A lot of first-year Syracuse students have personal Web sites — after all, many computer classes require them.

Not many people at Syracuse, though, have their own fan Web sites. But Gerry McNamara does.

McNamara, a freshman guard on the Syracuse men’s basketball team, didn’t devote the Web site to his high school career at Bishop Hannan High in Scranton, Pa., but he did craft the legacy that earned him the following of the town.

Now, the 6-foot-2 sharpshooter simply hopes to provide some new highlight-reel content for his site (http://gerrymcnamara.tripod.com/gerry.htm). The site — maintained by a friend of McNamara’s older brother — is a hodgepodge of pictures, recruiting information and season recaps set upon a parquet background.

As McNamara sees it, his little spot on the Internet only represents his folklore legend in Scranton, a town of 75,000 that bestowed its finest basketball prospect with minor-celebrity status.

“I liked the attention — I think that a lot of players veer from it, but it’s something that I take pride in,” McNamara said. “The way I was raised, I knew how to handle the attention. I knew I had to keep myself out of trouble, but that was always pretty easy for me.”

McNamara found another skill equally natural. Though the first scrimmage is more than a month away, McNamara’s three-point-shooting ability is already being lauded as the best to come through SU in years.

With his perimeter game last year, McNamara led his high school to the Class 2A state title, averaging 23.6 points. In one state playoff game, he exploded for 55 points — 41 of which came in the first half.

“I love hitting the three, but to be a good player you have to do other things well, too,” McNamara said. “A lot of people say I’m a three-point shooter just because I can make the three. I don’t like the label because that’s just one aspect of the game.”

Still, it’s the one that sticks out most.

“He can shoot from anywhere,” senior Kueth Duany said. “He’s a natural.”

McNamara and Duany will be among those competing for a starting job in the backcourt. And beyond leadership, differences between the two abound.

McNamara is the jump-shot marksman who could be prone to a rookie lapses on defense. Duany is the active, long-armed defender who sometimes struggles to find his shot.

“We’ve only got nine (scholarship players), and I have a lot of confidence in all of them,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. “When you only have nine players, all of them are going to play a lot — it doesn’t necessarily matter who is starting.”

Just don’t tell that to anyone who has McNamara’s Web site bookmarked.

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Cue the Jeopardy music …

With the regular season yet to start, the player that Syracuse coaches —and fans — are watching most closely doesn’t even don the orange and blue.

Terrence Roberts falls under the most scrutiny as a 6-foot-8, 210-pound senior at St. Anthony High in Jersey City, N.J., whom SU targets as its final recruit this year.

Roberts is the last blue-chipper on SU’s wish list, and a commitment from the talented power forward would alleviate the coaches’ anxiety that’s become a byproduct of waiting for his final decision.

“Right now, Syracuse and Virginia are the two top choices,” Roberts said yesterday.

Roberts is scheduled to visit Maryland in two weekends, where he’ll attend Midnight Madness, a rally signaling the start of basketball practices.

St. Anthony head coach Bob Hurley encourages his players to conclude all official visits before making a decision. In this case, Hurley said, the decision might not come until Roberts and his high school teammates open their season in late November.

“To make the recruiting process fair, I think you have to make all your visits and weigh all your options,” Hurley said. “Since the beginning, he’s liked Syracuse. They’ve put in the most effort in recruiting him.

“Other schools may be creeping up on his list, but he’s still strongest about Syracuse, I think.”

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Trivia Question

During his senior season in high school, McNamara scored in double-digits every game he played. Who was the last Syracuse player to go an entire season scoring at least 10 points in every contest?

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Walk on down

Two walk-ons, yet to make the team, have been practicing with Syracuse since the start of the school year.

Josh Brooks and Gary Hall, both juniors and 6-foot-5 small forwards, work out with the Orangemen almost every day after classes, playing in scrimmages and sometimes simply waiting on the sideline to spell a player who needs rest.

“I’d say that we’re getting better and better,” said Hall, who attended nearby Tully High. “I mean, that’s what happens when you play with these guys. Carmelo (Anthony) could be in the NBA right now, and instead, he’s playing with us.”

Although this is Hall’s first year trying out for the team, Brooks is pursuing a walk-on spot for the third consecutive time.

“It’s not frustrating,” Brooks said. “This is something you have to enjoy doing, and I have a lot of fun with it. We’ll just see what happens when the rosters are posted.”

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This and that

The basketball team will hold official walk-on tryouts Oct. 12 at 2 p.m. at Manley Field House. All participants must be current SU students. … Game times for all SU games have now been announced. Eighteen of the team’s 27 games will be played in the evening, at either 7 or 7:30. … Over the weekend, the basketball team played its annual staff vs. players softball game. The staff, which includes coaches, team managers and former players, powered its way to a 21-20 come-from-behind win, helped by an Allen Griffin home run. Boeheim, the 27-year head coach, manned third base for the staff squad.

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Trivia answer

In 1995-96, John Wallace scored in double figures during all 38 of SU’s games. No Orangeman has accomplished the feat since.

Published on October 1, 2002 at 12:00 pm