June 27 – Gerry McNamara never missed a start in his four years at Syracuse. His determination to play in every game, healthy or not, captivated the city of Syracuse.

That same perseverance may have jeopardized his status in Wednesday night’s NBA Draft.

After a sizzling 16-point performance during the first day of the NBA’s predraft camp June 6 in Orlando, McNamara aggravated the groin injury that hindered him for much of the second half of the 2005-06 season and limited him to 26 minutes in the Orange’s first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Texas A&M.

The injury increases the possibility McNamara will not be drafted and will look to sign with an NBA team as a free agent.

McNamara would not let the pain stop him from participating in the next day’s events in Orlando. He ended the second day just 1-of-5 from beyond the arc and failed to impress anyone defensively, feebly guarding UCLA’s Jordan Farmar.

‘He insisted on gutting it out,’ said Bill Neff, McNamara’s agent. ‘Being Gerry McNamara and all, it was no surprise.’

Now McNamara, the only SU draft prospect, is relegated to sit back and watch the draft (ESPN, Wednesday, 7 p.m.) under the faint hope his name is called.

‘The injury has been the thing that has held him back the most,’ Neff said. ‘Now all we can do is see what happens on Wednesday.’

Neff said he advised McNamara not to play on the second day in order to prevent further damage to the groin. After the performance on the first day at Orlando, Neff said a healthy McNamara could have easily been a high second-round draft pick.

Instead, potential suitors are left to ponder the repercussions of the injury along with the constant concerns about McNamara’s ability to run an offense and contribute enough defense at the same time.

‘There was a lot of interest from teams after the first game out in Orlando,’ Neff said. ‘People said, ‘Wow, he’s a good shooter.’ When a guy makes shots, everyone forgets the rest.’

Prior to the Orlando camp, McNamara attended workouts with four NBA teams – the Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers, Toronto Raptors and Denver Nuggets. All four hold late second-round selections, but Neff insists he is looking for the best fit for McNamara, not just a team with a late pick.

Neff said scouts were most impressed with McNamara’s shooting ability, but he stood out from the other guards in the camp because of his ability to get into the lane so easily.

‘If he’s healthy, he’ll be in the league, period,’ Neff said. ‘If the scouts looked at the entire body of work, we wouldn’t be discussing this.’

McNamara tested poorly physically at the Orlando camp in a strength and conditioning test. He ranked 69th out of the 80 participants and ran a 3.4 three-quarter court sprint – slower than Louisiana Tech forward Paul Millsap (6-foot-8, 245 pounds) and only one-tenth of a second faster than Ohio State big man Terrence Dials (6-9, 260).

Also came the revelation that McNamara is more than two inches shorter – 5-foot-11 3/4 – than the 6-foot-2 he was listed at SU.

Neff was unsure whether McNamara would be watching the draft back at home in Scranton, Pa., but the advice he has offered most to McNamara is to hang in there.

‘You can’t let the process get you down,’ Neff said. ‘He may be disappointed, but he shouldn’t be, simply because ultimately it won’t matter.’

Published on August 7, 2006 at 12:00 pm