WOW: Gerry McNamara Makes A SPLASH | Syracuse Basketball Adds ELITE European Mark Morano Mahmutovič

Hey everyone, this is Ross Jackson, one of the hosts of the Lockdown Podcast Network.

If your group chats been a little quiet lately, I want to invite you to come and join

ours.

If you sign up for the everydayer club, you get access to the members' only group chats

for your favorite teams, plus national chats for every sport, personally I love watching

folks talk a little smack in the NFC South Trash Talk Chat.

You also get an ad-free version of your favorite Lockdown show and a whole lot more.

You can check it out by tapping the everydayer club link in the show notes.

It's the first edition of the Jerry McNamara era and this one seems pretty significant.

You are Lockdown Syracuse, your daily podcast on the Syracuse Orange, part of the Lockdown

Podcast Network, your team every day.

Hi everyone, Jackson Holzer, Lockdown Syracuse, Monday, April 6th and I don't know about you,

but I'm actually feeling quite well about Syracuse, basketball, Nathan George is entering

the portal.

Best wishes to him.

We'll talk about that later on in the show, plus more players will probably enter the

portal in the coming hours and days as well.

So that's part of the reason why I'm in a pretty optimistic mood.

Jerry McNamara added a couple of assistants to his coaching staff, which I think you know

by now.

I'm not someone who overreacts or underreacts to assistants, but still adds two more people

to the staff, one of which we're ready familiar with.

We'll talk about that later on in the show, but first and foremost, the Jerry McNamara

era is officially underway with the first edition for next year's Syracuse basketball

roster.

And no, it is not someone that we could have predicted here on Lockdown Syracuse.

It is not a former Sienna player.

It is not yet Gavin Doty or it's not yet Francis Falafack or it's not Ryan Mesh officially

out of high school.

It's actually a European commit, and it is Slovenian forward Mark Moreno Mamutovic.

And it seems like this could be an actual significant addition for Syracuse basketball.

I think the caveat in this whole ordeal is that this is an international player.

This is a player that's playing in Europe.

We have never actually seen him play nor do we have a significant number of stouting reports,

but there are some stouting reports which we'll get to in a second here.

It's not like you get someone at a high school and you know, like, hey, this is a top

10 player in the country or hey, you get someone in the portal.

This is a top 10 player in the portal.

You kind of know what to expect international.

It could be amazing, but there is that unknown factor, which is really the only reason why

I am holding back maybe a little bit.

But overall, I am really excited about this edition of Mark Moreno Mamutovic.

I hope I'm saying his name right, by the way, I think I am.

This was first reported by Jonathan Devoney of Draft Express and later confirmed by

both Syracuse.com and 24-7 Sports's Mike McAllister.

Here's the info about Syracuse's first edition of the Jerry McNamara era.

He is 19 years old.

He is six foot seven.

He is either a guard or a forward.

We actually don't have an official weight that is listed with him, although if you've actually

seen some highlights of him, and no, I'm not saying, hey, the highlights are the gospel

of him.

But if you see some highlights and you just look at his figure, it looks like someone

who can handle being in high major college basketball.

So that's a long-winded way of me saying, I think his weight isn't a hold up just fine

at the next level.

He is considered to be one of the top 2007 European basketball prospects.

As far as the caliber of player is concerned, this is the headline from Jonathan Devoney,

quote, think McDonald's all American caliber high school recruit from Europe.

Big time start to the GMAC era at Syracuse.

This is coming from NBA Draft Point, a freelance international stout with a good social media

following, quote, has real NBA draft potential last year as a player who's stored at a high

level and has been very productive as a shooter slash store pretty much everywhere he has played

at.

Personally, one of my favorite watches overseas and arguably a top five international

pick up in this cycle.

I have been known on this show from time to time to be pretty negative.

And from time to time, I feel that it is warranted considering the results of Syracuse basketball

over the past few years.

But I'm being positive here.

I am being positive.

This doesn't sound like a insignificant move.

This doesn't sound like, oh, yeah, this is someone who's coming from Europe or coming

from international and, you know, let's just see what happens.

You know what?

He's probably going to be coming off the bench, maybe he'll show some flashes, he'll show

some potential and we'll all be on with on our merry way, something like that.

This sounds like a player who could potentially be the focal point of Syracuse basketball,

maybe even as soon as next season.

This sounds like someone who's got all conference potential lined up with him.

So yes, ladies and gentlemen, when it is warranted, I am going to be optimistic about

Syracuse basketball and this seems like a very good start to the Jerry McNamara era and

shout out to the mystery general manager that Syracuse basketball seems to have in place.

More on that in just a moment here later on in the show.

I shouldn't have said just a moment, but you get the idea later on in the show, we'll

talk about the GM position.

Now, I've told you about the caliber of player that stouts are saying Mark Morano, Mamutovitch

is.

What can he actually do?

What is the profile of him?

Based on the stouting reports that are out there, he is an all around offensive player.

Think someone that can store it all three levels on the court.

He's someone that can catch and shoot.

He's someone that can store off the dribble.

Oh, by the way, did I mention he can shoot, which is pretty important.

How should know this by now about me when we're evaluating players for Syracuse basketball?

There are two main questions that I asked about any player.

Number one, can you shoot?

Number one, can he defend?

If you can do both, hey, you need to pay that guy.

If you can do one, you hold some value, but obviously it's not perfect.

If you can do neither, well, you need to be special.

You need to be able to overcome the fact that you can't shoot and you can't defend.

Those are two of the most important aspects of basketball, shooting and defending.

Well this guy can shoot.

He's got a career, 39% 3.0% over in Europe, and at the 2025 FIBA U-18 Euro-Based Detonement,

which I believe took place last summer, here were his numbers.

For 20 points per game that was second in the tournament, 60% field goal shooting, 49%

3 point shooting, 79% from the line, also two rebounds, one assist, and one steal.

Did I mention that Mark Morano-Mamutovic can shoot the basketball?

Pretty important, that's why it could be a good addition for Syracuse basketball.

He's not perfect.

This is not a generational talent, or at least I don't think he's a generational talent,

maybe he is, but he's not perfect.

Even generational talents are not technically perfect, so let's get into it.

He's not considered to be a good rebounder or a good defender, and he's also not the

greatest athlete to begin with, which kind of goes hand in hand with the fact that he's

not a good defender or rebounder, because you kind of need to be pretty athletic to be

a good defender and a good rebounder.

But I don't think we're really going to mind Syracuse fans, if this is someone that can

walk into Syracuse next year, average 15 points per game, and shoot 40% from the three

point line.

Not saying that that is what is going to happen, although that would be outstanding, but

if someone could shoot at a high level and store at a high level, we'll be okay with

someone who's maybe not the greatest rebounder, and maybe not the greatest defender either,

because you can get other players that can do those things, but you need someone who can

really shoot and can store at a high level.

Think of it this way.

When was the last time Syracuse fans that this team and their leading store was someone

who could legitimately shoot the basketball?

Think about it for a moment.

For me, it's either Joe Gerard or Buddy behind.

Guys that could store a lot of points, but could also shoot at a very high level as well.

Most if not all of Syracuse's leading stores over the past few seasons were guys that,

yeah, they could store a lot of points, but they were not players who can shoot.

Some of those players include, but are not limited to, JJ Starling, Donnie Freeman, and

I don't want to loop him into this category because I think that this player is miles ahead

of both of those previous players I mentioned, but Judith Mince as well, elite store, but not

someone who can shoot the ball well from deep.

So a guy like Mark Morano, my Motovitch is someone that can store at a high level and

can also shoot at a high level.

So I sincerely hope that this is not an overreaction.

I hope that this works out.

I hope that he can live up to his profile as someone that if he was coming out of high

school, he would be considered a McDonald's all American caliber player.

I hope that he is good enough right now to where we could just pencil him in right now

as the starting small forward for Syracuse next season.

Can we do that?

Can we?

Maybe get Gavin Doty to be the starting two and then all of a sudden you have Kai and Anthony

now coming off the bench next season?

That could be pretty good for Syracuse.

And lastly, I hope that this is just the start.

I know technically like this is the start of the off season.

The portal is gonna open up at midnight.

I get it.

But what I really mean is I hope that this is just the start of the talent that Syracuse

is going to be acquiring this off season because it's good as Mark Morano, my Motovitch

can be for Syracuse.

They still need more.

Even if they're able to retain the guys that they want to retain, you know, Kai and Anthony

is coming back.

But let's say you really want to retain Sadeek White and I think that they do really want

to retain Sadeek White.

You still need more.

Go get Gavin Doty.

That'd be great.

You need more.

These tournament teams are really, really, really good.

You need some really, really good players.

Leave no doubt.

I would love if Syracuse next year could have a top 25 roster in the preseason.

I know that technically that is not what ultimately matters.

The team in 2003 was unranked heading into the season.

They won the national title.

I understand that.

But teams that are at least preseason top 25, most of the time will end up in the NCAA

tournament.

And I hope that Syracuse this off season with the talent and hopefully the NIL that they

have, that they can maybe accomplish that goal.

And this could be the start of a tremendous off season in the beginning of the Jerry

McNamara era.

What are your thoughts on this edition?

Feel free to comment right now in the comment section below.

Where do you have Mark Marano Mamutovic slotting into this lineup for next year?

I know it's early in the off season, but feel free to make your prediction in the comment

section below.

Now coming up here on locked on Syracuse, we're still talking about Syracuse.

First of all, of course, but Jerry McNamara also added two more assistance to his coaching

staff, which we'll talk about next year on locked on Syracuse.

Wayday is here.

And if you've been thinking about upgrading your space, this is the time to do it.

We were talking about some of the best deals of the year on furniture, decor, outdoor essentials,

everything you need to refresh your home.

During Wayday, Wayfair is offering up to 80% off with fast and free shipping on everything,

making it easy to find pieces that fit your style and your budget and Wayfair verified

products are vetted by specialists.

So you know you're getting quality, whether it's upgrading a room, outing outdoor pieces

or just finding something that ties your space together, it makes the whole process simple

from start to finish.

Wayday is the sale to shop the best deals in home.

We're talking up to 80% off with fast and free shipping on everything.

Head to Wayfair.com April 25th through the 27th to shop Wayday.

That's w-a-y-f-a-i-r.com Wayfair every style, every home.

Hey locked on Syracuse fans, you can get locked on Syracuse ad free with the every day

or club.

Plus, members only distort access.

You can join with the link in the description below.

Jackson Holzer locked on Syracuse.

We just went over Jerry McNamara's first addition to Syracuse's roster for next season,

Mark Morano, Mamutovitch potentially distorting small forward for the orange next season.

Now, Jerry McNamara has also been busy with adding to his coaching staff and we'll talk

about two more assistants that GMAC added that are now official from Syracuse Basketball.

The first of which we are very familiar with Syracuse fans, we'll get to them in just

a moment, but his name is Orenze Anawaku and the other one is Ben Lee following Jerry McNamara

from Siena.

Let's start off with the coach that us Syracuse fans know quite well, Orenze Anawaku.

He played for Syracuse from 2005 to 2010 and those 09 and 2010 teams were the beginning

of the last dominant stretch of Syracuse basketball.

That six year run that they had in the early to mid 2010s where they were a four-seater

better in every single year, they made the final four in 2013.

This is not a history lesson for you all ladies and gentlemen, but rather the last time

that Syracuse basketball was truly dominant, Orenze Anawaku was part of those early teams

of that era.

Being his departure from Syracuse, he played Pro Ball from 2011 to 2019, bouncing around

from different leagues.

He was in the NBA, he was in all sorts of international leagues as well.

He began coaching soon after his playing days were over, but his first college basketball

job came with Jerry McNamara at Siena.

He was there for both seasons with GMAC and one would figure that since Orenze Anawaku

was a pretty successful big with Syracuse basketball back when he was playing and he was

also an NBA big as well, I think we can all come to the logical conclusion that he will

be tasked with coaching the bigs for Syracuse basketball.

Or at least that is what I think.

I'm just using logic here, it is not official, it doesn't say hey, Orenze Anawaku, his

title is coaching the bigs, but since he was a big, it just makes sense.

Now, let's get to Ben Lee, Ben Lee was also with Jerry McNamara at Siena for those two seasons.

He is considered to be another rising star in the coaching ranks, similar to VCU's Ryan

Daily, who the orange hired a few days ago, we talked about him here on this show,

Lee started as a grad assistant at Washington from 2019 to 2020, then he works for made hoops

for two years, I think that's a grassroots basketball organization, it's not been college,

youth basketball, then he returned to Washington as the director of operations from 2022 to 2023.

He remained at Washington in 2023 to 2024 as an assistant coach and director of recruiting.

Jerry McNamara has given Ben Lee high praise.

In fact, he was the one that credited Ben Lee with the strategy for shutting down

conveyor Kennedy in the Mac Championship game this past season.

It was his idea to put Francis Falafack on him as the primary defender.

And in that game, Kennedy, who was their leading store, got 15 points,

which sounds great until you realize he did it on five of 18 shooting.

So that is a well-executed game plan in a very high stakes game.

The Mac Championship with, of course, the winner being Siena and going to the NCAA tournament

as a result. So the staff now is as follows.

The head coach, let me think for a moment, who's the head coach of Syracuse basketball?

Oh yeah, Jerry McNamara is the head coach of Syracuse basketball.

The official assistants and by official assistants, I mean, those of which have already been

confirmed by Syracuse itself, you'll go on the page and you'll be able to find their names

all listed. You have Ryan Daley, you have Ben Lee, you have Arenze on a Waku,

and you have Peter Kora Satini. I think that's how you say his name. I might have totally

butchered it. I apologize to Peter. These coaches have all been confirmed by the school to be

on the staff for next season. The unofficial assistants, these are, or this is a guy that has been

reported from a reputable source, of course. But if you go on the website, it is not yet been made

official. And that is Jamal Brun from Penn State. And the general manager, I think he or she

exists. I think he or she is well aware that they are the general manager of Syracuse basketball,

considering that the portal is opening up at midnight and the fact that they've already made an

addition to the team in Mark Morano Mamutovic, pretty good one. But it has not been made public yet.

We don't have a name. So it is a mystery. Shout out to the mystery GM that is out there. Who knows?

Maybe I'm the GM. I'm just kidding. I'm definitely not the GM of Syracuse basketball, but it is a mystery.

So that's where the staff stands right now. What are your thoughts on it? Comment in the comment

section below. Overall, it seems like a decent staff, a couple of rising stars,

Orinze on a walk. Who welcome back? Hopefully he coaches the bigs at high level.

Great. I hope it all works. I hope they win a lot of a lot of basketball games.

Now coming up here on Lockdown Syracuse, Nate George enters the portal. We'll discuss

the impact for Syracuse. Plus, Donnie Freeman looks to be on the way out as well. We'll talk about it

all next on Lockdown Syracuse. It's tax time, but for a lot of us, the old way of doing taxes is a lot.

Trying to book an appointment that's not the most convenient, sitting in a waiting room with a stack

of papers, emailing back and forth and wondering if they really get your situation. But this year,

you're getting a major upgrade into a turbo tax. Now it was in-person locations nationwide.

You can meet face to face with the real tax expert and your documents that uploaded straight

to your turbo tax app on the spot. And just like that, you're done. Your turbo tax expert works

to get you every dollar you deserve while you get real-time notifications as you go about your day.

It's the relief of walking in and meeting a real person and walking out knowing your taxes are

being handled right. Head to TurboTax.com slash local to find a store near you and book your appointment.

Jackson Holzer, Lockdown Syracuse, and to absolutely nobody's surprise,

Nathan George is entering the transfer portal. If you were surprised by this,

I would simply ask you respectfully, where have you been for the past eight months?

I have no will towards Nate George. The reality is it simply did not work. It didn't work here.

I was very excited when he committed to Syracuse. Many of you share that excitement as well.

If you go back and you watch our listening to that podcast, reacting to Nate George with Syracuse,

I said in that podcast, he is someone that takes Syracuse to the next level. By that, I meant,

look, wherever you had Syracuse slotting in originally, if you thought they were contender,

they're now even more of a contender. If you thought they were a fringe contender,

now they're a contender. I called him someone that takes Syracuse a tear above to where they were at.

And maybe he did, to some extent, but his impact was not felt enough at Syracuse in a positive

manner. He came over from Georgia Tech. He was an all conference point guard. We were excited.

It just didn't work. It felt like last year for most, if not all of the season, that he was a

square peg in a round hole. He has talent. It's not like he cannot play basketball at all.

But he is a mind-boggling basketball player. He will give you good, and he'll also drive you

absolutely insane. He was someone that was supposed to be a true point guard for this team, a true

floor general, and they asked him to really store the basketball probably more than what he is

capable of. As far as his fit is concerned, I think he is someone that he could go to a high

major program and be a starting point guard and play high minutes, but that team probably would

not be very good. I think that he could go to a high money team, I should say, a team with a big

budget and be a backup point guard and provide useful minutes off the bench.

Overall, with Nate George, I think what his strategy needs to be, I'm not his agent. I'm not

connected to Nate George or anything like that. I wish him the best. I don't think he's an NBA

player. I don't think he should be thinking about his future in pro basketball all that much.

I think he needs to go out and find the most money and go to the stool that's going to pay him the

most. That's not him being greedy. That's not saying be greedy. That is saying understand the

reality of your situation. Been in college for three years. Can't shoot an outside shot. The NBA

doesn't care for guards that can't shoot. Judah Mintz has had enough problems to try to get it in

the NBA and he is an infinitely more talented player than Nate George. He can't shoot and so he's

take the most money that is available for him in the transfer portal. Best of luck to him. I hope

he gets it somewhere. But that is not the last player that will want to the portal. I will be very

surprised if Donnie Freeman remains with Syracuse. We are still waiting at the time of this recording

for a real credible report out there that Donnie Freeman is going to enter the portal. There's been

some rumblings. You have people from Kentucky saying he's entering the portal. It is not official

as far as I'm concerned. But I'm honestly not that mad about it either. I'm not like I'm pins and

needles like I was last year like many of us were last year. Are we going to be able to keep Donnie

Freeman? It's just not the same. This is completely different era now on Syracuse basketball

and what they really need. Eric Devendorf, he's speculated that Donnie Freeman could command

two to three million dollars on the open market. And if that's true, you gotta let him go.

You let him go. It's that simple. What would I pay him? Maybe a little over a million. And I know

that that's not going to get it done. I know that. It's not. Based on this market, a million

dollars will not get it done for Donnie Freeman. So I think Devo is on to something when it's two to

three million with his market. You look at his numbers. The fact that he technically has two more

years of eligibility. He's not going to be cheap. So you're not going to get him for a million dollars.

And that would be my line in the sand for him. I think the teams that pay him two to three million

dollars will fall into one or two categories. Number one, they're either delusional or number two,

they just have a lot of money to burn. They're a high budget team. The delusional teams are those

that will pay him that money and they will make him the focal point of their team. Kind of similar

to what Syracuse did last year with him. The teams with money to burn are just stockpiling talent.

They see a good player in the portal. They know they have the money to spend. They don't care that

they're probably overpaying the player because they just have the money to do it. And they know that

Donnie Freeman is talented. He is talented. Let's give him that. And they just want to add a good

player to what is already a loaded roster. Donnie is a little bit different though than Nate George

as far as what his approach should be in the transfer portal. But Nate George, it's go get the

most money available. You're not a pro. Go get the most money. With Donnie, I still think he has

NBA potential. He's got the size and the length to be able to be an NBA player.

So he needs to balance getting the most money and also figuring out the place that gives him

the best opportunity to develop so that he can become an NBA player where the real money

is located. Two to three million dollars in basketball is exceptional. That's fantastic. That's

life changing money. But the real money is in the NBA when you could be a backup for getting

15 million dollars a year for four years. I mean, that's the day and age we're living in

in basketball nowadays. These guys get paid a lot of money. So Donnie has to think of both.

The near term, what's the stool that's going to give me the most money and the long term,

what's the stool that's going to offer me the best chance to develop into hopefully a regular

NBA player. So I'm really fascinated as far as what his market is going to be and where he ultimately

ends up. Are you upset about nature or entering the portal? Are you upset about Donnie Freeman

and all likelihood entering the portal? Comment your thoughts right now in the comment section below.

As far as what's coming up on this podcast in the near future at midnight, the transfer portal

opens. We did this last year. We're going to do it again this year. There will be an official

transfer portal guide podcast for Syracuse scheduled to premiere at midnight. Everything you

need to know for Syracuse and this year's transfer portal cycle. So that's what's coming up next

on locked on Syracuse. Plus we will get to send our transfer portal targets. We will also talk

about point guard transfer portal targets. All that and more coming up on locked on Syracuse.

And hey, if you've never missed an episode of locked on Syracuse, I think the everyday

club is built for you because you can get locked on Syracuse episodes. Add free plus members

only discord access and more. You can head to the link in the description below. Jackson holes

are locked on Syracuse. Thank you all so much for watching. Thank you all so much for listening.

If you liked this show, be sure to hit that like button. If you really enjoy the podcast,

be sure to hit subscribe. Tell all your friends about locked on Syracuse. And I will see you all

again soon. Introducing the all new Mazda CX-5. Featuring more connection. Hey,

Google, where's the nearest Pilates class? Safety that has your back. More discovery

on the scene of crowds. More passion in the details. And more control in changing weather.

The all new Mazda CX-5. More to move every side of you. See it in five films at Mazdausa.com

slash five sides. Google is a trademark of Google LLC. Sequence is shortened and simulated.

The winter games are officially here. And if you're anything like us, you're locking in for events.

You only get to see on the biggest stage every four years. And that's why following the winter

games on Fandall just makes sense. From middle counts to individual events to finding your

angle on the sports you care about most. Fandall gives you more ways to say connected to the action.

The drama of curling matches that start slow and somehow get intense fast hockey games that

feel different right from opening face off. The winter games are on and there's no better way to

follow them than with Fandall. Fandall, play your game. Avoid workplace chaos with our friends

over there. Indeed, sponsor jobs. Indeed, sponsor jobs is a boost whenever you need to find quality

talent. Hiring, indeed, sponsor jobs is all you need. Join the 3.3 million employers worldwide

that use indeed to connect with quality talent that fits their needs. Spend less time searching

and more time actually interviewing candidates who check all your boxes, less stress, less time

more results. And we need the right person to cut through the chaos. This is a job for indeed

sponsor jobs and listeners of the show will get a $75 sponsor job credit. Help get your job.

The premium status it deserves indeed dot com slash podcast. Just go to indeed dot com slash

podcast right now in sports show by saying you heard about indeed on this podcast indeed dot com

slash podcast terms and conditions apply need to hire. This is a job for indeed sponsor jobs.