Syracuse University Men's Basketball

Arinze Onuaku was hired as an assistant coach at his alma mater in April 2026. He had spent the previous two years as an assistant coach on former teammate Gerry McNamara’s staff at Siena. ONUAKU COACHING CAREER Onuaku started his coaching career as a youth basketball trainer. From 2021-22, he was a part of the NBA Assistant Coaches’ Program. He served as a head coach in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament and was an assistant coach in the G League Elite Camp. Onuaku also worked as a varsity girls basketball assistant coach at Holton-Arms School (Md.). In 2022-23, Onuaku was an assistant coach for the Capital City Go-Go, the NBA G-League affiliate of the Washington Wizards. One year later, he served as an assistant coach at Gonzaga College High School (Washington, D.C.). Siena 14-18 and 23-12 in his two seasons with the program. Siena won the 2026 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament and played in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010. ONUAKU PLAYING CAREER Onuaku prepped at Episcopal High School (Md.) and was named team MVP in 2005. He played 134 games and accumulated 1,232 points and 804 rebounds at Syracuse. The Orange made the NCAA Tournament in three of his seasons and the NIT in the other. He is the Syracuse career leader in field goal percentage (.648). Onuaku was named to the BIG EAST Conference All-Academic Team four years and earned Syracuse Athletic Director Honor Roll recognition in eight of 10 semesters. Between 2011-2019, Onuaku played pr

Ben Lee joined the Syracuse men’s basketball staff as an assistant coach in April 2026. He had served the previous two seasons as an assistant at Siena under...

Jamal Brunt, a Division I assistant coach for more than 20 years, was hired at Syracuse in April 2026. He joined Gerry McNamara’s Orange staff after three seasons as an assistant coach at Penn State. BRUNT COACHING CAREER He embarked on a coaching career at his alma mater, Division III Randolph-Macon, with Rhoades. The Yellow Jackets made an NCAA Tournament appearance in Brunt’s two seasons. Brunt was hired as director of operations at Richmond in 2005. After two years in the post, Brunt was promoted by Coach Chris Mooney to assistant coach. In 2013, he was named associate head coach. In 10 campaigns at Richmond, Brunt was a part of six teams that earned postseason spots. The Spiders competed in the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons (2009-10, 2010-11), played in the NIT once (2014-15), and made three visits to the College Basketball Invitational (2007-08, 2008-09 and 2012-13). In 2015-16, Brunt started a three-year tenure in an offensive coordinator role at Miami (Fla.) under Coach Jim Larranaga. The Hurricanes made three straight trips to the NCAA Tournament. Miami was 27-8, was ranked in the top 15 for 14 weeks, and advanced to the Sweet 16 in Brunt’s first year. Brunt rejoined Rhoades at Virginia Commonwealth in 2018-19. He made an immediate impact, helping the Rams to a 25-8 record and the NCAA Tournament the first year. In 2021-22 he was promoted to associate head coach and Virginia Commonwealth advanced to the NIT. One season later, the Rams were 27-8, won the Atl

Former Syracuse men's basketball standout Ryan Blackwell rejoined the program as director of player engagement in April 2026. He had spent the previous two seasons as an assistant coach on Gerry McNamara's staff at Siena. Blackwell serves as the program's primary connector to its extended network of alumni and former student-athletes. He is charged with developing, assisting and supporting a comprehensive alumni and donor engagement strategy in coordination with the athletics development staff that aligns with department priorities. He leads in the planning and execution of engagement events, including mentorship and networking opportunities, alumni weekends, on-campus and student-athlete activations. Blackwell will ensure all engagement activities align with institutional, ACC and NCAA guidelines while reinforcing the program's brand and values. After completing his professional playing career and returning to the United States, Blackwell spent a year coaching at IMG Academy in Florida and as a youth and college skill development coach at Belucci Basketball Academy (BBA) in Syracuse. He was hired as boys' varsity basketball coach at Liverpool High School in 2015. He guided the Warriors to a 26-0 record and the Class AA New York State Championship in 2018. Liverpool was 151-50 and won five sectional titles during his tenure. Blackwell played a key role in the turnaround orchestrated at Siena. The Saints produced a 10-win improvement in 2024-25, Blackwell's first season with t

Ryan Daly was hired as an assistant coach at Syracuse in April 2026. He joined Gerry McNamara’s staff following a year as an assistant coach at Virginia Commonwealth. DALY COACHING CAREER Working on the staff of Phil Martelli Jr. at VCU, Daly was instrumental in helping the Rams to a 28-8 overall record, the Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship, and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. VCU defeated #21 North Carolina before losing to #13 Illinois. Daly served as an assistant under Martelli Jr. at Bryant in 2024-25. The Bulldogs were 23-12, claimed an America East Championship, and competed in the NCAA Tournament. Daly worked with Earl Timberlake, the 2025 America East Player of the Year, and conference Newcomer of the Year Barry Evans. He had a two-year tenure, from 2022 to 2024, as an assistant coach at Albany. Daly was on the staff of coach Dwayne Killings. DALY PLAYING CAREER He was the Philadelphia Catholic MVP, Markward Club City Player of the Year, and the Delaware County Player of the Year as a senior at Archbishop Carroll High School (Pa.). He also earned first team AAA All-State, first team All-Main Line, and first team All-City. Archbishop Carroll advanced to the 2015 Pennsylvania state finals. Daly began his collegiate playing career at Delaware. He was named the 2016-17 Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Rookie of the Year after averaging 16.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per contest. He was the CAA Rookie of the Week six times during the campaign. As a sophomore, he contrib