The team also went to the finals his sophomore season and finished the state runner-up in both 1999 and 2000 to Kennedy Christian High School of Hermitage, Pennsylvania.

In 2001 the Golden Lancers were defeated by eventual PIAA Class AA champion Trinity High School of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, in the Eastern Final.

[12] Three days later his 32 points led all scorers as Hannan held off Sto-Rox High School and won the Class AA state title, 70–68.

[13] Following his senior season, McNamara was named the 2002 Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year and a fourth-team Parade Magazine All-American.

McNamara started every game in his freshman year, helping lead the Orange to a 30–5 record, including a perfect 17–0 at home.

[16] In a March game at Georgetown, McNamara missed a free-throw with 10 seconds left that allowed the Hoyas to force overtime.

However, McNamara made up for his miss, hitting two 3-pointers and adding another jumper in an 11–3 run to start overtime as Syracuse beat Mike Sweetney and the Georgetown Hoyas, 93–84.

[17] In the NCAA Tournament second-round game against Oklahoma State, McNamara scored 14 points and added six assists as the Orangemen overcame a 13-point first-half deficit.

[18] In the title game versus favored University of Kansas, his six three-pointers during the first half shootout helped propel Syracuse to an 18-point lead over the Jayhawks.

The Orange held off a furious Kansas comeback, eventually winning the game 81–78 behind the stellar play of freshman star Carmelo Anthony and a game-saving blocked shot by sophomore forward Hakim Warrick.

[20] McNamara and Warrick were left to guide the team in the 2003–2004 season after Anthony rode his heralded postseason play into the NBA.

McNamara scored 43 points, including a school-record nine three-point shots, as Syracuse outlasted Brigham Young University 80–75 in the tournament's first round.

Prior to the conference tournament two separate publications, Sports Illustrated and the Syracuse Post-Standard conducted polls of Big East players and assistant coaches.

[25][26][27] Fueled by the negative press, and despite an injured leg, McNamara led Syracuse on a run to the Big East tournament title.

In the first round he hit a running one-handed three-point shot with less than a second left in the game to spur Syracuse past the University of Cincinnati, 74–73.

[28] Following the game, head coach Jim Boeheim unleashed a passionate profanity laced defense of his star player to the attending media.

[29] The next day McNamara hit a three-pointer in the closing seconds of regulation to tie number-one ranked University of Connecticut and eventually led Syracuse to an overtime upset.

Severely hobbled by his leg injury and exhausted from the run in the Big East tournament, he scored only two points in just 23 minutes of play as fifth-seeded Syracuse was upset by Texas A&M University.

He finished fourth in points scored (2,099), first in minutes played (4781), second in steals (258), third in assists (648), first in three-point shots made (400) and attempted (1,131), and first in career free-throw percentage (89.1%).

The award is presented annually by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to a senior Division I men's player who demonstrates outstanding character, leadership, and talent.

[39] On August 16, 2006, The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, gave the first 6,000 fans through the gates at PNC Field a Gerry McNamara bobblehead doll.

McNamara was one of 13 players who accepted invitations to attend the 2005 USA Basketball men's trials and training camp from July 28 – August 4, 2005.

The team, coached by Villanova's Jay Wright, won the gold medal at the World University Games in Izmir, Turkey.

McNamara finished off the tournament with 13 points and five rebounds to help the Americans win the gold-medal game over previously unbeaten Ukraine, 85–70.

[56] Coincidentally, he was replaced on the roster by former Michigan State University star Mateen Cleaves with whom he shared minutes on the Bakersfield Jam team the prior season.

[57][58] On January 7, 2009, McNamara signed with the NBA Development League's Reno Bighorns, joining him with former Syracuse stars Damone Brown and Donté Greene.

[6] Three days later, McNamara made his debut against his former team, the Bakersfield Jam, and scored six points and recorded 6 assists in a 93–91 victory.