HJS wrote:In all honesty... I don't get the complacency. How does a top recruit mockingly suggesting that a local star would ever pick BC NOT piss you off? We are a laughingstock and it doesn't sit well with me and don't know how or why it sits well with others.
Look, I like Don, I think he is a good talent developer and a very good Xs and Os coach. I question his ability as a talent evaluator, but love th 6-person class he brought in last year. That said, I am very disappointed that he hasn't built upon that with this class. Hanlan seems like a nice find... Rahon is questionable... and neither play forward. New England had been filthy with top talent this year (3 in the top 10) and BC wasn't a player for any. I thought one of the big reasons to get rid of Skinner was to bring in a guy who would work the recruiting trail hard. Having a solid recruiting class once every three years does not sound like a major upgrade to me. Of course, while I favored Don over virtually every other interviewed candidate based on his resume, I openly question the competency of any coach handpicked by GDF simply because they were handpicked by GDF.
A top recruit suggesting a local star would never pick BC doesn't piss me off because we went 9-22 in the last season. Which turns to the question of should we be pissed of we were 9-22 last season, to which I answer kind of. I personally believe Skinner was unlikely to recreate his top performing teams going forward and therefore firing him is not on its face unreasonable. I'd rather sit through a rebuild than watch the program deteriorate slowly. Hindsight tells me that if GDF was going to fire Skinner, however, it probably should have been a year earlier. As we know however, there was a bit of turmoil surrounding a very public firing of a coach three months prior probably made it politically less than expedient for GDF to fire a generally popular coach after the season in 2009 following a tournament berth. Since GDF did not fire Skinner in 2009, we had the 2009 empty recruiting class and one less year of a bunch of players(I'm aware it could have meant that Reggie transferred, or some other circumstance) playing for Donahue. Then the question turns to whether you believe Donahue "ran off" Brady Heslip in favor of Gabe Moton and whether you believe Donahue had a chance to retain Ravenel, Sanders, Noreen, Ndao or Jackson for his senior year. Depending on your belief to the foregoing, it is reasonable to blame Donahue for 9-22 and be pissed at him or in the alternative credit him for what appear to be some signs of life in the younger players.
I would also like a forward, I would be more than happy with Tebbutt if he signs though and I'd like to see how the transfers play out. I have a much higher opinion on Hanlan's upside than you apparently do and think he could potentially be the best or second best player on the floor next year. In light of this, I'm higher on this recruiting class than you and will be much happier if it adds another recruit or transfer.
I realize the crux of your issue with the state of the basketball program is the man who hired the coach. I don't like him either, I just think this particular argument being made - that Donahue is a poor talent evaluator after one class you admit is good + Gabe Moton and the 5 days Donahue had between being hired and spring signing day + two guys you've never seen play in a class that isn't necessarily complete - is badly made and wrong to date based on the small data available.