Coaching Candidates

[ATLeagle]

Avery Johnson would be a disaster. Aside from 0 college experience and 0 recruiting experience. I don't think the Jesuits would take to his preaching. I'm pretty sure he's one of the evangelicals that doesn't take to kindly to the Pope.

[teeperiod]

I agree with HJS' assessment and actually love the idea of Jeff Capel. Success as a head coach at the mid-major and major level. Deep national recruiting ties. Young, energetic...great pedigree (Coach K., all acc player, son of a coach).
Other than the fact that he's really a very ugly guy and not particularly charismatic - I see less downside with him than just about any other candidate.

[twballgame9]

Avery Johnson would be a disaster. Aside from 0 college experience and 0 recruiting experience. I don't think the Jesuits would take to his preaching. I'm pretty sure he's one of the evangelicals that doesn't take to kindly to the Pope.

That was the difference between he and Herm that I noted - I believe Herm is a Catholic.

[HJS]

I have no interest in the mid-major guys we can get (i.e. those not named Smart or Marshall). I hate anyone from the MAC, Skerry, Coen, O'Shea and whatever other New-England-connection crap name has been floating out there. In fact, I think you have to be very, very careful going after mid-major guys as most turn out to be like Don. I'd much prefer a bunch of guys from the Big East (Pastner, Mack, Buzz Williams, McDermott), but again... don't think any are realistic based on our admin and what they are willing to pay. The hit rate is MUCH better with recycled coaches who are getting second chances (which is the reason why I want Howland and Pearl (never happen) and would even entertain guys like Capel or Snyder).

[Cadillac90]

I have no interest in the mid-major guys we can get (i.e. those not named Smart or Marshall). I hate anyone from the MAC, Skerry, Coen, O'Shea and whatever other New-England-connection crap name has been floating out there. In fact, I think you have to be very, very careful going after mid-major guys as most turn out to be like Don. I'd much prefer a bunch of guys from the Big East (Pastner, Mack, Buzz Williams, McDermott), but again... don't think any are realistic based on our admin and what they are willing to pay. The hit rate is MUCH better with recycled coaches who are getting second chances (which is the reason why I want Howland and Pearl (never happen) and would even entertain guys like Capel or Snyder).

This.

Also, what is the deal with Mark Few? Will he never leave Gonzaga? It wouldn't hurt to try and see what if anything could get him away from the Pacific Northwest.

[HJS]

Also, what is the deal with Mark Few? Will he never leave Gonzaga? It wouldn't hurt to try and see what if anything could get him away from the Pacific Northwest.

I mentioned Few a bunch of times back when we were replacing your husband. I put him in there with Marshall and Smart as mid-major guys that would simply cost more than the admin would be willing to pay.

Speaking of that conference, a mid-major name that was floated 4-years ago is Randy Bennett from St. Mary's. Again... not a fan of the mid-major route, but he'd be someone to take a look at if Bates doesn't have much of a checkbook.

[BC923]

I don't think that Bates will have much to spend on this hire. I'm not sure why, but I feel like the administration won't want to break the bank on basketball right now.

[JimDog90]

I think a major portion of the hate for Amaker comes from his obvious failures at Michigan. While it's not a particularly strong argument for him, I feel most fans fail to recognize that struggling in your first shot at the big time can sometimes be a net positive in the long run as a coach learns what NOT to do.

As previously stated I am still in the Howland camp. I acknowledge that HJS was the first I saw to mention his name here or elsewhere. And since then I haven't seen anything to dissuade my opinion that he is an attainable big name for alma mater.

Obviously the board is filled with expressions of frustration over Donahue's performance, but I agree with HJS that it was a good hire at the time. Quoting Pedro's comment about Amaker, sometimes failure is a strength if you learn from it. But there is a process where you cut your losses and regroup. I think of B.Belichick's experience coaching the Browns as an example (stretching the analogy to another sport and level, I know). That is where Donahue is at right now.

It is a separate question whether Amaker has bettered himself through his tenure at Harvard, or is he the same guy and his ability to recruit is going to keep him relatively successful at Harvard regardless of the fact that he is not a good game/bench coach.

Howland makes sense in a lot of ways, although a) the interest has to be mutual and b) the Nelson controversy is a black mark that I am sure would concern the admin at BC

[eagle9903]

I just searched back through the post Skinner coaching candidates thread. It was funny because a lot of posters are mentioning the same names.

I will say that suggesting howland as a realistic candidate now is much less ridiculous than when he still had the UCLA job.

It would be an awesome hire in my opinion, but I have trouble seeing it.

[eagle9903]

I don't think that Bates will have much to spend on this hire. I'm not sure why, but I feel like the administration won't want to break the bank on basketball right now.

If they are ever going to break the bank, this isn't a bad time.

[NJM89]

Recruiting needs to be the top priority when looking for a new coach. With 6-7 scholarships available for next year and minimal talent on the team besides Hanlan who will most likely be gone anyways, by the time they get to campus you will get a good chance to start as a freshman in the ACC. If the coach cant convince a couple top 150 kids and get around to a top 25 recruiting class, then I don't want him here.

[TobaccoRoadEagle]

serious question - where would hanlan be going?

[HJS]

serious question - where would hanlan be going?

I had a similar question, but I think he was guessing that Hanlon wouldn't come back for his senior year.

[NJM89]

serious question - where would hanlan be going?

I had a similar question, but I think he was guessing that Hanlon wouldn't come back for his senior year.

This. Hes been in mock drafts all year for the second round I just think he will be gone by the end of his junior year. Wouldn't count it out on him leaving after this year even though that would be dumb of him.

[Cadillac90]

I don't think that Bates will have much to spend on this hire. I'm not sure why, but I feel like the administration won't want to break the bank on basketball right now.

If they are ever going to break the bank, this isn't a bad time.

Yes

[Cadillac90]

I think a major portion of the hate for Amaker comes from his obvious failures at Michigan. While it's not a particularly strong argument for him, I feel most fans fail to recognize that struggling in your first shot at the big time can sometimes be a net positive in the long run as a coach learns what NOT to do.

As previously stated I am still in the Howland camp. I acknowledge that HJS was the first I saw to mention his name here or elsewhere. And since then I haven't seen anything to dissuade my opinion that he is an attainable big name for alma mater.

Obviously the board is filled with expressions of frustration over Donahue's performance, but I agree with HJS that it was a good hire at the time. Quoting Pedro's comment about Amaker, sometimes failure is a strength if you learn from it. But there is a process where you cut your losses and regroup. I think of B.Belichick's experience coaching the Browns as an example (stretching the analogy to another sport and level, I know). That is where Donahue is at right now.

It is a separate question whether Amaker has bettered himself through his tenure at Harvard, or is he the same guy and his ability to recruit is going to keep him relatively successful at Harvard regardless of the fact that he is not a good game/bench coach.

Howland makes sense in a lot of ways, although a) the interest has to be mutual and b) the Nelson controversy is a black mark that I am sure would concern the admin at BC

Not that I am advocating for Amaker but in fairness, didn't he take over Michigan when they had some NCAA sanctions on them? I am guessing that may have contributed to his shitty performance. That and their OOC schedule.

[MattTheEagle]

I still don't think Donahue is that bad of a coach. He isn't great, but if you gave him Duke or UNC's roster, I think he would do fine. The biggest problem is he cannot recruit...at all. It strikes me that nobody, on BC's coaching staff had any experience recruiting scholarship players prior to BC. The experience of this staff would be bad even for a mid-major...let alone an ACC school.

I am not interested in the coaches from poor conferences. More than anything we need someone who can recruit at a high level. I'll take my chances with an assistant at a big school that is a recognized recruiter. That being said, I would much rather take Amaker than most of the alternatives suggested here because he is a good recruiter and at least has the experience coaching at a high level.

[EagleDave]

I still don't think Donahue is that bad of a coach. He isn't great, but if you gave him Duke or UNC's roster, I think he would do fine. The biggest problem is he cannot recruit...at all. It strikes me that nobody, on BC's coaching staff had any experience recruiting scholarship players prior to BC. The experience of this staff would be bad even for a mid-major...let alone an ACC school.

I am not interested in the coaches from poor conferences. More than anything we need someone who can recruit at a high level. I'll take my chances with an assistant at a big school that is a recognized recruiter. That being said, I would much rather take Amaker than most of the alternatives suggested here because he is a good recruiter and at least has the experience coaching at a high level.

Your criticism of Donahue and his staff's inability to recruit scholarship players followed by your praise of Amaker as a recruiter is in pretty sharp contrast given that Amaker is currently not recruiting scholarship guys and, when he was, never got Michigan into the NCAA tournament.

I'd be REALLY wary of hiring Amaker, but at this point we all know it'll either be him or someone from the Skinner tree.

[ATLeagle]

I think a major portion of the hate for Amaker comes from his obvious failures at Michigan. While it's not a particularly strong argument for him, I feel most fans fail to recognize that struggling in your first shot at the big time can sometimes be a net positive in the long run as a coach learns what NOT to do.

As previously stated I am still in the Howland camp. I acknowledge that HJS was the first I saw to mention his name here or elsewhere. And since then I haven't seen anything to dissuade my opinion that he is an attainable big name for alma mater.

Obviously the board is filled with expressions of frustration over Donahue's performance, but I agree with HJS that it was a good hire at the time. Quoting Pedro's comment about Amaker, sometimes failure is a strength if you learn from it. But there is a process where you cut your losses and regroup. I think of B.Belichick's experience coaching the Browns as an example (stretching the analogy to another sport and level, I know). That is where Donahue is at right now.

It is a separate question whether Amaker has bettered himself through his tenure at Harvard, or is he the same guy and his ability to recruit is going to keep him relatively successful at Harvard regardless of the fact that he is not a good game/bench coach.

Howland makes sense in a lot of ways, although a) the interest has to be mutual and b) the Nelson controversy is a black mark that I am sure would concern the admin at BC

Not that I am advocating for Amaker but in fairness, didn't he take over Michigan when they had some NCAA sanctions on them? I am guessing that may have contributed to his shitty performance. That and their OOC schedule.

Brian Ellerbee coached through most of the sanctions. Amaker was supposed to swoop in and catch them on the rise. Of course he never did and just got to the NIT a lot.

[MilitantEagle]

Bates is a Michigan guy. I highly doubt Amaker is on his short list.

[HJS]

Bates is a Michigan guy. I highly doubt Amaker is on his short list.

What makes you think it is going to be Bates' call? The BOT (i.e. marineagle, et al) are going to play a role in the hiring. How big of a role will determine whether or not we are stuck with of candidate pool of Coen, O'Shea, Jones, Schmidt and Amaker.

[claver2010]

I still don't think Donahue is that bad of a coach. He isn't great, but if you gave him Duke or UNC's roster, I think he would do fine. The biggest problem is he cannot recruit...at all. It strikes me that nobody, on BC's coaching staff had any experience recruiting scholarship players prior to BC. The experience of this staff would be bad even for a mid-major...let alone an ACC school.

I used to think he was a very good X&O coach, then I realized there are points in time during the game when you don't have the ball and that counts as coaching too so I thought he was a mediocre coach. Then I watched him these past couple of months.

His recruiting is terrible

[eagle9903]

I still don't think Donahue is that bad of a coach. He isn't great, but if you gave him Duke or UNC's roster, I think he would do fine. The biggest problem is he cannot recruit...at all. It strikes me that nobody, on BC's coaching staff had any experience recruiting scholarship players prior to BC. The experience of this staff would be bad even for a mid-major...let alone an ACC school.

I used to think he was a very good X&O coach, then I realized there are points in time during the game when you don't have the ball and that counts as coaching too so I thought he was a mediocre coach. Then I watched him these past couple of months.

His recruiting is terrible

He's bad at all aspects of coaching. His hyperactive in game coaching harms his poorly assembled roster of players whom he has harmed developmentally (possibly through the aforesaid hyperactivity). If anyone cares this is not flip flopping, it is admitting wrongness.

Someone post on the football board if we don't hire a miserably unexciting replacement, thanks.

[Cadillac90]

Does anyone have Bates' email address? I'd like to propose my list of candidates to him. Thanks in advance.

[TobaccoRoadEagle]

i think he'll be okay with your crayon scrawled submission, but make sure you spell "al skinner" correctly

brad.bates@bc.edu

[larrydoby]

I'm scared shitless that BC is going to hire Amaker. He's the worst case scenario hire - he'll graduate players and do enough on the court not to get fired, but he'll never give the fans anything to get excited about. It'll be a long run of 7th place finishes in the ACC, which may sound good now, but will get old quick.

Amaker didn't want the job before. Why would he possibly want it now?

[HJS]

I'm scared shitless that BC is going to hire Amaker. He's the worst case scenario hire - he'll graduate players and do enough on the court not to get fired, but he'll never give the fans anything to get excited about. It'll be a long run of 7th place finishes in the ACC, which may sound good now, but will get old quick.

Amaker didn't want the job before. Why would he possibly want it now?

I'm just going to point out that the situation that DGF envisions is not the worst case scenario.

[Cadillac90]

i think he'll be okay with your crayon scrawled submission, but make sure you spell "al skinner" correctly

brad.bates@bc.edu

Thanks. BTW, I am on record not wanting my husband back at BC. I know that is hard to believe but it has to be that way.

[hinghameagle]

looking back, I was in favor of the Donahue hire. the glowing report from the Cornell players and watching them roll over an always well coached Bo Ryan team in the 2nd round of the NCAA tourney convinced me that he was a great hire.

I will say this, that this year has been such an unmitigated disaster that he has to go. He has to go. The only thing that cmakes me conflicted is that I usually dont think that that one bad year should get a coach fired. At the end of last season, if BC had to make a decison and had to do one or the other, and the two choices were to either offer him a 2year extension or fire him on the spot, I would have voted for the 2 year extension, and my guess is that a large majority of this board would have felt the same way. Strangely, the one thing I loved about Donahue, is now that one thing I can't stand about him. Skinner was so laid back and emotionless, that I thought BC needed an energetic coach. the first few games of donahue's tenure, he is jumping up off the bench, directing everything, the whistling, the energy, I loved it. Now it drives me banannas.

Now regarding Bates, assuming he is going to give The Don The Gate, it will interesting to see how this breaks down on many levels:

1. What kind of budget does he have to work with
2. if he interviews Pearl and is convinced he is rehabilitated, would the BOT, or Leahy sign off on it?
3. I think Bates really wants to win at everything, but with regard to basketball, do tghe decision makers feel the same way.
4. Bates comes from a mid major school, he hired a mid major football coach which worked well for the first year, why would we expect him to be choosing from anything other than a mid major pool.
5.This is an important hire, but a very low pressure one for Bates. this basketball program could stink for the next 10 years, but as long as the football team succeeds, he has no job security issues. With that being said, if given the green light why would he hitch his wagon to Pearl, knowing that the only bad thing that can happen to him regarding basketball is some form of NCAA investigation.

One last thing regarding Bates, and that is that, I really like the guy. BC made a great hire getting this guy. A quick story. I have a good friend, who has been along time coach, at one of the lower level sports at BC. This coach would get a once per year meeting with Gene, who would forget his name, nad no absolutely nothing about his program, how they are doing, really had no care or concern about him or the program. My buddy now gets a monthly meeting with Bates (as do all coaches). In the first meetings, my buddy walks in and has a 15 minute converstion about his family, how his kids are, how are they doing in school what sports do they play, anytime they want to come to any BC sporting event let me know, I would love to meet them, and so on, and then Bates asks him hopw he can help my buddy's team. What do they need... My buddy is blown away.

They meet the next month, and the first question from Bates is how are your three children doing, and recounts all of their names. My buddy told Bates once the month before what their names were and what grade they were in. Bates recited it all to him one month later. Even better, Bates asks him how a certain player is doing with a certain part of her game. My guy is flabbbergasted. Bates said he talked to the girl on campus randomnly, and she told him what sport she played. they talked for about 10 minutes and she told him she was having trouble with a certian part of her game. Bates covertly showed up to her practice the same day and watched her play. He then sent her an email telling her that he thought she was playing great, and liked how hard she practiced and how well she represented the school, and that if she ever needed anyhting that she could come see him. This guy is 100% legit.

[GreenvilleEagle]

I'm scared shitless that BC is going to hire Amaker. He's the worst case scenario hire - he'll graduate players and do enough on the court not to get fired, but he'll never give the fans anything to get excited about. It'll be a long run of 7th place finishes in the ACC, which may sound good now, but will get old quick.

Amaker didn't want the job before. Why would he possibly want it now?

I'm just going to point out that the situation that DGF envisions is not the worst case scenario.

I don't know. People were over the moon with Captain Potato Head an 8th place finish this year. Many posters were predicting an NCAA tournament berth. So a 7th place finish would not be disappointing under DGF's scenario especially with posters like Hustiling Owl and jhiggi.