On The Subject Of Skinner Bashing

[eepstein0]

I think we win a National Championship in '06 with even a decent in-game coach. I heard through that Craig Smith broke his wrist that game which would really hurt our chances against Florida.

[EagleDave]

Florida would have beaten them anyway. By that point, Noah and Horford were clobbering teams and Brewer was lights out defensively. No way we win that battle...

[EagleManiac66]

I struggle to understand the obsession with Skinner bashing, though the general anti-Al sentiment is easy enough to comprehend. Skinner was the winningest coach in BC history, calculated by total wins. He won two BE regular season titles (Clownhoon can blow me) and guided the team to some excellent results during the first few years of ACC play. He developed a string of great players that were not viewed as superstars in HS (Bell, Sidney, Dudley, [despite what some may say, Smith was supposed to be excellent]). There were several big wins each year, and quite a few upsets, particularly on the road. Before his last three years, his teams always played hard; rarely got blown out; weren't afraid of anyone; generaly exceeded regular season expectations. Skinner never spoke about the program's limitations, and his teams never gave up.

Skinner also refused to pander to high school kids, which some blame for failing to land a true blue chip recruit before Sanders/Southern. There were several high profile team rule violations, and, like it or not, the head coach deserves some of the blame, even for the difficult to control actions of entitled 20-somethings. He was a below average ACC coach in terms of clock management, in-bounds plays, and offensive creativity. When he finally did land a the Sanders class, the on court results were disastrous. The last three years were two very bad seasons sandwiched around a disappointing one. The team often played without fire. They played down to their competition. There were embarassing "bad losses." Many of the players didn't seem to improve/progress, and Southern/Sanders were a stiff and a talented but far too erratic presence, respectively. The fan support ebbed back to 1999 levels. The 2009 recruiting class was an unpardonable sin, and the 2010 class was not shaping up well either. The failure to advance past the first weekend of the tourney more than once, despite a decade of competitive teams, was damning. It was time for a change.

But the last three years don't define the Skinner Era, they just explan why it ended. It's natural, particularly in the first year with a new coach, to draw comparisons, especially when the team shows so much promise. But let's not forget the excellence that Skinner brought to the Heights too. If Donahue wins an ACC crown in his first five years, and has the regular season success that Skinner did, we'll all be very pleased. We'll all just hope his record in the field of 64 65 68 is better.

Great post.

This.

I think this sentence should be the only words ever needed in discussing Skinner this year: The last three years don't define the Skinner Era, they just explan why it ended.

I agree with this sentiment entirely as it pertains to the last three years of skinner.

However I was thinking very recently of how I define the Skinner Era (full disclosure, I liked Al alot and would have been fine with giving him one more year) and while I definitely thought of the success he had, I think the defining moment of his tenure at BC was the March 24, 2006 loss to Villanova in Minneapolis. Great basketball, ultimately undone by an inability to get it done at the highest level, with a healthy smattering of clock/time out mismanagement thrown in for good measure.

As a result, I think I'll always have mostly positive memories of Al's time at BC by far, and I'm thankful for the way he represented BC as an institution, but I'll usually end up shaking my head with a rueful smile thinking how much better it could have been .

Well said 2001. Over the past 40+ years I've seen a lot of great, as well as heart-breaking, moments in BC basketball. I came to BC with John Austin, our first true All American and witnessed the great excitement of the Cousy years. I was at MSG in 1966 for the real NIT when BC beat Louisville in triple OT after Unseld fouled out. Two years later in Cousy's final year BC beat Kansas, Louisville, and Army, before losing to Temple in the championship game. These were great times for BC basketball. What an experience for the students to shoot hoops with the Cous after practice. In later years we had Indiana's number in the NCAA's and knocked UNC from their No. 1 seed. I think that Donohue can bring us back to these times. I posted my likes for him prior to his hiring; I'm extremely impressed with what he's done so far with a team having little depth as well as with how he's exploited the true talents of the few scholarship players. The initial skepticism about his early recruits seems to be waning rapidly. The best is yet to come. GO !!!

[eepstein0]

tom o'brien was bc's winningest football coach.

just sayin

Are you saying that Al Skinner =

Or are you just sayin?

[Cadillac90]

i was just sayin.

there aren't a whole lot of defenders of tobias, the winningest coach in football history. the guy that could produce solid seasons but could never pull together a "great" one. the guy that left a bad taste in your mouth at the end of the season due to a lackluster post-season experience. the guy that was a mediocre recruiter but still got better than average production out of his average recruits (even passing some along to get officially paid to play). the guy that was boring on the sidelines and drove us all crazy with his in game coaching.

yet, there are still some that defend al.

therefore, i'm just sayin

There is one MAJOR difference, TOB trashed BC at every opportunity between the 8 or 9 game win ceiling, the excuses for losses, the gambling scandal, the constant blame game on the players (Al did that but not nearly as much) and on the fans for that matter, recruiting, you name it and bitched about it. Skinner on the other hand went about his business and didn't complain and more importantly didn't take pot shots at BC on his way out. This is the difference and why Skinner deserves to be defended somewhat. He wasn't an enemy of the prorgram like some make him out to be.

This is all too old and boring. OJ sucks donkey dick.
Kind Regards,
Mrs. Skinner

[Eagledom]

Skinner didn't bash BC, but he certainly didn't promote it. The reason he never bashed the school is because he never fucking said anything. And he might as well have been bashing BC the way he alienated himself and the hoops program from local media, fans, high school coaches, AAU, etc.

[Cadillac90]

Skinner didn't bash BC, but he certainly didn't promote it. The reason he never bashed the school is because he never fucking said anything. And he might as well have been bashing BC the way he alienated himself and the hoops program from local media, fans, high school coaches, AAU, etc.

Shut the fuck up already you fuckpig. Your hatred for this guy is so intense that you just shovel out the unsubtantiated shit endlessly.

[claver2010]

i was just sayin.

there aren't a whole lot of defenders of tobias, the winningest coach in football history. the guy that could produce solid seasons but could never pull together a "great" one. the guy that left a bad taste in your mouth at the end of the season due to a lackluster post-season experience. the guy that was a mediocre recruiter but still got better than average production out of his average recruits (even passing some along to get officially paid to play). the guy that was boring on the sidelines and drove us all crazy with his in game coaching.

yet, there are still some that defend al.

therefore, i'm just sayin

There is one MAJOR difference, TOB trashed BC at every opportunity between the 8 or 9 game win ceiling, the excuses for losses, the gambling scandal, the constant blame game on the players (Al did that but not nearly as much) and on the fans for that matter, recruiting, you name it and bitched about it. Skinner on the other hand went about his business and didn't complain and more importantly didn't take pot shots at BC on his way out. This is the difference and why Skinner deserves to be defended somewhat. He wasn't an enemy of the prorgram like some make him out to be.

This is all too old and boring. OJ sucks donkey dick.
Kind Regards,
Mrs. Skinner

Skinner's bashing of the school came in the form of scandals and suspensions every year.

[Cadillac90]

i was just sayin.

there aren't a whole lot of defenders of tobias, the winningest coach in football history. the guy that could produce solid seasons but could never pull together a "great" one. the guy that left a bad taste in your mouth at the end of the season due to a lackluster post-season experience. the guy that was a mediocre recruiter but still got better than average production out of his average recruits (even passing some along to get officially paid to play). the guy that was boring on the sidelines and drove us all crazy with his in game coaching.

yet, there are still some that defend al.

therefore, i'm just sayin

There is one MAJOR difference, TOB trashed BC at every opportunity between the 8 or 9 game win ceiling, the excuses for losses, the gambling scandal, the constant blame game on the players (Al did that but not nearly as much) and on the fans for that matter, recruiting, you name it and bitched about it. Skinner on the other hand went about his business and didn't complain and more importantly didn't take pot shots at BC on his way out. This is the difference and why Skinner deserves to be defended somewhat. He wasn't an enemy of the prorgram like some make him out to be.

This is all too old and boring. OJ sucks donkey dick.
Kind Regards,
Mrs. Skinner

Skinner's bashing of the school came in the form of scandals and suspensions every year.

Huh???? Too bad that happens at almost every school and every program.

[Eagledom]

Skinner didn't bash BC, but he certainly didn't promote it. The reason he never bashed the school is because he never fucking said anything. And he might as well have been bashing BC the way he alienated himself and the hoops program from local media, fans, high school coaches, AAU, etc.

Shut the fuck up already you fuckpig. Your hatred for this guy is so intense that you just shovel out the unsubtantiated shit endlessly.

I don't dislike skinner, never have. Glad he's no longer the basketball coach at BC, though.

[joemack13]

For the record, I think Al Skinner looks like a chipmunk

[twballgame9]

i was just sayin.

there aren't a whole lot of defenders of tobias, the winningest coach in football history. the guy that could produce solid seasons but could never pull together a "great" one. the guy that left a bad taste in your mouth at the end of the season due to a lackluster post-season experience. the guy that was a mediocre recruiter but still got better than average production out of his average recruits (even passing some along to get officially paid to play). the guy that was boring on the sidelines and drove us all crazy with his in game coaching.

yet, there are still some that defend al.

therefore, i'm just sayin

There is one MAJOR difference, TOB trashed BC at every opportunity between the 8 or 9 game win ceiling, the excuses for losses, the gambling scandal, the constant blame game on the players (Al did that but not nearly as much) and on the fans for that matter, recruiting, you name it and bitched about it. Skinner on the other hand went about his business and didn't complain and more importantly didn't take pot shots at BC on his way out. This is the difference and why Skinner deserves to be defended somewhat. He wasn't an enemy of the prorgram like some make him out to be.

This is all too old and boring. OJ sucks donkey dick.
Kind Regards,
Mrs. Skinner

This, and the fact that Al has two regular season and one tourney championship playing in one of the toughest conferences in America. TOB didn't have any, playing in one of the weakest. Match.

[eepstein0]

Skinner didn't bash BC, but he certainly didn't promote it. The reason he never bashed the school is because he never fucking said anything. And he might as well have been bashing BC the way he alienated himself and the hoops program from local media, fans, high school coaches, AAU, etc.

Shut the fuck up already you fuckpig. Your hatred for this guy is so intense that you just shovel out the unsubtantiated shit endlessly.

I don't dislike skinner, never have. Glad he's no longer the basketball coach at BC, though.

I dislike Skinner but that's not the point. I agree totally with Cadillac90's post earlier. Skinner was like Switzerland. He was classy the whole way but didn't really do anything to promote it either. was just a jerk. Al also won a Big East Championship so as far as I'm concerned Al >

[eepstein0]

i was just sayin.

there aren't a whole lot of defenders of tobias, the winningest coach in football history. the guy that could produce solid seasons but could never pull together a "great" one. the guy that left a bad taste in your mouth at the end of the season due to a lackluster post-season experience. the guy that was a mediocre recruiter but still got better than average production out of his average recruits (even passing some along to get officially paid to play). the guy that was boring on the sidelines and drove us all crazy with his in game coaching.

yet, there are still some that defend al.

therefore, i'm just sayin

There is one MAJOR difference, TOB trashed BC at every opportunity between the 8 or 9 game win ceiling, the excuses for losses, the gambling scandal, the constant blame game on the players (Al did that but not nearly as much) and on the fans for that matter, recruiting, you name it and bitched about it. Skinner on the other hand went about his business and didn't complain and more importantly didn't take pot shots at BC on his way out. This is the difference and why Skinner deserves to be defended somewhat. He wasn't an enemy of the prorgram like some make him out to be.

This is all too old and boring. OJ sucks donkey dick.
Kind Regards,
Mrs. Skinner

This, and the fact that Al has two regular season and one tourney championship playing in one of the toughest conferences in America. TOB didn't have any, playing in one of the weakest. Match.

You're correct...

for once

[Eagledom]

Skinner didn't bash BC, but he certainly didn't promote it. The reason he never bashed the school is because he never fucking said anything. And he might as well have been bashing BC the way he alienated himself and the hoops program from local media, fans, high school coaches, AAU, etc.

Shut the fuck up already you fuckpig. Your hatred for this guy is so intense that you just shovel out the unsubtantiated shit endlessly.

I don't dislike skinner, never have. Glad he's no longer the basketball coach at BC, though.

I dislike Skinner but that's not the point. I agree totally with Cadillac90's post earlier. Skinner was like Switzerland. He was classy the whole way but didn't really do anything to promote it either. was just a jerk. Al also won a Big East Championship so as far as I'm concerned Al >

That goes without saying. I don't think anyone would disagree.

[twballgame9]

i was just sayin.

there aren't a whole lot of defenders of tobias, the winningest coach in football history. the guy that could produce solid seasons but could never pull together a "great" one. the guy that left a bad taste in your mouth at the end of the season due to a lackluster post-season experience. the guy that was a mediocre recruiter but still got better than average production out of his average recruits (even passing some along to get officially paid to play). the guy that was boring on the sidelines and drove us all crazy with his in game coaching.

yet, there are still some that defend al.

therefore, i'm just sayin

There is one MAJOR difference, TOB trashed BC at every opportunity between the 8 or 9 game win ceiling, the excuses for losses, the gambling scandal, the constant blame game on the players (Al did that but not nearly as much) and on the fans for that matter, recruiting, you name it and bitched about it. Skinner on the other hand went about his business and didn't complain and more importantly didn't take pot shots at BC on his way out. This is the difference and why Skinner deserves to be defended somewhat. He wasn't an enemy of the prorgram like some make him out to be.

This is all too old and boring. OJ sucks donkey dick.
Kind Regards,
Mrs. Skinner

Skinner's bashing of the school came in the form of scandals and suspensions every year.

This is pretty fucking stupid.

[Art Vandelay]

i was just sayin.

there aren't a whole lot of defenders of tobias, the winningest coach in football history. the guy that could produce solid seasons but could never pull together a "great" one. the guy that left a bad taste in your mouth at the end of the season due to a lackluster post-season experience. the guy that was a mediocre recruiter but still got better than average production out of his average recruits (even passing some along to get officially paid to play). the guy that was boring on the sidelines and drove us all crazy with his in game coaching.

yet, there are still some that defend al.

therefore, i'm just sayin

There is one MAJOR difference, TOB trashed BC at every opportunity between the 8 or 9 game win ceiling, the excuses for losses, the gambling scandal, the constant blame game on the players (Al did that but not nearly as much) and on the fans for that matter, recruiting, you name it and bitched about it. Skinner on the other hand went about his business and didn't complain and more importantly didn't take pot shots at BC on his way out. This is the difference and why Skinner deserves to be defended somewhat. He wasn't an enemy of the prorgram like some make him out to be.

This is all too old and boring. OJ sucks donkey dick.
Kind Regards,
Mrs. Skinner

Skinner's bashing of the school came in the form of scandals and suspensions every year.

This is pretty fucking stupid.

Do you mean that comment or this thread?

[EagleNYC]

i was just sayin.

there aren't a whole lot of defenders of tobias, the winningest coach in football history. the guy that could produce solid seasons but could never pull together a "great" one. the guy that left a bad taste in your mouth at the end of the season due to a lackluster post-season experience. the guy that was a mediocre recruiter but still got better than average production out of his average recruits (even passing some along to get officially paid to play). the guy that was boring on the sidelines and drove us all crazy with his in game coaching.

yet, there are still some that defend al.

therefore, i'm just sayin

There is one MAJOR difference, TOB trashed BC at every opportunity between the 8 or 9 game win ceiling, the excuses for losses, the gambling scandal, the constant blame game on the players (Al did that but not nearly as much) and on the fans for that matter, recruiting, you name it and bitched about it. Skinner on the other hand went about his business and didn't complain and more importantly didn't take pot shots at BC on his way out. This is the difference and why Skinner deserves to be defended somewhat. He wasn't an enemy of the prorgram like some make him out to be.

This is all too old and boring. OJ sucks donkey dick.
Kind Regards,
Mrs. Skinner

This, and the fact that Al has two regular season and one tourney championship playing in one of the toughest conferences in America. TOB didn't have any, playing in one of the weakest. Match.

Exactly. There is no perfect analogy, but we'd think about TOB very differently if he won a conference championship (4 way ties do not count) or an conference championship game, and Al did both.

[BC923]

For the record, I think Al Skinner looks like a chipmunk

That's not Al Skinner. That man is wearing a suit, not a mock turtleneck.

[twballgame9]

i was just sayin.

there aren't a whole lot of defenders of tobias, the winningest coach in football history. the guy that could produce solid seasons but could never pull together a "great" one. the guy that left a bad taste in your mouth at the end of the season due to a lackluster post-season experience. the guy that was a mediocre recruiter but still got better than average production out of his average recruits (even passing some along to get officially paid to play). the guy that was boring on the sidelines and drove us all crazy with his in game coaching.

yet, there are still some that defend al.

therefore, i'm just sayin

There is one MAJOR difference, TOB trashed BC at every opportunity between the 8 or 9 game win ceiling, the excuses for losses, the gambling scandal, the constant blame game on the players (Al did that but not nearly as much) and on the fans for that matter, recruiting, you name it and bitched about it. Skinner on the other hand went about his business and didn't complain and more importantly didn't take pot shots at BC on his way out. This is the difference and why Skinner deserves to be defended somewhat. He wasn't an enemy of the prorgram like some make him out to be.

This is all too old and boring. OJ sucks donkey dick.
Kind Regards,
Mrs. Skinner

This, and the fact that Al has two regular season and one tourney championship playing in one of the toughest conferences in America. TOB didn't have any, playing in one of the weakest. Match.

Exactly. There is no perfect analogy, but we'd think about TOB very differently if he won a conference championship (4 way ties do not count) or an conference championship game, and Al did both.

On top of that, Al's best coaching job included a pretty incredible ACCCG game run in his first season in the conference (when everyone thought they didn't belong) which included a dismantling of UNC and Maryland, and one of the most well played games I have ever seen against Duke (and the best BC dunk ever by a guy not named Abram or Jackson).

Plus Al regularly beat top teams, the streak against UConn notwithstanding.

[Eagledom]

i was just sayin.

there aren't a whole lot of defenders of tobias, the winningest coach in football history. the guy that could produce solid seasons but could never pull together a "great" one. the guy that left a bad taste in your mouth at the end of the season due to a lackluster post-season experience. the guy that was a mediocre recruiter but still got better than average production out of his average recruits (even passing some along to get officially paid to play). the guy that was boring on the sidelines and drove us all crazy with his in game coaching.

yet, there are still some that defend al.

therefore, i'm just sayin

There is one MAJOR difference, TOB trashed BC at every opportunity between the 8 or 9 game win ceiling, the excuses for losses, the gambling scandal, the constant blame game on the players (Al did that but not nearly as much) and on the fans for that matter, recruiting, you name it and bitched about it. Skinner on the other hand went about his business and didn't complain and more importantly didn't take pot shots at BC on his way out. This is the difference and why Skinner deserves to be defended somewhat. He wasn't an enemy of the prorgram like some make him out to be.

This is all too old and boring. OJ sucks donkey dick.
Kind Regards,
Mrs. Skinner

This, and the fact that Al has two regular season and one tourney championship playing in one of the toughest conferences in America. TOB didn't have any, playing in one of the weakest. Match.

Exactly. There is no perfect analogy, but we'd think about TOB very differently if he won a conference championship (4 way ties do not count) or an conference championship game, and Al did both.

On top of that, Al's best coaching job included a pretty incredible ACCCG game run in his first season in the conference (when everyone thought they didn't belong) which included a dismantling of UNC and Maryland, and one of the most well played games I have ever seen against Duke (and the best BC dunk ever by a guy not named Abram or Jackson).

Plus Al regularly beat top teams, the streak against UConn notwithstanding.

By far the most talented BC team ever, and we are supposed to be bowing down over an ACC championship game loss and the ONLY sweet 16 appearance he ever had? No one is denying that Al gave BC some good moments, but the last 3 years were complete garbage.

[Cadillac90]

By far the most talented BC team ever, and we are supposed to be bowing down over an ACC championship game loss and the ONLY sweet 16 appearance he ever had? No one is denying that Al gave BC some good moments, but the last 3 years were complete garbage.

No one is asking you to bow down to the guy, just trying to keep things in perspective, that is all. BTW, let's be clear, 2 of the last 3 years were horrible but going 22-12 while beating the #1, #6 and #23 ranked teams cannot be deemed "garbage."

[Eagledom]

By far the most talented BC team ever, and we are supposed to be bowing down over an ACC championship game loss and the ONLY sweet 16 appearance he ever had? No one is denying that Al gave BC some good moments, but the last 3 years were complete garbage.

No one is asking you to bow down to the guy, just trying to keep things in perspective, that is all. BTW, let's be clear, 2 of the last 3 years were horrible but going 22-12 while beating the #1, #6 and #23 ranked teams cannot be deemed "garbage."

I always have had perspective on Al. That perspective was...he did some very good things at BC, but the program was on a major downward slide and it was time for him to go.

[eepstein0]

By far the most talented BC team ever, and we are supposed to be bowing down over an ACC championship game loss and the ONLY sweet 16 appearance he ever had? No one is denying that Al gave BC some good moments, but the last 3 years were complete garbage.

No one is asking you to bow down to the guy, just trying to keep things in perspective, that is all. BTW, let's be clear, 2 of the last 3 years were horrible but going 22-12 while beating the #1, #6 and #23 ranked teams cannot be deemed "garbage."

As I recall that piece of crap team lost by 20+ to USC in the first round. I've never seen a BC Basketball team quit like that (I've seen our football team do it numerous times in the past two years). That year completed changed my perception of Tyrese Rice from awesome to a quitter. He just flat out gave up that game.

[mod6A]

he was always dressed well. give the man that, at least.......

[pick6pedro]

Teddy said all that needs to be said - conference champions > lowly bowl champions.

Never change, OJ.

[Eagledom]

Teddy said all that needs to be said - conference champions > lowly bowl champions.

Never change, OJ.

did I ever say Skinner should be viewed as an = to TOB? Nope. Never change Pedro.

[pick6pedro]

Teddy said all that needs to be said - conference champions > lowly bowl champions.

Never change, OJ.

did I ever say Skinner should be viewed as an = to TOB? Nope. Never change Pedro.

Oh, I'm sorry - did I say you did?

[Endless Mike]

Honest question... can someone link to a thread where an OJ post didn't fall into a another (which he went on to lose)?

I have been trying to think of something... anything... that OJ adds to this place (opinion, insight, grammar corrector) and all I come up with is slapfight instigator (and loser).

He offers nothing because he's too much of a pussy to form an actual opinion. All he can do is declare that something sucks, then clam up when asked what he would prefer.

[Endless Mike]

Honest question... can someone link to a thread where an OJ post didn't fall into a another (which he went on to lose)?

I have been trying to think of something... anything... that OJ adds to this place (opinion, insight, grammar corrector) and all I come up with is slapfight instigator (and loser).

He offers nothing because he's too much of a pussy to form an actual opinion. All he can do is declare that something sucks, then clam up when asked what he would prefer.

what would he do if someone asked which he liked more - clams or oysters

He would clam up.