As the curtain closed on the Syracuse men’s basketball team’s season last Thursday, Gerry McNamara walked toward the locker room. Just before he left the arena, he stopped, turned and saw Hakim Warrick, walking alone and wiping away tears from his face with his jersey.

McNamara quickly threw his arm around Warrick, and the big forward placed his hand on the guard’s head. After the brief embrace, the pair sulked off the court together.

The result they’d just earned – an 80-71 loss to Alabama in the Sweet 16 – was the last way the two keystones of SU’s season wanted the year to end. But their exit – a show of solidarity and support – was fitting.

For the whole season, Warrick and McNamara – undoubtedly SU’s brightest stars – carried the Orangemen on their shoulders. Warrick and McNamara combined for 36.7 points per game – exactly half of SU’s 73.1 average. That total was also the most combined points per game for two teammates in the Big East.

Warrick’s 19.7 point average made him the Big East’s second-leading scorer behind Virginia Tech’s Bryant Matthews. McNamara, who averaged 17, finished 10th in the Big East scoring race.

The Orangemen depended on McNamara and Warrick like a roofer relies on his ladder. Which is to say, without them, they’d painfully fall flat on their face. They’re the stars, the safety net and the support, all in one.

When opposing teams prepared for SU, the plan centered around one main principle: Stop Warrick and McNamara, and the other guys won’t beat you.

‘Those are the main two guys,’ Connecticut guard Taliek Brown said. ‘All the focus is on them. If we can slow them down and just be around them and contest shots, we’ll be all right. All the pressure’s on them. Everything is on them. They just make the team.’

They had to. When SU point guard Billy Edelin stopped playing because of personal issues halfway through the season, Syracuse lost its third-scoring option. Without Edelin, McNamara and Warrick were the only Orangemen who averaged in double-digit points. Josh Pace averaged 9.6 points this year.

While Syracuse slumped after losing Edelin, McNamara had to turn a collection of untested freshmen and role players into an NCAA Tournament team. He did, but in different ways.

McNamara used his knack for the clutch, beginning SU’s late-season surge with SU’s shot of the year. As the buzzer sounded against Georgetown, McNamara heaved a miracle 3-pointer that kicked off an improbable five-game winning streak that would propel SU into the Sweet 16.

While McNamara showed a flair for the dramatic, seemingly hitting every big shot the Orangemen needed, Warrick displayed a more sustained dominance. His unrivaled length, endless cach of post moves and Stretch Armstrong athleticism make him nearly impossible to stop one-on-one. That opened the lane for Pace, who turned into a viable scoring threat late in the season.

‘I’m always ready to make big plays and get the big shots for my team,’ Warrick said.

‘Rarely will you find him not on top of his game,’ SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘I would say he is probably one of the most underrated players in the country.’

A player who was named to the Big East’s first team and to the All-America third team is underrated? Well, maybe. With the way he commands the paint and rebounds – his 8.6 boards a game was fourth in the Big East – Warrick was consistently SU’s best player.

‘Hakim Warrick does more for Syracuse than any player does for his team in the country,’ McNamara said.

As teammates, few combos did more for their teams this year than Warrick and McNamara.

‘Gerry and Hakim stepped up huge this season,’ Boeheim said. ‘They really played well all season.’

Published on March 28, 2004 at 12:00 pm