The relationship between Jim Boeheim and Gerry McNamara goes back more than two decades.

“When we saw Gerry the first time, I went to see him in a little gym and he was the biggest guy on the court and he had about 26 [points] in the first half,” said Boeheim, on recruiting McNamara. “And I said, ‘OK, we need this guy.’ ”

The pair would go on to win a national championship as coach and player at Syracuse University. When McNamara would later join Boeheim’s coaching staff, the duo added two additional Final Four trips.

“You never choose a school because it's close to home,” said McNamara, who’s from Scranton, Pa. “You choose the school because it's the right fit, and I was just fortunate that I got both.”

“He's as good a competitor, maybe the best competitor, I've ever been around,” Boeheim said.

But it’s what Boeheim taught off the court that has made the biggest impact on McNamara.

“I try to emulate in terms of my relationships, how I treat people and how much I'm there for them when the ball stops bouncing,” McNamara said. “I got that from Jim Boeheim.”

With Boeheim retired from coaching, and McNamara beginning his first season as head coach at Siena College, their relationship is entering a new chapter.

The pair reunited recently in the Capital Region, at an event talking about college basketball and their relationship, while also raising money for McNamara’s new team.

“Just excited to be here. We came through Albany to win a national championship. The fans were here for us, and it's fun for me to be back down here and help Gerry,” Boeheim said.

“I’m so incredibly blessed and grateful to have him in my life,” McNamara said. “It’s meant the world to me. He’s the one who got me into this.”

Boeheim even attended one of McNamara’s practices now as the Saints head coach — with some advice for his mentee.

“That consistent approach of staying level headed in terms of your practice plan and wins and losses, it always remains even keeled,” McNamara said.

McNamara will make his head coaching debut Nov. 4 when Siena hosts Brown at the MVP Arena in Albany. And Boeheim believes McNamara will have no problem continuing that success from Syracuse to Siena.

“He’s a winner. He’s always won,” Boeheim said. “He's always overcome, in high school and college, to show people how good he was and that he'll do that here.”