How Duke's March Madness game with Siena brings two friends together

Chip Alexander, The News & Observer on Mar 18, 2026

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GREENVILLE, S.C. — In game planning to face Duke in the NCAA Tournament, Siena basketball coach Gerry McNamara didn’t need intel on the Blue Devils’ Cameron Boozer.

The freshman has been named a unanimous first-team AP All-America. Boozer is the ACC player of the year and likely will be voted the national player of the year.

“I think Cam Boozer is the national player of the year, if you ask me,” McNamara said Wednesday. “He needs to be in the discussion for the number one pick (in the NBA).

“If you saw the kid in high school, he won everything. He won three Peach Jams, won the national championship, he just won the ACC.”

But there’s another Duke player McNamara has known longer, both professionally and on a more personal level: Maliq Brown.

As an assistant coach at Syracuse, McNamara recruited Brown out of Blue Ridge High in St. George, Va. McNamara, a former Syracuse sharpshooter, had won a national title with the Orange as a player under Jim Boeheim and after taking a swing at pro ball returned to his alma mater on Boeheim’s coaching staff.

“He was my lead recruiter and going into Syracuse we had a good connection and a good friendship,” Brown said Wednesday. “He showed mad love and support for me and my whole family during that recruitment process. He’s always been my guy, for sure.”

Two friends leave Syracuse

Brown spent two years in the Orange program before transferring to Duke after the 2023-24 season, when McNamara left to accept the Siena offer for his first head-coaching job.

“There was definitely a lot of emotions and stuff going on at that time,” Brown said of their departures from Syracuse.

The two have stayed in touch and that did not change the past few days after the NCAA Tournament selections had Duke, the No. 1 overall seed, facing No. 16 Siena in the first round.

“I texted him last night,” McNamara said Wednesday. “I love Maliq Brown. I loved him from the first time I watched him. I think, when you watch — I think, when he was in high school, [on] the offensive side of the ball … It wasn’t because he didn’t have the ability, it’s because he was selfless. He is elite defensively.

“He’s a great kid, as good a kid as I’ve been around in my career, player, coach. I’m so happy for him.”

When McNamara went to Siena, he said Duke coach Jon Scheyer was soon on the phone, asking about Brown.

“The third time Jon called me at Duke, I answered the phone and said, ‘Stop calling me. Take him. He’s really good,’” McNamara said. “I had texted Jon a few times over the years saying just, ‘Maliq Brown.’

“I’m happy that he’s really happy. I think Jon’s done a great job with him, and I’m just happy that on a national stage he’s proven his worth and how good he is as a player. It couldn’t happen to a better kid.”

Brown’s importance to Duke

Brown was slowed by shoulder problems last season, making only a cameo appearance in the postseason as Duke reached the Final Four. But his senior year at Duke has had him win ACC awards as the league’s best defensive player and sixth man.

“That means a lot,” Brown said. “Last year I wasn’t able to finish the season off the way I wanted to with the injuries. So to be able to pick it back up from last year, and go out the way I wanted to, I feel like I’ve accomplished a lot that I wanted to accomplish.”

Brown has been in the starting lineup with center Patrick Ngongba and guard Caleb Foster out with injuries. He has given the Blue Devils his aggressive defensive play, with steals and deflections, but some big baskets, when needed.

As a senior and one of the older heads on the team, Brown has offered his advice on the rigors of the NCAA Tournament to some of the younger guys.

“Just stay in the present and live in the moment,” Brown said. “Don’t take anything for granted and not look to the next game or next week. Just stay in the moment.”

Brown said while periodically texting with McNamara, he has not seen him the past few years. That will change Thursday when Brown is on the floor and spots McNamara on the Siena bench as the Blue Devils begin NCAA play.

“I’m very proud of what he’s done for Siena’s program,” Brown said. “It’ll definitely be weird, but once the game starts it’s all fun and games.”

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