Under first-year head coach Gerry McNamara, the Syracuse Orange men's basketball team is hoping to earn significant wins on the court.

But on Tuesday, the Orange earned a significant win in court, as a judge granted transfer forward Amarri Monroe a preliminary injunction, making him eligible to play this season as a fifth-year senior. While the NCAA can, and will, still fight these rulings, this is a big win for the Orange, who begin their exhibition season next Tuesday (7 p.m. ET) against the UConn Huskies at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Here's more of what you need to know:

After one year at Wofford, the New York native starred at Quinnipiac for the last three years, earning MAAC Player of the Year honors in 2024-25. While he wasn't the Player of the Year in 2025-26, he was a first-team All-MAAC selection after leading the Bobcats in scoring at 15.6 ppg, rebounding at 8.3 and steals at 2.3.

He's listed at 6-foot-7, 230 pounds and will be a welcome force at the small forward or power forward position, depending on how McNamara wants to run his rotations.

Remember, because he played at Qunnipiac, he's someone that McNamara is familiar with.

McNamara led the Siena Saints for the last two years, meaning he had to gameplan for Monroe on multiple occasions in conference play.

The NCAA adopted the new 'age-based eligibility model' this summer that gives student-athletes five years to play seasons, with minimal exceptions.

As a result, there are no more redshirt years and no more medical redshirts. If a player sits out a year, for any reason, they will just have four years of eligibility as we have all been accustomed to.

This rule also applies to student-athletes that were freshman through juniors during the last academic year.

For instance, Sadiq White Jr. just played his freshman season with the program. Under the new system, he'll have four more years of eligibility if he wants to use them all.

For athletes who were seniors last year, and who were also part of the high school Class of 2022, they were NOT given a fifth-year of eligibility.

That is the case with Monroe, who played four seasons in four years, and now believes that he should be given the right to get an extra fifth year.

This is the same saga that has gone on all season with Syracuse football receiver Justus Ross-Simmons. He did not play in Week 1, but he's played in each of the three Orange games since.

That's for McNamara to figure out, but at 6-foot-7, Monroe could be in the mix for the small forward spot.

Garwey Dual and Aidan Tobiason could start at the two guard spots, with Kiyan Anthony and Monroe battling for small forward. Monreo and White could also battle at small forward. Luke Wilson, a center from Appalachian State, is expected to be the center.

Given how long the legal system takes to untangle itself, it's certainly possible that Monroe does. If the NCAA is able to win a lawsuit before the end of the season, there is a chance that Monroe could be shut down.