won 95-84 behind a career-high 33 points from Carmelo Anthony and 19 points and four steals from McNamara.

In the title game versus favored University of Kansas, his six three-pointers during the first half shootout helped propel Syracuse to an 18-point lead over the Jayhawks.

In the second half, Kansas used a pressing defense to throttle the Syracuse offense.

For his high school accomplishments, McNamara was also named the 20th greatest athlete in Scranton-area history by the Scranton Times in 2004.

McNamara had offers from schools such as Duke and Florida, but chose to attend Syracuse.

He married Katie Marie Stott on July 21, 2007.

McNamara attended Bishop Hannan High School (Now Holy Cross High School) under head coach John Bucci.

In his four seasons at Hannan, the Golden Lancers compiled a record of 109-17.

In 2007, when the school combined with Bishop O'Hara of Dunmore, Pennsylvania, the new school called Holy Cross High School, was put in the AA class.

In 2009, McNamara announced his retirement as a player and returned to Syracuse as a graduate student and assistant coach.

McNamara was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

He is the youngest of the four children of Joyce and Gerard McNamara.

He has a brother, Timothy, and two sisters, Bridget and Maureen.