pick6pedro {l Wrote}:HJS {l Wrote}:Hell... I think you can make a strong argument that, on paper, Don was a much better hire than names like Hurley, O'Shea, Coen, Amaker, Skerry and whatever other compromised New-England-connection candidate that has been proposed.
Yep, and it drives me nuts when people can't differentiate between a bad hire at the time and a bad hire with the benefit of hindsight. Like a lazy ass Don-Spaz comparison.
Don was a strong hire at the time. It hasn't worked out. It sucks but it is what it is.
If you were to a postmortem, I think two takeaways are that (a) recruiting matters and (b) experience coaching in a top conference matters. Donahue never felt recruiting elite players was something he needed to do. He also underestimated what it took to win in at the ACC level. That doesn't mean that all mid-major coaches would similarly fail. It just means that BC should be wary before dipping their toe in that pool again.
In looking at other coaching hires through the years, I believe that those that wind up being the most successful are coaches who have won in a major conference (before falling out of favor with the fanbase, or leaving for the NBA or another program). That is where my focus would remain if I was BB. I am not a fan of Amaker (because he did not win enough in a major conference), but I have to admit that he generally fills the criteria I would suggest we look at (so would Howland, Pearl, Quin Snyder and the aforementioned Jeff Capel).
A name I have never seen anywhere but think would make a great outside-the-box college coach (this would be like my mentioning Herm Edwards for football)... is Avery Johnson.
