Free-throw shooting is Gerry McNamara’s safety net.

McNamara ranks ninth in the NCAA and tops in the Big East, shooting 94 percent from the line. He’s set to shatter SU’s single-season free-throw percentage record, 89 percent by Jim Lee in 1972-73.

So who would’ve guessed that McNamara was once robbed by the charity stripe?

During McNamara’s sophomore year at Bishop Hannan High School in Scranton, Pa., his team lost in the finals of the Class AA championship in overtime. In the game’s final minutes, McNamara’s teammates missed 4 of 5 free throws.

‘Sometimes, it takes an event like that to really show you that free throws are important,’ said John Bucci, McNamara’s high school coach. ‘He always took free throws seriously, but after that, he did a little bit more so.’

McNamara began to attack his after-practice shooting sessions with greater intensity. He’d stand at the free-throw line, bounce the ball three times and fire. He’d do it over and over, until he swished nearly every shot.

When the Bishop Hannan gym was occupied by the school’s other teams, he’d trek to another high school, Holy Rosary, and shoot there.

‘You’ve got to shoot them after practice, when your legs are dead,’ McNamara said. ‘I’d just try to make a bunch in a row with dead legs. Ten, 15, whatever I felt like.’

It’s paid off. When McNamara shoots a free throw, he stands stoically at the line, waiting for the ball, so he can begin his three-bounce routine. When he misses, his face flares with disgust.

‘There’s not a thing I hate more than missing a free throw,’ McNamara said. ‘That’s why they call it a free throw. It’s supposed to be free. Missing a free throw is a personal offense.’

It’s been a long time since McNamara’s been offended. He hasn’t missed a free throw since Jan. 13, against Missouri, and is 35 of 35 in Big East play.

Monday night against Georgetown, an 88-80 SU victory, McNamara made six free throws in the final 30 seconds. By game’s end, Georgetown head coach Craig Esherick wasn’t even watching McNamara’s shots. Neither were McNamara’s teammates.

‘I know they’re going in, so I don’t worry about it,’ SU freshman Billy Edelin said.

McNamara’s performance helped Syracuse finish 29 of 33 from the line. Georgetown, meanwhile, made 12 of 23.

‘I think we have four players out there who are going to be handling the ball, and they’re all good free-throw shooters,’ Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘When (Edelin’s) out there, we have five who can shoot.’

Despite Monday night’s success, McNamara’s routine — SU ends practice with 10 minutes of free-throw shooting — hasn’t worked out for all the Orangemen.

Although center Jeremy McNeil made two clutch free throws during Saturday’s win over then-No. 2 Pittsburgh, he and fellow center Craig Forth are shooting a combined 16 for 42.

“Jeremy can obviously hit them,” Boeheim joked about McNeil, who has made 6 of 16 attempts. “We tried (shooting a one-and-one) again in practice (Sunday). He didn’t make either one.”

On Jan. 26, in a 54-49 win at Miami, the Orangemen shot 12 of 20, and their poor free-throw shooting nearly caught up to them. Three days later, it did. Syracuse shot 10 of 22 and fell to Rutgers, 68-65.

The Orangemen rank seventh in the conference in free-throw percentage (67.8). Without McNamara, they’d rank 11th.

That gives Big East teams all the more reason to do what Georgetown didn’t during the final 30 seconds — keep the ball out of McNamara’s hands.

‘He doesn’t miss,’ Edelin said. ‘We have all the confidence in the world in him.’

Published on February 4, 2003 at 12:00 pm