SYRACUSE -- The Syracuse University basketball team is still working though the disappointment of falling short of the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament, and that includes assistant coach and former SU star Gerry McNamara.
While the NCAA officials admit a backcourt violation probably should not have been called on Scoop Jardine in the final minute of the Orange's third round loss to Marquette, G-Mac admits Jardine did travel, and that nobody should blame the loss on officiating.
"He may have travelled because they called the backcourt. You know, until you establish what side of the court you're on you can't call the backcourt. He was in the air when he caught the ball, one foot came down on the line and he established himself back on our side of the court, so technically it was not a backcourt. But he shouldn't have been in that position to begin with. You can (also) make that argument."
McNamara says the whole team is disappointed that they more or less let one get away.
"It's tough to lose a game when you outplay an opponent, and we did that. We just shot ourselves in the foot a bit with 18 turnovers and 23 fast break points off those turnovers."
G-Mac says it will take a little while to get over the sting of defeat in the tournament, but the program will be ready to bounce back.
"We'll grieve over this one a little bit, but we'll start to get excited again soon. (We have) three players coming in who are completely capable of coming in and playing and helping us, and we already have a young group of guys established who are pretty talented, so we're looking good.
Click on the video link for a full interview with McNamara, including further information on those three incoming talents.
