Has Gerry McNamara quietly built a better roster than Syracuse fans realize?
It’s one of the biggest debates surrounding the Orange this offseason. Some fans see a team without high-major talent.
Others see a roster built for modern college basketball. Now one of the nation’s most respected talent evaluators is weighing in.
CBS Sports Director of Basketball Scouting Adam Finkelstein had perhaps the most encouraging assessment Syracuse fans have heard yet on Cuse Sports Talk.
“I think his roster build was really smart.”
That’s a significant endorsement from an analyst who has studied the college basketball offseason.
Finkelstein isn’t evaluating Syracuse as a fan or local media member. He scouts talent across the country, compare rosters nationally and understand how teams are being assembled in the NIL era.
His conclusion?
McNamara and company have a strategy despite limited resources.
“I think what you see is a roster that clearly did not have elite buying power.”
The Orange simply weren’t shopping in the same financial aisle as college basketball’s biggest spenders.
“They weren’t going out and paying $5 million for a center like a lot of the true national elite programs.”
Instead, McNamara built around a different philosophy.
“I think Gerry McNamara really emphasized positional size, really emphasized defense.”
The Fizz has documented this roster strategy as it happened.
Rather than chasing one expensive superstar, Syracuse spread its resources across a roster filled with size, versatility and switchable defenders.
Finkelstein specifically pointed to the size of Syracuse’s guards.
Garwey Dual. Gavin Doty. Kiyan Anthony. Tobias Bass.
“I think they’re going to be very switchable.”
The most revealing part of Finkelstein’s evaluation, though, came when he explained the long-term strategy.
“I think this is going to be a gradual build for Syracuse.”
“So I think his roster build was really smart… he’s got to overachieve relative to his resources and try to get more resources with each passing year.”
Win above your payroll. Generate excitement. Grow NIL.
Grow the roster. Develop talent. Build winning tendencies.
