Another familiar name has been added to the new Syracuse basketball staff

New Syracuse coach Gerry McNamara continues to finalize his inaugural season staff, with Wednesday's announcement that Blackwell, the one-time SU player (Illinois transfer) under Jim Boeheim (1997-2000), is the latest addition to the program in the newly defined role as Director of Player Engagement.

Blackwell, a scholastic star from suburban Rochester, played professionally and began his head coaching career internationally for 14 years following his 'Cuse career, then had a successful scholastic run at CNY's Liverpool High School, before joining McNamara at Siena the last two seasons.

The right man for the new job

Once McNamara accepted the Syracuse position and announced at his introductory event on March 30 that Orange Nation would see familiar faces on his 'Cuse staff, it was just a matter of time, and in the properly specified role, that Blackwell would be officially announced as a staff member.

In the newly created position, and according to the university's announcement, Blackwell "will serve as the program's primary connector to its extended network of alumni and former student-athletes."

He will be tasked with being the liaison between the basketball program and its former players, its most ardent alumni and contributors, and prospective new donors, to build out a long term strategy to raise money to fund the program.

Blackwell's career as both a player and coach at so many levels, along with his Syracuse roots, puts him in a unique position to take on such a diversified role.

He will be both a player's mentor, boosting their networking opportunities in the community and beyond, and a facilitator, organizing and executing a ton of ongoing engagement events, alumni weekend celebrations, and on-and-off campus student activations (NIL commitments).

An administrative modernization of the entire Orange basketball program

If there is one element that is clear in the rapid-fire developments that have taken place on The Hill since the university hired new chancellor Mike Haynie on March 4, new AD Bryan Blair on March 12, and then the subsequent McNamara homecoming, is the core structural changes (six coaches or administrators now on staff) that have been made to the program's makeup on and off the court.

There is a clear strategy in mind, especially now in the era of paying players, that the program needs to build out sustainable financial resources to fund itself, and ensure the best possible "collegiate" experience for the players on the roster.

With McNamara's coaching hires and staff-shuffling, including Tuesday's move of longtime staffer Peter Corasaniti into what is essentially taking on the program's general manager role, SU is responding and reacting to the changes in college sports, and perhaps to its own traditional mission.

Serving the best interests of its Syracuse "student-athletes" still applies, of course, but that mission has turned into professional contract negotiations with agents and representatives, not simply reassuring parents worried about their child receiving a scholarship or enough playing time, or not.

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