HJS {l Wrote}:Cadillac90 {l Wrote}:Mitch {l Wrote}:Donohue wanted to recruit players who could shoot at every position---thus, he didn't recruit for defense or rebounding. Every team needs a couple of bangers, defensive closers and good athletes to get to loose balls. Hopefully, Coach Christian will change that approach.
The only thing I didn't understand was that Donahue didn't really recruit great shooters.
Don didn't recruit top players (and seemed completely uninterested in doing so). Instead, he supposedly recruited players who fit his system. However, his players never meshed well with one another. Don is a good guy and punched all the boxes with his off-the-court stuff. However, in hindsight, it seems that he really just got lucky with a couple of guys at Cornell who combined with a large recruiting class that matured over 4-years. That said, he probably should have been given one more year to prove himself.
Well said. Regarding Skinner: every Al basher and every Al apologist both make good points; Al had a GREAT run at BC. He was a decent game manager if not an innovative strategist; with the help of a very able staff for most of his tenure here he struck gold on some recruits, and most importantly I think unlike the vast number of con-men coaching DI his understated style got the most out of his players. However, the talented staff of assistants moved on and he got VERY complacent, and despite the fact that much of the GDF bashing that goes on here is justified, the AD was his boss and when he said I need you to do X,Y,and Z and Al said, "that's not my job", Gene was justified in showing him the door.
You characterized Donahue perfectly, although I don't know if another year would have mattered- the wheels seemed to totally be coming off last season; granted maybe in part because the squad knew half way through the year that their days were numbered....worse thing I think Donahue did was hand the playmaking to Rahon, the guy's basketball IQ was obviously a bit further along than Hanlan; but to NOT recognize the gulf in physical ability and potential between the two was ridiculous. Hanlan has spent a good part of the season adjusting to being the point guard, which is something that should have happened last year.
Christian and his staff seems to know what they are doing, did their best to swing in Diallo and the 5th year guys on short notice. If you don't recognize the accomplishment getting this group to be competitive in the ACC, then you are missing something. They just don't have the talent on the offensive end. After Hanlan, no one has demonstrated the ability to create a shot for themselves when it counts in crunch time and that is why they hit the wall trying to close out these games.
