Thanks Al Skinner

[BCEagles25]

We really haven't had a formal "thank you" thread, and if we did I must have missed it. The last two of three years of his stay here might have been a little damaging to his legacy, but I'll always appreciate the good years. He was National Coach of the Year in 2000 and really was solely responsible for ressurecting the Boston College basketball program (which I like, by the way.) Although he might have had issues with motivation, in-game coaching and playing down to his opponent, he's still a quality coach and it's time to move on. Good luck handsome Al. Remember the 'stache.

[eepstein0]

I hope Al finds a great, well paying job coaching basketball and I have no doubt he will.

I'm just glad it won't be at BC.

[totheights]

Some great memories, some not so great memories....but thank you for your service and rebuilding of a program that was in shambles. I wish you the best of luck at whatever you do next.

It was time to move on and I hope in a week or two everyone on both sides can realize that.

Thanks for everything Al!

[BCFAN94]

We really haven't had a formal "thank you" thread, and if we did I must have missed it. The last two of three years of his stay here might have been a little damaging to his legacy, but I will always appreciate the good years. He was National Coach of the Year in 2000 and really was solely responsible for ressurecting the Boston College basketball program (which I like, by the way.) Although he might have had issues with motivation, in-game coaching and playing down to his opponent, he's still a quality coach and it's time to move on. Good luck handsome Al. Remember the 'stache.

Al had some highlights but what's all this "ressurecting the Boston College basketball program" about?

[Eagledom]

It was time to move on and I hope in a week or two everyone on both sides can realize that.

Some of us knew it was time while others would not admit it. I feel vindicated.

[talon]

I feel vindicated.

saying that before a replacement is hired is saying that BC is currently at the rock bottom and things could not possibly be any worse than they are right now.

[JConman]

That would be the fact that JOB left us with 6 scholarship players, 4 of whom were seniors, and accused BC of being a racist institution (thereby killing us with local recruits) on his way out the door. Not exactly a great situation to step into.

[BCEagles25]

That would be the fact that JOB left us with 6 scholarship players, 4 of whom were seniors, and accused BC of being a racist institution (thereby killing us with local recruits) on his way out the door. Not exactly a great situation to step into.

This.

[totheights]

We really haven't had a formal "thank you" thread, and if we did I must have missed it. The last two of three years of his stay here might have been a little damaging to his legacy, but I will always appreciate the good years. He was National Coach of the Year in 2000 and really was solely responsible for ressurecting the Boston College basketball program (which I like, by the way.) Although he might have had issues with motivation, in-game coaching and playing down to his opponent, he's still a quality coach and it's time to move on. Good luck handsome Al. Remember the 'stache.

Al had some highlights but what's all this "ressurecting the Boston College basketball program" about?

Read this:

That would be the fact that JOB left us with 6 scholarship players, 4 of whom were seniors, and accused BC of being a racist institution (thereby killing us with local recruits) on his way out the door. Not exactly a great situation to step into.

[1981Eagle]

I thank Al for his service. By and large, he did a good job. Too bad the ending was less than perfect. I wish him well.

[apbc12]

Al Skinner did for the basketball team what Tom O'Brien always claimed to do for the football team. He did a tremendous amount of good for BC, and if you can't get past the few up-and-down seasons to admit it, then fuck you.

[BCFAN94]

That would be the fact that JOB left us with 6 scholarship players, 4 of whom were seniors, and accused BC of being a racist institution (thereby killing us with local recruits) on his way out the door. Not exactly a great situation to step into.

Most coaches leave on a bad note and leave the cupboard bare. A program two years removed from the elite eight isn't exactly a program in shambles.

[twballgame9]

Al Skinner did for the basketball team what Tom O'Brien always claimed to do for the football team. He did a tremendous amount of good for BC, and if you can't get past the few up-and-down seasons to admit it, then fuck you.

This. Inherent in this comment is also the two differences between TOB and Skinner:

1. TOB claimed to do bring BC football back/Al Skinner did bring BC basketball back.

2. TOB told us about it incessantly while Al went about his business.

[twballgame9]

That would be the fact that JOB left us with 6 scholarship players, 4 of whom were seniors, and accused BC of being a racist institution (thereby killing us with local recruits) on his way out the door. Not exactly a great situation to step into.

Most coaches leave on a bad note and leave the cupboard bare. A program two years removed from the elite eight isn't exactly a program in shambles.

I will assume that you forgot to hit the red font button. Or that you graduated in 94 and thus have a man crush on the biggest scumbag ever to coach at BC. You are forgiven for that given the joy you must have felt over the Elite 8 appearance.

[EagleNYC]

I thank Al for his service. By and large, he did a good job. Too bad the ending was less than perfect. I wish him well.

Coughlin's Law: Everything ends badly, or else it wouldn't end.

Godspeed to Al. It was a hell of a run.

Edit: I'm a moron.

[janebc]

I concur with 2BG. Unlike others, who talked constantly, and got the media to talk constantly, about "bringing back" a BC program from the ashes, Al actually did that-and what's more, he did not continually use it as an excuse to fall back on. He deserves credit and gratitude for that.

[Eagledom]

I concur with 2BG. Unlike others, who talked constantly, and got the media to talk constantly, about "bringing back" a BC program from the ashes, Al actually did that-and what's more, he did not continually use it as an excuse to fall back on. He deserves credit and gratitude for that.

he deserves credit for what he did, but lets not overstate what he did....it was time to go because he proved he had a low ceiling.

[BCFAN94]

That would be the fact that JOB left us with 6 scholarship players, 4 of whom were seniors, and accused BC of being a racist institution (thereby killing us with local recruits) on his way out the door. Not exactly a great situation to step into.

Most coaches leave on a bad note and leave the cupboard bare. A program two years removed from the elite eight isn't exactly a program in shambles.

I will assume that you forgot to hit the red font button. Or that you graduated in 94 and thus have a man crush on the biggest scumbag ever to coach at BC. You are forgiven for that given the joy you must have felt over the Elite 8 appearance.

Did I say anything about JOB? I never said I was a JOB supporter. But, I wouldn't have minded following him. Personally, I can't think of a better situation for a coach to take over. The last coach leaves on very bad terms, leaves you with a blank canvas, build your team the way you want to.

[twballgame9]

That would be the fact that JOB left us with 6 scholarship players, 4 of whom were seniors, and accused BC of being a racist institution (thereby killing us with local recruits) on his way out the door. Not exactly a great situation to step into.

Most coaches leave on a bad note and leave the cupboard bare. A program two years removed from the elite eight isn't exactly a program in shambles.

I will assume that you forgot to hit the red font button. Or that you graduated in 94 and thus have a man crush on the biggest scumbag ever to coach at BC. You are forgiven for that given the joy you must have felt over the Elite 8 appearance.

Did I say anything about JOB? I never said I was a JOB supporter. But, I wouldn't have minded following him. Personally, I can't think of a better situation for a coach to take over. The last coach leaves on very bad terms, leaves you with a blank canvas, build your team the way you want to.

I can think of a better situation. 6 seniors with decent talent and a banked scholarship.

[Eagledom]

That would be the fact that JOB left us with 6 scholarship players, 4 of whom were seniors, and accused BC of being a racist institution (thereby killing us with local recruits) on his way out the door. Not exactly a great situation to step into.

Most coaches leave on a bad note and leave the cupboard bare. A program two years removed from the elite eight isn't exactly a program in shambles.

I will assume that you forgot to hit the red font button. Or that you graduated in 94 and thus have a man crush on the biggest scumbag ever to coach at BC. You are forgiven for that given the joy you must have felt over the Elite 8 appearance.

Did I say anything about JOB? I never said I was a JOB supporter. But, I wouldn't have minded following him. Personally, I can't think of a better situation for a coach to take over. The last coach leaves on very bad terms, leaves you with a blank canvas, build your team the way you want to.

I can think of a better situation. 6 seniors with decent MAAC talent and a banked scholarship.

fixed

[MilitantEagle]

Al Skinner did for the basketball team what Tom O'Brien always claimed to do for the football team. He did a tremendous amount of good for BC, and if you can't get past the few up-and-down seasons to admit it, then fuck you.

This. Inherent in this comment is also the two differences between TOB and Skinner:

1. TOB claimed to do bring BC football back/Al Skinner did bring BC basketball back.

2. TOB told us about it incessantly while Al went about his business.

That is why I will always respect Al Skinner and loathe TOB.

But as I have said, I support Gene's decision here.

[twballgame9]

That would be the fact that JOB left us with 6 scholarship players, 4 of whom were seniors, and accused BC of being a racist institution (thereby killing us with local recruits) on his way out the door. Not exactly a great situation to step into.

Most coaches leave on a bad note and leave the cupboard bare. A program two years removed from the elite eight isn't exactly a program in shambles.

I will assume that you forgot to hit the red font button. Or that you graduated in 94 and thus have a man crush on the biggest scumbag ever to coach at BC. You are forgiven for that given the joy you must have felt over the Elite 8 appearance.

Did I say anything about JOB? I never said I was a JOB supporter. But, I wouldn't have minded following him. Personally, I can't think of a better situation for a coach to take over. The last coach leaves on very bad terms, leaves you with a blank canvas, build your team the way you want to.

I can think of a better situation. 6 seniors with decent MAAC talent and a banked scholarship.

fixed

Got it. So he has bad talent, and is a bad coach, but wizardry led to a win over UNC.

Can't have it both ways OJ. Either the talent is there, so Al did a bad job coaching (my belief) or the talent is "MAAC level" and 6 wins in the ACC is a bang up job. Pick one.

[talon]

Can't have it both ways OJ.

- you just said that to OJ.

[Eagledom]

That would be the fact that JOB left us with 6 scholarship players, 4 of whom were seniors, and accused BC of being a racist institution (thereby killing us with local recruits) on his way out the door. Not exactly a great situation to step into.

Most coaches leave on a bad note and leave the cupboard bare. A program two years removed from the elite eight isn't exactly a program in shambles.

I will assume that you forgot to hit the red font button. Or that you graduated in 94 and thus have a man crush on the biggest scumbag ever to coach at BC. You are forgiven for that given the joy you must have felt over the Elite 8 appearance.

Did I say anything about JOB? I never said I was a JOB supporter. But, I wouldn't have minded following him. Personally, I can't think of a better situation for a coach to take over. The last coach leaves on very bad terms, leaves you with a blank canvas, build your team the way you want to.

I can think of a better situation. 6 seniors with decent MAAC talent and a banked scholarship.

fixed

Got it. So he has bad talent, and is a bad coach, but wizardry led to a win over UNC.

Can't have it both ways OJ. Either the talent is there, so Al did a bad job coaching (my belief) or the talent is "MAAC level" and 6 wins in the ACC is a bang up job. Pick one.

yes, because UNC was tremendous this year. The harvard games were nice, too.

[Heights]

I think all BC fans should at least never forget his refusal to discuss or use as an excuse the past when he took over and in the subsequent early bad seasons. In stark contrast to TOB who never tired of self-servingly bringing up the mess he inherited right up until he left. No comparison in my book, Al had far more guts and class.

[twballgame9]

That would be the fact that JOB left us with 6 scholarship players, 4 of whom were seniors, and accused BC of being a racist institution (thereby killing us with local recruits) on his way out the door. Not exactly a great situation to step into.

Most coaches leave on a bad note and leave the cupboard bare. A program two years removed from the elite eight isn't exactly a program in shambles.

I will assume that you forgot to hit the red font button. Or that you graduated in 94 and thus have a man crush on the biggest scumbag ever to coach at BC. You are forgiven for that given the joy you must have felt over the Elite 8 appearance.

Did I say anything about JOB? I never said I was a JOB supporter. But, I wouldn't have minded following him. Personally, I can't think of a better situation for a coach to take over. The last coach leaves on very bad terms, leaves you with a blank canvas, build your team the way you want to.

I can think of a better situation. 6 seniors with decent MAAC talent and a banked scholarship.

fixed

Got it. So he has bad talent, and is a bad coach, but wizardry led to a win over UNC.

Can't have it both ways OJ. Either the talent is there, so Al did a bad job coaching (my belief) or the talent is "MAAC level" and 6 wins in the ACC is a bang up job. Pick one.

yes, because UNC was tremendous this year. The harvard games were nice, too.

Point? Is it your contention that UNC has worse than MAAC talent? Or that we lost to Harvard not because of bad coaching but a lack of talent? Or am I giving you too much credit for suggesting that you might actually have a point in your wiseassness?


I will opt for the latter.

Did they have MACC talent and do better than a MAAC team would in the ACC because Al is a good coach or did they underachieve with good talent because Al did a bad job?

[eepstein0]

I think all BC fans should at least never forget his refusal to discuss or use as an excuse the past when he took over and in the subsequent early bad seasons. In stark contrast to TOB who never tired of self-servingly bringing up the mess he inherited right up until he left. No comparison in my book, Al had far more guts and class.

Al's X10 the person that TOB will ever be. Although true, their coaching careers have a fairly good parallel.

[twballgame9]

I think all BC fans should at least never forget his refusal to discuss or use as an excuse the past when he took over and in the subsequent early bad seasons. In stark contrast to TOB who never tired of self-servingly bringing up the mess he inherited right up until he left. No comparison in my book, Al had far more guts and class.

Al's X10 the person that TOB will ever be. Although true, their coaching careers have a fairly good parallel.

Other than the fact that it is much harder to win big in hoop, the fact that you can miss more recruiting in football, and the fact that there are more than 0 conference championship banners hanging in Conte because of Al, yes.

[MilitantEagle]

I think all BC fans should at least never forget his refusal to discuss or use as an excuse the past when he took over and in the subsequent early bad seasons. In stark contrast to TOB who never tired of self-servingly bringing up the mess he inherited right up until he left. No comparison in my book, Al had far more guts and class.

Al's X10 the person that TOB will ever be. Although true, their coaching careers have a fairly good parallel.

Other than the fact that it is much harder to win big in hoop, the fact that you can miss more recruiting in football, and the fact that there are more than 0 conference championship banners hanging in Conte because of Al, yes.

In some ways it is harder to win big in hoop. Sure there are many more teams in bball, but it's much easier for small schools to compete with the big ones. Butler is in the FInal Four. Duke has been the most dominant ACC program over the last 30 years or so. It would be almost impossible for Duke to pull that off in football. In basketball, get a good coach, two or three good players and your basketball team can compete with anybody.

[twballgame9]

I think all BC fans should at least never forget his refusal to discuss or use as an excuse the past when he took over and in the subsequent early bad seasons. In stark contrast to TOB who never tired of self-servingly bringing up the mess he inherited right up until he left. No comparison in my book, Al had far more guts and class.

Al's X10 the person that TOB will ever be. Although true, their coaching careers have a fairly good parallel.

Other than the fact that it is much harder to win big in hoop, the fact that you can miss more recruiting in football, and the fact that there are more than 0 conference championship banners hanging in Conte because of Al, yes.

In some ways it is harder to win big in hoop. Sure there are many more teams in bball, but it's much easier for small schools to compete with the big ones. Butler is in the FInal Four. Duke has been the most dominant ACC program over the last 30 years or so. It would be almost impossible for Duke to pull that off in football. In basketball, get a good coach, two or three good players and your basketball team can compete with anybody.

Yes, everybody can compete, that's what makes it harder to win big. BC has competed. That's not good enough for OJ. I said "win big". It was easy for Jags to walk in and immediately take them to back to back conference championship games and a top 10 ranking. It won't be easy to walk into BC hoop and take BC to back to back ACC championships.

Plus, would anyone attempt to compare BE and ACC football over the past 14 years to BE and ACC basketball? It is just easier to win 8-9 games and go to a mediocre bowl than it is to win 20-25 games and go to the second or third round of the dance.