Gerry McNamara: McCullough Has 'As Much Potential as Anybody We've Been Around'

Syracuse Orange assistant coach and living legend Gerry McNamara stopped by The Knicks Blog Radio podcast with Anthony Donahue to talk about Carmelo Anthony and Syracuse's upcoming season. Some interesting tidbits in there...

On Tyler Ennis going pro:

We had a saying about Tyler Ennis. We say "he just figures it out." There was something about the kid from a competitive standpoint and an intelligence standpoint, a playmaking standpoint, a confidence standpoint, there was something about that, regardless of what took place, he was confident enough to figure it out...the biggest thing for him is going to be his body. I think from a skill set side of it, he's as skilled and mature and intelligent as any point guard there is. I think the biggest thing for him is to put some muscle on, change his body a little bit, be physically stronger a little bit.

On how he ended up on the coaching staff:

Coach Boeheim asked me to come back as a graduate assistant, you know, he thought I had a bright future in coaching with the way that I played. Obviously, with the way I understood the game and the relationship I had with him, he thought it'd be a good idea to be a part of his staff. When a Hall of Fame coach asks you be a part of his staff, you take it under serious consideration. I talked to my wife, my ankles weren't feeling too good, I wasn't feeling too good physically, I didn't know if I wanted to live overseas if the NBA wasn't an option. I thought this was a great life move...It took me about a week as a grad assistant to realize how much I love it...to be able to give back to a program that I love, is a gift.

On his desires to be a head coach:

I want to be a head coach one day and the biggest thing is that you don't rush that decision. I watch Mike Hopkins, my mentor, he's been there for 19 years. 20 years. And he hasn't rushed the decision because he hasn't found the right one. He's been a winner at Syracuse and helped build with Coach Boeheim one of the best programs in the country. The biggest thing is, when you're ready, you're ready.

On Kaleb Joseph & Chris McCullough:

We feel like we have two freshman that can really make a big jump. I think Kaleb Joseph coming in as a freshman is talented. He's got some things to learn but he's got that athleticism and explosive athlete-style like a Jonny Flynn. Obviously there's gonna be some bumps and bruises as a freshman coming in and leading the way as the point guard.

Chris McCullough, from the 4 position, as talented and skilled as a player as I've ever seen coming out of high school. His development is gonna depend on how well he works and matures on the basketball court. His body's just gonna get physically stronger. He's got as much potential as anybody we've been around. We're excited.

On the upcoming season:

The problems is when you lose so much and so much experience. It's gonna be difficult, especially in the ACC. We've been able to reload the last few years. It's no different this year. We've got guys who have paid their dues and we're excited about that. Michael Gbinije. Tyler [Roberson]. The guy's that have kinda been waiting...It's an exciting time for guys that haven't necessarily gotten a chance to play who think they're pretty capable cause they've put in the work to do that.

Check out the whole interview here.