EagleOutsider.com

Let me start by saying that I think it would be silly to can Skinner after this season. He deserves one bad season, but not one more after that.

Let's assume he is fired after this season or next season. What will the coaching search look like? It's a pretty similar situation to the TOB departure, although basketball doesn't nearly have the program prestige that football does. I think a lot of the "Fire Al" crew are a bit delusional on who BC will hire, but I do think there is merit to the feeling that this program is stale and needs fresh blood.

A few questions need to be answered honestly:

What are reasonable expectations and goals for the program? (Who should BC be ahead of in the ACC?)
On the sliding scale of X's and O's or recruiting, where do you want the next coach to fall? (for arguments sake, you can't have both)
What type of offense do you want to see?
Rising star or retread? (keeping in mind that rising star coaches can be mega failures)

Once you can answer those questions, then you can look at reasonable candidates. Who can BC steal a coach from? How much money is there to spend? What coaches are even interested?

The most important thing to understand about basketball coaching hires is that there is so much luck involved. Finding the right guy in the right situation can prove to be very difficult. Guys with great track records at smaller programs can bomb on bigger stages such as Dave Leitao. Young assistants are cheap gets and can be huge scores, but they are also a big gamble and more often than not they don't work out.

Personally, I would hire some young assistant who is energetic and cheap. He'll have little head coaching experience and mediocre X's and O's, but ideally he will work his ass off on the recruiting trail to bring in high flying athletes and bring some attention back to BC. Those type of assistants are dime a dozen in Division 1 right now. The worst case scenario is that he is terrible and we fire him for pennies after two years. Done. I should be AD.

If there's a coaching change, we should grab the best A10, Conf USA, MAAC, or CAA coach available. I'd much rather grab a mid-major head coach than a high-major assistant coach. If I'm the AD, my top three choices would be Brian Gregory, McCaffrey, then Coen. All would be good hires, IMO. We will be having this conversation within five years.

Sadly, this job could be a black-hole if we don't get a young go-getter who effing recruits (which is why I don't think Baron is a good candidate...can he convince top talent to come to BC?). Our basketball program is now in a perilous position, despite the boost it got from joining the ACC.

Mid major would be the way to go. I don't think a BC connection is a prereq, but I would want someone who has coached at a school like BC. Getting someone from a factory would be a mistake.

I don't envy you guys (well actually I do but that's a whole different story/thread for another day)...the ACC has been down somewhat in hoops since you've joined. A strong ACC (or an even average ACC year) is going to be very difficult for BC basketball going forward.

I don't think it is irrational or unbelievable that we could get a guy like Mcaffery. I like Gregory a lot but he would be much harder to get. I think this is the year for Skinner to go because next year would be the year to do very well in (tons of upperclassmen, and some good freshman to compete) and if we waste that it could take years to get the program back on track. There is nothing crazy about us getting Mcaffery and it would be a great hire. Go get him GDF!