Statement from GDF

[bignick33]

Coach Al Skinner and I met last Wednesday and agreed it would be mutually beneficial for us to part ways. In our meeting, we discussed our philosophical differences and our concern for the future of our basketball program.

Coach Skinner then asked if we could delay the announcement so that he could pursue other opportunities. Out of respect for Coach Skinner, Boston college agreed. Other institutions were made aware we would be parting ways from the beginning of the process.

All of us at Boston College have great respect for Coach Skinner. We are grateful for his achievements over the course of the past 13 years. We wish Al, Donna and their family nothing but the best.

Our goal is to find a coach who shares our vision for Boston College basketball. We will begin a national search for a replacement immediately.

http://community.foxsports.com/goodmanonfox/blog/2010/03/30/bc_athletic_directors_statement_on_skinner_firing

[FirstDownSyndrome]

Coach Al Skinner and I met last Wednesday and agreed it would be mutually beneficial for us to part ways. In our meeting, we discussed our philosophical differences and our concern for the future of our basketball program.

Coach Skinner then asked if we could delay the announcement so that he could pursue other opportunities. Out of respect for Coach Skinner, Boston college agreed. Other institutions were made aware we would be parting ways from the beginning of the process.

All of us at Boston College have great respect for Coach Skinner. We are grateful for his achievements over the course of the past 13 years. We wish Al, Donna and their family nothing but the best.

Our goal is to find a coach who shares our vision for Boston College basketball. We will begin a national search for a replacement immediately.

http://community.foxsports.com/goodmanonfox/blog/2010/03/30/bc_athletic_directors_statement_on_skinner_firing

WHY ONLY A NATIONAL SEARCH? There is great international coaching talent. Another GDF blunder.

[auggiebc]

"Coach Skinner then asked if we could delay the announcement so that he could pursue other opportunities. Out of respect for Coach Skinner, Boston college agreed"

If this is really in the statement, then that is so pathetically weak and shallow of GDF. Even if the statement is true, it is pathetic. He could have simply said "We agreed to part ways last week". Nothing more to be said there. Let Skinner leave with the dignity he deserves. GDF is a fucking clown.

[Logitano]

Somewhere in the middle of all of this is the truth. I said it in another thread. Gene asked for some changes and Al would not make changes putting his loyalty to his staff above what was right for BC. Al could have placated SJU with hiring a NY recruiter but did not and probably could have placated Gene by making a much needed staff change. Stupid move by Al now his entire staff is out of work and I guarantee he is the only one with a parachute. Not a fan of Gene but he went through this before with a coach unwilling to do what was necessary for the program so he pulled the trigger.

[OCs_Inner_Eagle]

Somewhere in the middle of all of this is the truth. I said it in another thread. Gene asked for some changes and Al would not make changes putting his loyalty to his staff above what was right for BC. Al could have placated SJU with hiring a NY recruiter but did not and probably could have placated Gene by making a much needed staff change. Stupid move by Al now his entire staff is out of work and I guarantee he is the only one with a parachute. Not a fan of Gene but he went through this before with a coach unwilling to do what was necessary for the program so he pulled the trigger.

Funny thing is that Al had real reason to ashcan the staff. Clearly the talent they brought in has been inferior to what we saw under Coen & Cooley. In addition to his shortcomings, Colson had his misadventure in Tallahassee. Cassara hasn't capitalized on his alleged recruiting ties to the New England prep scene, and he was the one rumored to have told Rakim et al to blow off the Flex and freelance because they were good enough to do so. Yet Al isn't willing to kick even one of them aside.

[bcsoxfan12]

sounds like a lot of on both sides.....but it was time for everyone involved to just move on

[Logitano]

Somewhere in the middle of all of this is the truth. I said it in another thread. Gene asked for some changes and Al would not make changes putting his loyalty to his staff above what was right for BC. Al could have placated SJU with hiring a NY recruiter but did not and probably could have placated Gene by making a much needed staff change. Stupid move by Al now his entire staff is out of work and I guarantee he is the only one with a parachute. Not a fan of Gene but he went through this before with a coach unwilling to do what was necessary for the program so he pulled the trigger.

Funny thing is that Al had real reason to ashcan the staff. Clearly the talent they brought in has been inferior to what we saw under Coen & Cooley. In addition to his shortcomings, Colson had his misadventure in Tallahassee. Cassara hasn't capitalized on his alleged recruiting ties to the New England prep scene, and he was the one rumored to have told Rakim et al to blow off the Flex and freelance because they were good enough to do so. Yet Al isn't willing to kick even one of them aside.

Al is not nearly at the level of coach he apparently thinks he is or his supporters on this board think to get by with a terrible staff. It was not crazy for Gene to discuss issues with a program that had been treading water since the dismissal of **** *******.

[jumboeagle]

Al Skinner out as Boston College basketball coach
By JIMMY GOLEN, AP Sports Writer
2 hours, 22 minutes ago
Buzz up!
Print
BOSTON (AP)—Al Skinner, who led Boston College to seven NCAA tournament berths in nine years and more wins than anyone else in school history, is out as basketball coach in what the school said Tuesday was a mutual agreement.

“Coach Al Skinner and I met last Wednesday and agreed it would be mutually beneficial for us to part ways,” athletic director Gene DeFilippo said in a statement. “In our meeting, we discussed our philosophical differences and our concern for the future of our basketball program.”

DeFilippo’s statement said that the announcement was kept secret for almost a week at Skinner’s request so he could interview for other jobs, including the vacancy at St. John’s. Skinner was not fired for seeking other employment, according to two BC officials who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the discussions were private.

DeFilippo fired football coach Jeff Jagodzinski last year for seeking an NFL job without permission. Skinner had permission to interview for the St. John’s vacancy—or anywhere else, for that matter—that opened when Norm Roberts was fired.

“Coach Skinner then asked if we could delay the announcement so that he could pursue other opportunities. Out of respect for Coach Skinner, Boston College agreed,” DeFilippo said. “Other institutions were made aware we would be parting ways from the beginning of the process.”

Skinner’s departure was first reported by The Boston Globe.

In 13 seasons leading the Eagles, Skinner compiled a 247-165 record with seven NCAA berths since 2001. But BC has finished below .500 in two of the last three seasons, with a 15-16 in 2009-10 that included a 6-10 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference and a first-round loss in the league tournament.

One of the BC officials cited a poor recruiting class, along with the team’s losing records and attendance that has declined for four consecutive years, as reasons for the decision. Skinner has never been known as a top-notch recruiter, though he did excel at taking lightly recruited players like Troy Bell, Craig Smith and Jared Dudley and turning them into NBA prospects.

Before coming to BC, Skinner spent nine years at Rhode Island. In all, he has a 385-291 record that includes 10 seasons of 20 wins or more.

A standout player at Massachusetts and a teammate of Julius Erving’s on the 1976 ABA champion New York Nets, Skinner came to Boston College after a gambling scandal that cost the school its football coach and athletic director. His predecessor, Jim O’Brien, went to Ohio State after a power struggle with the BC admissions department and left just seven scholarship players behind.

The Eagles won 32 games in his first three years and finished last in the Big East in 2000. But the next season they became the first school in conference history to go from worst-to-first and Skinner was a contender for national coach of the year.

BC reached the NCAA tournament seven times in the next nine years despite an uncomfortable move to the ACC that was made with football in mind.

[twballgame9]

Somewhere in the middle of all of this is the truth. I said it in another thread. Gene asked for some changes and Al would not make changes putting his loyalty to his staff above what was right for BC. Al could have placated SJU with hiring a NY recruiter but did not and probably could have placated Gene by making a much needed staff change. Stupid move by Al now his entire staff is out of work and I guarantee he is the only one with a parachute. Not a fan of Gene but he went through this before with a coach unwilling to do what was necessary for the program so he pulled the trigger.

Funny thing is that Al had real reason to ashcan the staff. Clearly the talent they brought in has been inferior to what we saw under Coen & Cooley. In addition to his shortcomings, Colson had his misadventure in Tallahassee. Cassara hasn't capitalized on his alleged recruiting ties to the New England prep scene, and he was the one rumored to have told Rakim et al to blow off the Flex and freelance because they were good enough to do so. Yet Al isn't willing to kick even one of them aside.

Al is not nearly at the level of coach he apparently thinks he is or his supporters on this board think to get by with a terrible staff. It was not crazy for Gene to discuss issues with a program that had been treading water since the dismissal of **** *******.

I for one have said on a number of occasions that a decent staff would heal many of the ills.

[Logitano]

Somewhere in the middle of all of this is the truth. I said it in another thread. Gene asked for some changes and Al would not make changes putting his loyalty to his staff above what was right for BC. Al could have placated SJU with hiring a NY recruiter but did not and probably could have placated Gene by making a much needed staff change. Stupid move by Al now his entire staff is out of work and I guarantee he is the only one with a parachute. Not a fan of Gene but he went through this before with a coach unwilling to do what was necessary for the program so he pulled the trigger.

Funny thing is that Al had real reason to ashcan the staff. Clearly the talent they brought in has been inferior to what we saw under Coen & Cooley. In addition to his shortcomings, Colson had his misadventure in Tallahassee. Cassara hasn't capitalized on his alleged recruiting ties to the New England prep scene, and he was the one rumored to have told Rakim et al to blow off the Flex and freelance because they were good enough to do so. Yet Al isn't willing to kick even one of them aside.

Al is not nearly at the level of coach he apparently thinks he is or his supporters on this board think to get by with a terrible staff. It was not crazy for Gene to discuss issues with a program that had been treading water since the dismissal of **** *******.

I for one have said on a number of occasions that a decent staff would heal many of the ills.

I apologize because I said in another thread mentioning that you have always said that but from all of what I know about Al it is the main reason why I saw him as a TOB clone because he would never ever make those changes necessary to take us to the next level. I do not mean it as an attack but this is just where I was always coming from when people would say "All Al needs to do is bring in blah blah blah" to fix the staff. It would drive me crazy because he would never do that and it always reminded me of "I love TOB but I hate that Dana Bible. If only he would get rid of Bible." He is simply not capable of making that kind of adjustment which says a lot about him and why he has come up short in certain situations.

[twballgame9]

Somewhere in the middle of all of this is the truth. I said it in another thread. Gene asked for some changes and Al would not make changes putting his loyalty to his staff above what was right for BC. Al could have placated SJU with hiring a NY recruiter but did not and probably could have placated Gene by making a much needed staff change. Stupid move by Al now his entire staff is out of work and I guarantee he is the only one with a parachute. Not a fan of Gene but he went through this before with a coach unwilling to do what was necessary for the program so he pulled the trigger.

Funny thing is that Al had real reason to ashcan the staff. Clearly the talent they brought in has been inferior to what we saw under Coen & Cooley. In addition to his shortcomings, Colson had his misadventure in Tallahassee. Cassara hasn't capitalized on his alleged recruiting ties to the New England prep scene, and he was the one rumored to have told Rakim et al to blow off the Flex and freelance because they were good enough to do so. Yet Al isn't willing to kick even one of them aside.

Al is not nearly at the level of coach he apparently thinks he is or his supporters on this board think to get by with a terrible staff. It was not crazy for Gene to discuss issues with a program that had been treading water since the dismissal of **** *******.

I for one have said on a number of occasions that a decent staff would heal many of the ills.

I apologize because I said in another thread mentioning that you have always said that but from all of what I know about Al it is the main reason why I saw him as a TOB clone because he would never ever make those changes necessary to take us to the next level. I do not mean it as an attack but this is just where I was always coming from when people would say "All Al needs to do is bring in blah blah blah" to fix the staff. It would drive me crazy because he would never do that and it always reminded me of "I love TOB but I hate that Dana Bible. If only he would get rid of Bible." He is simply not capable of making that kind of adjustment which says a lot about him and why he has come up short in certain situations.

Fair enough.

[bcaddict]

I heard the longest of long shots isn't necessarily that much of a long shot.

[FirstDownSyndrome]

I heard the longest of long shots isn't necessarily that much of a long shot.

John Wooden!? Please let this be true.

[commavegarage]

Somewhere in the middle of all of this is the truth. I said it in another thread. Gene asked for some changes and Al would not make changes putting his loyalty to his staff above what was right for BC. Al could have placated SJU with hiring a NY recruiter but did not and probably could have placated Gene by making a much needed staff change. Stupid move by Al now his entire staff is out of work and I guarantee he is the only one with a parachute. Not a fan of Gene but he went through this before with a coach unwilling to do what was necessary for the program so he pulled the trigger.

Funny thing is that Al had real reason to ashcan the staff. Clearly the talent they brought in has been inferior to what we saw under Coen & Cooley. In addition to his shortcomings, Colson had his misadventure in Tallahassee. Cassara hasn't capitalized on his alleged recruiting ties to the New England prep scene, and he was the one rumored to have told Rakim et al to blow off the Flex and freelance because they were good enough to do so. Yet Al isn't willing to kick even one of them aside.

Al is not nearly at the level of coach he apparently thinks he is or his supporters on this board think to get by with a terrible staff. It was not crazy for Gene to discuss issues with a program that had been treading water since the dismissal of **** *******.

I for one have said on a number of occasions that a decent staff would heal many of the ills.

You and many others (including myself). I think people are forgetting something. IMO the talent is there. There's a reason we ALL expected this team to be a 4-7 seed in the tourney. Check out the the preseason predictions. If we get a good coach I think we will see immediate results.

[bignick33]

I heard the longest of long shots isn't necessarily that much of a long shot.

My brain says you're talking about this guy:




My heart says you're talking about this guy:

[Art Vandelay]

I heard the longest of long shots isn't necessarily that much of a long shot.

My brain says you're talking about this guy:




My heart says you're talking about this guy:

Would he bring her along as director of basketball operations?

[bcaddict]

haha go with your brain Bignick

[BCMcG]

You and many others (including myself). I think people are forgetting something. IMO the talent is there. There's a reason we ALL expected this team to be a 4-7 seed in the tourney. Check out the the preseason predictions. If we get a good coach I think we will see immediate results.

Completely agree. If BC makes the right hire, we're probably looking at the basketball equivalent of Jags' first year.

[Art Vandelay]

You and many others (including myself). I think people are forgetting something. IMO the talent is there. There's a reason we ALL expected this team to be a 4-7 seed in the tourney. Check out the the preseason predictions. If we get a good coach I think we will see immediate results.

Completely agree. If BC makes the right hire, we're probably looking at the basketball equivalent of Jags' first year.

A lot is going to depend on how complicated a system the new coach runs. 4 seniors need to unlearn a lot of the crapthey've been doing for three years. I'm not as sold as you on our talent, but I think there is enough there to be better than we've been if you play to their strengths.

[commavegarage]

You and many others (including myself). I think people are forgetting something. IMO the talent is there. There's a reason we ALL expected this team to be a 4-7 seed in the tourney. Check out the the preseason predictions. If we get a good coach I think we will see immediate results.

Completely agree. If BC makes the right hire, we're probably looking at the basketball equivalent of Jags' first year.

A lot is going to depend on how complicated a system the new coach runs. 4 seniors need to unlearn a lot of the crapthey've been doing for three years. I'm not as sold as you on our talent, but I think there is enough there to be better than we've been if you play to their strengths.

Well, fortunately they will only have to learn a new system. They won't have to unlearn something they never learned in the first place.

[BCMcG]

I heard the longest of long shots isn't necessarily that much of a long shot.

If he's truly receptive to coaching at his alma mater then money would probably be the only holdup, because he's exactly what the basketball program needs right now.

Dear Barbara and Patrick Roche,

Thank you very much for your generous donation of $20 million dollars. Remember when we said it was going toward a Catholic education center. Yeah, that's not going to work out. We need to pay Bruce Pearl to be our basketball coach. I hope that's cool.

WPL, SJ

[Art Vandelay]

You and many others (including myself). I think people are forgetting something. IMO the talent is there. There's a reason we ALL expected this team to be a 4-7 seed in the tourney. Check out the the preseason predictions. If we get a good coach I think we will see immediate results.

Completely agree. If BC makes the right hire, we're probably looking at the basketball equivalent of Jags' first year.

A lot is going to depend on how complicated a system the new coach runs. 4 seniors need to unlearn a lot of the crapthey've been doing for three years. I'm not as sold as you on our talent, but I think there is enough there to be better than we've been if you play to their strengths.

Well, fortunately they will only have to learn a new system. They won't have to unlearn something they never learned in the first place.

Fair point.

[angrychicken]

http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/e ... makes.html

[bignick33]

I heard the longest of long shots isn't necessarily that much of a long shot.

If he's truly receptive to coaching at his alma mater then money would probably be the only holdup, because he's exactly what the basketball program needs right now.

Dear Barbara and Patrick Roche,

Thank you very much for your generous donation of $20 million dollars. Remember when we said it was going toward a Catholic education center. Yeah, that's not going to work out. We need to pay Bruce Pearl to be our basketball coach. I hope that's cool.

WPL, SJ

Even putting $ aside, I'm not sure how big of an obstacle it would be to the administration (namely Leahy, not GDF) that he's been surrounded by some scandals. Put simply, he's not an alter-boy (not a pun on his religion). This would not be a typical hire for the BC Board of Trustees.

Addict, why are you getting my hopes up? He would be virtually the perfect hire.

[Art Vandelay]

http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/extras/colleges_blog/2010/03/defilippo_makes.html

So the one sentence translation of what GDF had to say about what he wants in a new coach - "We want everything to be exactly the opposite of this past season"

[EagleManiac66]

http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/extras/colleges_blog/2010/03/defilippo_makes.html

So the one sentence translation of what GDF had to say about what he wants in a new coach - "We want everything to be exactly the opposite of this past season"

In black and white terms (i.e., no gray areas), that pretty much sums it up.

[FirstDownSyndrome]

I heard the longest of long shots isn't necessarily that much of a long shot.

If he's truly receptive to coaching at his alma mater then money would probably be the only holdup, because he's exactly what the basketball program needs right now.

Dear Barbara and Patrick Roche,

Thank you very much for your generous donation of $20 million dollars. Remember when we said it was going toward a Catholic education center. Yeah, that's not going to work out. We need to pay Bruce Pearl to be our basketball coach. I hope that's cool.

WPL, SJ

Even putting $ aside, I'm not sure how big of an obstacle it would be to the administration (namely Leahy, not GDF) that he's been surrounded by some scandals. Put simply, he's not an alter-boy (not a pun on his religion). This would not be a typical hire for the BC Board of Trustees.

Addict, why are you getting my hopes up? He would be virtually the perfect hire.

What precisely concerns you about Pearl and scandals? There is the one recruiting issue at Iowa but that doesn't really make him seem all that bad? What am I missing here? Thanks.

[tallsy]

http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/extras/colleges_blog/2010/03/defilippo_makes.html

He does seem committed to playing an "exciting" brand of basketball. I don't think GDF is that good of an actor, and there were a lot of other things he could have said.

Personally, I think that excludes a lot of the names bandied about here. Like Skinner disciples and Princeton offense guys.

[shockdoct]

I heard the longest of long shots isn't necessarily that much of a long shot.

If he's truly receptive to coaching at his alma mater then money would probably be the only holdup, because he's exactly what the basketball program needs right now.

Dear Barbara and Patrick Roche,

Thank you very much for your generous donation of $20 million dollars. Remember when we said it was going toward a Catholic education center. Yeah, that's not going to work out. We need to pay Bruce Pearl to be our basketball coach. I hope that's cool.

WPL, SJ

Even putting $ aside, I'm not sure how big of an obstacle it would be to the administration (namely Leahy, not GDF) that he's been surrounded by some scandals. Put simply, he's not an alter-boy (not a pun on his religion). This would not be a typical hire for the BC Board of Trustees.

Addict, why are you getting my hopes up? He would be virtually the perfect hire.

What precisely concerns you about Pearl and scandals? There is the one recruiting issue at Iowa but that doesn't really make him seem all that bad? What am I missing here? Thanks.

Uhh I would say the "incidents" at tenn the past few years.

[bignick33]

I heard the longest of long shots isn't necessarily that much of a long shot.

If he's truly receptive to coaching at his alma mater then money would probably be the only holdup, because he's exactly what the basketball program needs right now.

Dear Barbara and Patrick Roche,

Thank you very much for your generous donation of $20 million dollars. Remember when we said it was going toward a Catholic education center. Yeah, that's not going to work out. We need to pay Bruce Pearl to be our basketball coach. I hope that's cool.

WPL, SJ

Even putting $ aside, I'm not sure how big of an obstacle it would be to the administration (namely Leahy, not GDF) that he's been surrounded by some scandals. Put simply, he's not an alter-boy (not a pun on his religion). This would not be a typical hire for the BC Board of Trustees.

Addict, why are you getting my hopes up? He would be virtually the perfect hire.

What precisely concerns you about Pearl and scandals? There is the one recruiting issue at Iowa but that doesn't really make him seem all that bad? What am I missing here? Thanks.

There's the Iowa incident, there's the release of scholarship-players when he got to UT, there are pics like the one I posted above, etc. I'm not concerned about these issues. However, I think the Board might be.