Earlier this week, the Syracuse men's basketball team started its summer session of practices under first-year head coach Gerry McNamara. On Friday, the program's official "X" account posted a 'mic'd up' session with transfer guard Gavin Doty.

The video that was posted can be seen below, but Doty is heard talking with teammates about the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals, challenging his teammates in the scrimmage portion of practice and telling his teammates "let's have a good day." Furthermore, the video showed a lot of practice footage.

On the surface, the video is just a fun social media initiative meant to drum up interest in the program during a slow time in the basketball calendar.

When you look a little deeper though, it becomes pretty obvious pretty quickly: Doty is one of the main, if not the outright, leaders on this team.

Doty was a First Team All-MAAC selection at Siena in 2025-26 and transferred to SU after the season. Doty previously said that he wanted to play for McNamara his entire college career, which made his connection to Syracuse extremely logical the moment that McNamara got the head coaching job. He's also a Central New York native, hailing from nearby Fulton. That should be a big rallying point for fans, and it excites him as well. He said he's been going to games at the JMA Wireless Dome since he was three.

In addition to being a First-Team All-MAAC selection, he was also an All-Rookie selection in 2024-25. He averaged more than 18 ppg this past year while also pulling down 6.9 rebounds. He shot 45.8 percent from the floor and 32.6 percent from three-point range. He had 21 in Siena's NCAA Tournament loss against Duke.

He'll have two years of eligibility remaining for the Orange.

Well, Doty has a pre-existing relationship with McNamara. That means he already has McNamara's trust and that McNamara clearly feels comfortable with him. Doty knows what to expect from McNamara and what the expectations are for the program, and he's a guy who can clearly relay them to the rest of the roster.

Furthermore, Doty is expected to be one of the team's best players in 2026-27. A guy who is on the floor a lot, and will be able to produce, is often able to ascend to a leadership role.

Finally, with so much roster turnover and so many new faces, it's easy for a veteran player like Doty to assume that role, especially given his relationship with the coaching staff.

On that note: Sadiq White Jr. and Kiyan Anthony were already in the program and deserve respect for coming back in year two. While Doty has McNamara's ear and trust, both returners deserve a seat at the table as well.

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