HJS {l Wrote}: That isn't at all what he wrote. He wrote he wanted Pearl and Stevens. He wrote that he doesn't like the Donahue hire because he thinks he rode a senior-laden team plus a lucky 7-foot transfer to the Sweet Sixteen. He DID NOT write that he hates Donahue because he isn't Pearl or Stevens. He DID write that he is disappointed that BC didn't go all out in its search and wasn't willing to spend ACC money and make the necessary commitments to hire a great coach.
Wait... I know, I know... how does a Sports Illustrated reporter know what Gene did not do? It is reasonably inferred from the results of the "search": Donahue, Cooley, Coen. How do YOU know that Gene DID have an exhaustive search and WAS willing to spend ACC cash and WAS willing to make the necessary commitments to hire a big name?
First, he wrote "I want Pearl. But I'd take Stevens". Is that closer to what I wrote or what you wrote?
Secondly, he said Donahue is a "classic mistake". Is that closer to what I wrote or what you wrote?
Thirdly, what's ACC Money? Should we pay a guy like Coach K if he's not Coach K just to spend? Let's see what Donahue is gonna make and how that compares to the ACC.
Finally, the point of the "you don't know" is that, in fact, YOU DON'T KNOW. Did I ever claim to know what was going on with the search? No, that would be you, sir. But I do know that any "big names", like you wanted, wouldn't be made public and have to fly into Boston to meet with Gene at his home turf. Those would be taken care of through back-office communications to gauge interest, like happened with Pearl and Gregory.
So the search, from what was made public, included interviews with Donahue, Mooney, Coen and Cooley and offers to Pearl and Gregory. Again, if Donahue was his guy, how much longer did you want Gene to wait? Again, answer me the point of interviewing 2 or 3 more mid-major names like McKillop or Wojcik or whoever else if Donahue was his guy. Just so that the numbers were higher? Does that really make a search good or bad: the number of candidates spoken to?