a career-high 55 points (41 in the first half), putting him in 2nd place for the most points scored in a basketball game in PIAA history, as the Golden Lancers advanced to the Class AA championship game, 83-76. 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. Following his senior season, McNamara was named the 2002 Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year and a fourth-team Parade Magazine All-American. For his high school accomplishments, McNamara was also named the 20th greatest athlete in Scranton-area history by the Scranton Times in 2004. College career McNamara had offers from schools such as Duke and Florida, but chose to attend Syracuse. 2002–03 season McNamara helped Syracuse win its first Basketball National Championship in 2003. McNamara started every game in his freshman year, helping lead the Orange to a 30-5 record, including a perfect 17-0 at home. He averaged 13 points, 4.6 assists and 2.2 steals a game while shooting 35 percent from 3-point range and 91 percent from the foul line. McNamara showed early on that he was a clutch performer, nailing a game-winning 3-pointer as then-No. 17 Syracuse notched an 82-80 win over then-No. 10 Notre Dame in February. In a March game at Georgetown, McNamara missed a free-throw with 10 seconds left that allowed the Hoyas to force overtime. Until that point, McNamara had been a perfect 41-for-41 in conference play. 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. Ten of McNamara's 22 came in overtime. 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. In the semi-final game against T. J. Ford and the University of Texas, the Orangemen won 95-84 behind a career-high 33 points from Carmelo Anthony and 19 points and four steals from McNamara. 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. In the second half, Kansas used a pressing defense to throttle the Syracuse offense. The Orange held off a furious Kansas comeback, eventually winning the game 81-78 behind the stellar play of freshman