Assistants

[bignick33]

It seems that Nat Graham will be joining Donahue at BC.

http://cornellbasketball.blogspot.com/2010/04/news-and-notes-graham-to-join-donahue.html

Clearly, he is being brought aboard to continue BC's strong recruiting in Ontario.

http://www.cornellbigred.com/coaches.aspx?rc=682&path=mbball

[thebs19]

Well you figured Donahue would want some continuity. Former Penn bball player when Donahue was an assistant and then coached in Canada before joining Donahue at Cornell.

I'm really curious about the Joe Jones name thrown out earlier. Was there any followup confirmation that he's in the mix? That'd be a very good get.

EDIT: nevermind. West Point coach stuff was about Donahue's replacement, not a potential assistant.

[Bryn Mawr Eagle]

I have nothing to say about this assistant (whom I know nothing about), but reading the comments from the Cornell player and AD who commented on Donahue's departure and said, in effect "We are all BC fans now" was really eye-opening. It sounds like we are really getting a great person for this job and the Cornell folks are top-rate as well.

I think this was a great hire. Now hopefully the assistants help complete the picture.

[thebs19]

I have nothing to say about this assistant (whom I know nothing about), but reading the comments from the Cornell player and AD who commented on Donahue's departure and said, in effect "We are all BC fans now" was really eye-opening. It sounds like we are really getting a great person for this job and the Cornell folks are top-rate as well.

I think this was a great hire. Now hopefully the assistants help complete the picture.

Yeah, thats just something you don't see very often. Very impressive on their end. I believe both the AD and Louis Dale (who is just fantastic for those who didn't see them this year) are quoted as saying that there.

[BCWest]

I have nothing to say about this assistant (whom I know nothing about), but reading the comments from the Cornell player and AD who commented on Donahue's departure and said, in effect "We are all BC fans now" was really eye-opening. It sounds like we are really getting a great person for this job and the Cornell folks are top-rate as well.

I think this was a great hire. Now hopefully the assistants help complete the picture.

He is probably a great guy. Cornell is not a sleezeball program that is going to rip on a guy who gave them a decade. It is also why the Bob Ryan (who I never agree with) was right when BC should say thank you to Al for a lot of great years, but recognize that 2 losing seasons in the past 3 years and the lack of effort meant it was time for a change. Good luck Al! And thanks!

[MilitantEagle]

I have nothing to say about this assistant (whom I know nothing about), but reading the comments from the Cornell player and AD who commented on Donahue's departure and said, in effect "We are all BC fans now" was really eye-opening. It sounds like we are really getting a great person for this job and the Cornell folks are top-rate as well.

I think this was a great hire. Now hopefully the assistants help complete the picture.

Yeah, thats just something you don't see very often. Very impressive on their end. I believe both the AD and Louis Dale (who is just fantastic for those who didn't see them this year) are quoted as saying that there.

Yup. This is how I felt about Tom Coughlin and that was only three years. Great coach and great person and I've always rooted for him.

[NJM89]

Speaking of Canadians, do you think Brady Heslip will benefit from Donahue's system? He seems like the shooter that will work well in his motion offense.

[cornellfan]

As a Cornell fan, I can say that a lot of us will probably be rooting for BC now as a second team because we really want Donahue to succeed. Donahue meant everything to our program since we only made 1 previous NCAA tournament in the modern era and you dont see Ivy teams in the Sweet 16 much. It would be terrible for us if he went to BC only to fail and lose his job in 2 years when he had a job for life at Cornell. Sort of surprised and kind of hurts us more than he is taking our top assistant Nat Graham with him to BC because I would think he would hire assistants with BCS level recruiting experience as this is what Donahue lacks.

[HJS]

Cornell fan... thanks for the color. Welcome aboard. If you realize what this place is (a completely uncensored, wild west, fansite which spends most of its time ripping apart everyone who posts here), you should be fine... and there may even be one of those fancy "Ambassador" titles in it for you.

As for the assistants, as of late this night, I am hearing that Duquette and Murphy still have a good chance to be on Donahue's staff. That means we have 4 names (Jones, Duke, Murphy, Gallagher) vying for 3 jobs. Really hoping that Gallagher is the odd man out here (as I really like the idea of Jones and Duke and Murph were the best staffers we had).

EDIT: Apparently, Gallagher is a done deal along with Graham. Duke is battling Jones for the top job with Murphy a strong option to remain DBO. So, no chance to have a REAL strong staff with Jones and Duke. Have to be concerned about the racial make-up of the staff if Duke gets the gig and you have to be concerned about an Ivy-only staff if Jones gets the gig. I don't know how or why Gallagher is on the staff... but he is.

[cornellfan]

Cornell fan... thanks for the color. Welcome aboard. If you realize what this place is (a completely uncensored, wild west, fansite which spends most of its time ripping apart everyone who posts here), you should be fine... and there may even be one of those fancy "Ambassador" titles in it for you.

As for the assistants, as of late this night, I am hearing that Duquette and Murphy still have a good chance to be on Donahue's staff. That means we have 4 names (Jones, Duke, Murphy, Gallagher) vying for 3 jobs. Really hoping that Gallagher is the odd man out here (as I really like the idea of Jones and Duke and Murph were the best staffers we had).

Thanks for the welcome, I think I get myself to root for BC.

Yeah I would agree with you that Gallagher will be left out, he is less qualified than Graham and outside of simply coaching at Penn has limited connection to Donahue.

[HJS]

Cornell fan... thanks for the color. Welcome aboard. If you realize what this place is (a completely uncensored, wild west, fansite which spends most of its time ripping apart everyone who posts here), you should be fine... and there may even be one of those fancy "Ambassador" titles in it for you.

As for the assistants, as of late this night, I am hearing that Duquette and Murphy still have a good chance to be on Donahue's staff. That means we have 4 names (Jones, Duke, Murphy, Gallagher) vying for 3 jobs. Really hoping that Gallagher is the odd man out here (as I really like the idea of Jones and Duke and Murph were the best staffers we had).

Thanks for the welcome, I think I get myself to root for BC.

Yeah I would agree with you that Gallagher will be left out, he is less qualified than Graham and outside of simply coaching at Penn has limited connection to Donahue.

I updated my post probably after you posted...
Apparently, Gallagher is a done deal along with Graham. Duke is battling Jones for the top job with Murphy a strong option to remain DBO. So, no chance to have a REAL strong staff with Jones and Duke. Have to be concerned about the racial make-up of the staff if Duke gets the gig and you have to be concerned about an Ivy-only staff if Jones gets the gig. I don't know how or why Gallagher is on the staff... but he is.

[cornellfan]

Cornell fan... thanks for the color. Welcome aboard. If you realize what this place is (a completely uncensored, wild west, fansite which spends most of its time ripping apart everyone who posts here), you should be fine... and there may even be one of those fancy "Ambassador" titles in it for you.

As for the assistants, as of late this night, I am hearing that Duquette and Murphy still have a good chance to be on Donahue's staff. That means we have 4 names (Jones, Duke, Murphy, Gallagher) vying for 3 jobs. Really hoping that Gallagher is the odd man out here (as I really like the idea of Jones and Duke and Murph were the best staffers we had).

Thanks for the welcome, I think I get myself to root for BC.

Yeah I would agree with you that Gallagher will be left out, he is less qualified than Graham and outside of simply coaching at Penn has limited connection to Donahue.

I updated my post probably after you posted...
Apparently, Gallagher is a done deal along with Graham. Duke is battling Jones for the top job with Murphy a strong option to remain DBO. So, no chance to have a REAL strong staff with Jones and Duke. Have to be concerned about the racial make-up of the staff if Duke gets the gig and you have to be concerned about an Ivy-only staff if Jones gets the gig. I don't know how or why Gallagher is on the staff... but he is.

Are you sure Gallagher is a done deal? That is really surprising, sort of makes me question Donahue's judgment bringing in all these Ivy league guys

[DuchesneEast]

I agree, an Ivy only staff scares me, the ACC is so different. I dont doubt the X&O part, I doubt having to recruit kids with mind set of

[HJS]

I agree, an Ivy only staff scares me, the ACC is so different. I dont doubt the X&O part, I doubt having to recruit kids with mind set of

Agreed. But an all white staff scares me more.

[twballgame9]

I agree, an Ivy only staff scares me, the ACC is so different. I dont doubt the X&O part, I doubt having to recruit kids with mind set of

Agreed. But an all white staff scares me more.

I still didn't get an answer to this question. I thought a minority hire was required by the NCAA.

[BC '00]

I agree, an Ivy only staff scares me, the ACC is so different. I dont doubt the X&O part, I doubt having to recruit kids with mind set of

While I agree with the overall point, I'd rather not recruit guys with the mindset of

[HJS]

I agree, an Ivy only staff scares me, the ACC is so different. I dont doubt the X&O part, I doubt having to recruit kids with mind set of

Agreed. But an all white staff scares me more.

I still didn't get an answer to this question. I thought a minority hire was required by the NCAA.

I can't imagine that such a racial quota is permitted under the US Constitution. Care to chime in on that one fancy talking lawyer guy?
If Murphy stays on as DBO, that would obviously be a minority on the staff, but not having someone with an assistant title would really be used against us on the recruiting trail.

[talon]

I can't imagine that such a racial quota is permitted under the US Constitution.

Do you think anybody who sets these rules gives a flying fuck about the US Constitution?

[twballgame9]

I agree, an Ivy only staff scares me, the ACC is so different. I dont doubt the X&O part, I doubt having to recruit kids with mind set of

Agreed. But an all white staff scares me more.

I still didn't get an answer to this question. I thought a minority hire was required by the NCAA.

I can't imagine that such a racial quota is permitted under the US Constitution. Care to chime in on that one fancy talking lawyer guy?
If Murphy stays on as DBO, that would obviously be a minority on the staff, but not having someone with an assistant title would really be used against us on the recruiting trail.

It might not be (I assume you are talking about Bakke) but it is also unlikely to be challenged.

I agree with your larger point. They need a top assistant to be a minority.

[BrightonEagle]

i still like donahue a lot, but what we're hearing about the assistants is definitely discouraging. the emphasis on ivy guys is troubling, the possible all-white staff would be downright insane. i also think that these two problems will reinforce each other. it would be easy enough to recruit against an all white staff, but add on to that the fact that the coach is coming from the ivy league. that makes it even worse. not that i think that he should have (we all know the problems of gene interfering with staff decisions), but i'm kinda surprised that gene didn't talk to donahue in the interviews about bringing in bcs level recruiters. hopefully this doesn't come to fruition and this overly negative post is moot.

[twballgame9]

i still like donahue a lot, but what we're hearing about the assistants is definitely discouraging. the emphasis on ivy guys is troubling, the possible all-white staff would be downright insane. i also think that these two problems will reinforce each other. it would be easy enough to recruit against an all white staff, but add on to that the fact that the coach is coming from the ivy league. that makes it even worse. not that i think that he should have (we all know the problems of gene interfering with staff decisions), but i'm kinda surprised that gene didn't talk to donahue in the interviews about bringing in bcs level recruiters. hopefully this doesn't come to fruition and this overly negative post is moot.

One of the Ivy guys in question is both black and one of the best BCS recruiters of the last 15 years. Whether he is on the staff remains to be seen.

[BC '00]

i still like donahue a lot, but what we're hearing about the assistants is definitely discouraging. the emphasis on ivy guys is troubling, the possible all-white staff would be downright insane. i also think that these two problems will reinforce each other. it would be easy enough to recruit against an all white staff, but add on to that the fact that the coach is coming from the ivy league. that makes it even worse. not that i think that he should have (we all know the problems of gene interfering with staff decisions), but i'm kinda surprised that gene didn't talk to donahue in the interviews about bringing in bcs level recruiters. hopefully this doesn't come to fruition and this overly negative post is moot.

One of the Ivy guys in question is both black and one of the best BCS recruiters of the last 15 years. Whether he is on the staff remains to be seen.

Which one is that?

[twballgame9]

i still like donahue a lot, but what we're hearing about the assistants is definitely discouraging. the emphasis on ivy guys is troubling, the possible all-white staff would be downright insane. i also think that these two problems will reinforce each other. it would be easy enough to recruit against an all white staff, but add on to that the fact that the coach is coming from the ivy league. that makes it even worse. not that i think that he should have (we all know the problems of gene interfering with staff decisions), but i'm kinda surprised that gene didn't talk to donahue in the interviews about bringing in bcs level recruiters. hopefully this doesn't come to fruition and this overly negative post is moot.

One of the Ivy guys in question is both black and one of the best BCS recruiters of the last 15 years. Whether he is on the staff remains to be seen.

Which one is that?

Jones, the head coach of Columbia, and friend of the Don. His brother is the HC of Yale and was an assistant for Doc Sauers at Albany when I was there. Good guy - my buddy was a GA on that staff back then. The Columbia Jones was the recruiter at Nova at the end of Lappas and the first 3-4 years of Wright, and had previously been with Wright at Hofstra. He evidently recruited the Hofstra teams that got Wright on the map, as well as the upperclassmen on the Nova team that beat BC. Foye and Ray I believe, among others.

Though most of my info on this is not first hand from anyone that knows.

[HJS]

i still like donahue a lot, but what we're hearing about the assistants is definitely discouraging. the emphasis on ivy guys is troubling, the possible all-white staff would be downright insane. i also think that these two problems will reinforce each other. it would be easy enough to recruit against an all white staff, but add on to that the fact that the coach is coming from the ivy league. that makes it even worse. not that i think that he should have (we all know the problems of gene interfering with staff decisions), but i'm kinda surprised that gene didn't talk to donahue in the interviews about bringing in bcs level recruiters. hopefully this doesn't come to fruition and this overly negative post is moot.

One of the Ivy guys in question is both black and one of the best BCS recruiters of the last 15 years. Whether he is on the staff remains to be seen.

Which one is that?

Joe Jones. He is the head coach at Columbia. But, before that he was Jay Wright's top recruiter at Hofstra. He then left there to join Lappas' Villanova staff (which means he knows Gene) and then obviously stayed on as Wright's #1 assistant and head of recruiting when Wright moved to Nova. He shocked the world by taking the Columbia job. But, rumors are that he is stagnating there and may view this as an opportune time to get back into the bigs. I would love to have Jones on the staff. It is only a rumor right now started by Andy Katz.

[BC '00]

i still like donahue a lot, but what we're hearing about the assistants is definitely discouraging. the emphasis on ivy guys is troubling, the possible all-white staff would be downright insane. i also think that these two problems will reinforce each other. it would be easy enough to recruit against an all white staff, but add on to that the fact that the coach is coming from the ivy league. that makes it even worse. not that i think that he should have (we all know the problems of gene interfering with staff decisions), but i'm kinda surprised that gene didn't talk to donahue in the interviews about bringing in bcs level recruiters. hopefully this doesn't come to fruition and this overly negative post is moot.

One of the Ivy guys in question is both black and one of the best BCS recruiters of the last 15 years. Whether he is on the staff remains to be seen.

Which one is that?

Jones, the head coach of Columbia, and friend of the Don. His brother is the HC of Yale and was an assistant for Doc Sauers at Albany when I was there. Good guy - my buddy was a GA on that staff back then. The Columbia Jones was the recruiter at Nova at the end of Lappas and the first 3-4 years of Wright, and had previously been with Wright at Hofstra. He evidently recruited the Hofstra teams that got Wright on the map, as well as the upperclassmen on the Nova team that beat BC. Foye and Ray I believe, among others.

Though most of my info on this is not first hand from anyone that knows.

Wow, that absolutely sounds like someone I'd like to have on the staff. Let's hope The Don brings him on.

[BCMcG]

Still just a rumor, but according to this article Joe Jones is the most likely guy but has denied being asked.

http://www.columbiaspectator.com/2010/04/07/ivy-coach-join-donahue-bc

I say, make it happen. He seems to be perfect.

[twballgame9]

...my buddy was a GA on that staff back then...

in honor of the beavis and butthead post from brad earlier... heh-heh-heh

Jerk.

[DrJackRyan]

Not having an African-American on the staff sounds pretty foolish.

As such, I am going to take this opportunity to mention once more that Dana Barros would be a great fit.

Also - from the other thread - how fantastic was it to have a new coach talk about a "national championship"? Awesome.

[bignick33]

Not having an African-American on the staff sounds pretty foolish.

As such, I am going to take this opportunity to mention once more that Dana Barros would be a great fit.

Also - from the other thread - how fantastic was it to have a new coach talk about a "national championship"? Awesome.

Didn't Barros quit (or was canned) two months into his stint at NU? Either he didn't cut it or didn't like it.

Stop talking about Dana Barros. There, I said it.

[EagleManiac66]

Sounds like all the right words are being said. Next we need some action and the best way to initiate it would be with a strong assistant hire. Some of the recent posts on this have been very enlightening and I hope that Donahue can follow through. Jones sounds like a good fit.

GO !!!