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Post by bfoley82 on Feb 7, 2022 1:00:16 GMT -5
Very few head coaches get hired without being an assistant somewhere. (Kathy Delaney Smith of Harvard is one rare exception. She started as a head coach in high school right out of college, where she didn't play basketball, because she was the PE teacher. Then she got recruited directly as the head coach at Harvard after winning 96 straight games or something at a nearby HS.) My complaint is the attitude that Holy Cross is such a low level program that it is a good place for an assistant to make his mistakes as a first time head coach at any level. What is appealing about Chesney is he proved he knew how to be a good head coach before he got to HC and didn't have to learn those skills through trial and error on our dime. If SK or BN had been a head coach at some level and then served as Assistant coach at a P-6 school before coming to Holy Cross they each might have gotten off to a better start. Wasn't Ralph Willard an epic failure at Pitt with a 63–82 overall record and 31–59 in Big East play?? Did he show he was a good head coach at Pitt with that bad of a record?
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Post by longsuffering on Feb 7, 2022 3:06:01 GMT -5
Very few head coaches get hired without being an assistant somewhere. (Kathy Delaney Smith of Harvard is one rare exception. She started as a head coach in high school right out of college, where she didn't play basketball, because she was the PE teacher. Then she got recruited directly as the head coach at Harvard after winning 96 straight games or something at a nearby HS.) My complaint is the attitude that Holy Cross is such a low level program that it is a good place for an assistant to make his mistakes as a first time head coach at any level. What is appealing about Chesney is he proved he knew how to be a good head coach before he got to HC and didn't have to learn those skills through trial and error on our dime. If SK or BN had been a head coach at some level and then served as Assistant coach at a P-6 school before coming to Holy Cross they each might have gotten off to a better start. Wasn't Ralph Willard an epic failure at Pitt with a 63–82 overall record and 31–59 in Big East play?? Did he show he was a good head coach at Pitt with that bad of a record? Thanks for proving my point. Ralph took Western Kentucky to the Sweet Sixteen so there was documented evidence he was an excellent mid major head coach. He did not have to learn how to be a head coach at Holy Cross.
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Post by timholycross on Feb 7, 2022 9:03:59 GMT -5
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Post by thecrossisback on Feb 7, 2022 9:29:16 GMT -5
I like to see the Hoyas struggle as much as anybody but they did just win the Big East last year.
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Post by rgs318 on Feb 7, 2022 9:39:27 GMT -5
Wasn't Ralph Willard an epic failure at Pitt with a 63–82 overall record and 31–59 in Big East play?? Did he show he was a good head coach at Pitt with that bad of a record? Thanks for proving my point. Ralph took Western Kentucky to the Sweet Sixteen so there was documented evidence he was an excellent mid major head coach. He did not have to learn how to be a head coach at Holy Cross. Note that the only mention about RW from our resident "lemon-sucker" was Pitt. No mention at all in his post and record at Western Kentucky to make the result negative toward HC and clearly slanted.
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Post by bfoley82 on Feb 7, 2022 11:03:45 GMT -5
Thanks for proving my point. Ralph took Western Kentucky to the Sweet Sixteen so there was documented evidence he was an excellent mid major head coach. He did not have to learn how to be a head coach at Holy Cross. Note that the only mention about RW from our resident "lemon-sucker" was Pitt. No mention at all in his post and record at Western Kentucky to make the result negative toward HC and clearly slanted. Good coaches do struggle at places. The guy that replaced Willard lasted four seasons there with Sweet 16 appearances in his final two seasons...🤷♂️
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Post by DFW HOYA on Feb 7, 2022 11:25:27 GMT -5
McDonough is in great shape Must be a slow day on Crossports. That said...
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Post by efg72 on Feb 7, 2022 11:29:26 GMT -5
McDonough is in great shape Must be a slow day on Crossports. That said... They made some improvements there-- but it is in great shape for the old fashioned gym that had the feeling of tradition- not a big stadium type venue.
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Post by Crucis#1 on Feb 7, 2022 11:33:37 GMT -5
Wonder if the pay phones are still operational?
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Feb 7, 2022 11:34:19 GMT -5
I heard that Gtown is changing those phones from rotary dial to push button soon.
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Post by Crucis#1 on Feb 7, 2022 11:45:22 GMT -5
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Post by Crucis#1 on Feb 7, 2022 11:52:18 GMT -5
I feel for Georgetown Alum regarding their current position. Seems cruel especially as Villanova continues to succeed.
In an optimum environment regarding the Patriot League.... Georgetown and Fordham would be full members and AU and BU would be in another conference. It would provide the ongoing rivals that HC alum are craving for competition excitement.
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Post by sader1970 on Feb 7, 2022 12:03:20 GMT -5
McDonough is in great shape Must be a slow day on Crossports. That said... I mean, really! How can the Hart/Luth compete with this?
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Post by hc87 on Feb 7, 2022 12:04:42 GMT -5
I'm a little surprised the NBE has remained as competitive as it has....currently 5 teams in the AP Top 25. I thought it might drop to closer to an A-10 or so level when it was reconstitued but it remains very firmly amongst the best conferences in America.
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Post by bfoley82 on Feb 7, 2022 12:12:49 GMT -5
I'm a little surprised the NBE has remained as competitive as it has....currently 5 teams in the AP Top 25. I thought it might drop to closer to an A-10 or so level when it was reconstitued but it remains very firmly amongst the best conferences in America. In 2018-2019, two Big East schools were in the top ten in the nation for average attendance. Creighton and Marquette. The Golden Eagles that year had the second biggest jump in the nation for average attendance. St. John's was 12th. fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/2020/Attendance.pdf
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Post by timholycross on Feb 7, 2022 14:21:36 GMT -5
I'm a little surprised the NBE has remained as competitive as it has....currently 5 teams in the AP Top 25. I thought it might drop to closer to an A-10 or so level when it was reconstituted but it remains very firmly amongst the best conferences in America. It doesn't hurt that the schools in the power conferences that are located in close proximity to Big East schools; especially those on the East Coast, are struggling in basketball. Easier to recruit To wit: Rutgers (13-9 is fantastic for them, but it's still 13-9), Syracuse (.500 team this year), Pittsburgh, BC, Maryland, Louisville
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Post by crusader1970 on Feb 7, 2022 15:17:32 GMT -5
Patty knows it is all over. You can see it in the way he conducts himself on the sideline.
While I'm sure he is giving his best and wants to win, if you watch closely, he is often laughing on the sideline during halftimes and stops in play.
He knows the end is near and clearly is relieved IMO.
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Post by Crucis#1 on Feb 7, 2022 16:49:08 GMT -5
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Post by timholycross on Feb 8, 2022 9:53:31 GMT -5
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Post by DFW HOYA on Feb 8, 2022 13:19:39 GMT -5
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Post by bison137 on Feb 8, 2022 13:31:53 GMT -5
Note that the only mention about RW from our resident "lemon-sucker" was Pitt. No mention at all in his post and record at Western Kentucky to make the result negative toward HC and clearly slanted. Good coaches do struggle at places. The guy that replaced Willard lasted four seasons there with Sweet 16 appearances in his final two seasons...🤷♂️ The “guy” that replaced Willard, whose name you should know since he is one of the better known coaches in America, had a huge advantage that Willard did not have. Specifically just after Willard was fired, Pitt finally finalized plans to build their long overdue new arena to replace the small and very outdated gym that they were playing in. That new arena, the Peterson Events Center, opened in 2002. It made a huge difference in Pitt’s ability to recruit. And a huge difference in the results achieved by Howland and then Jamie Dixon.
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Post by bfoley82 on Feb 8, 2022 14:15:57 GMT -5
Good coaches do struggle at places. The guy that replaced Willard lasted four seasons there with Sweet 16 appearances in his final two seasons...🤷♂️ The “guy” that replaced Willard, whose name you should know since he is one of the better known coaches in America, had a huge advantage that Willard did not have. Specifically just after Willard was fired, Pitt finally finalized plans to build their long overdue new arena to replace the small and very outdated gym that they were playing in. That new arena, the Peterson Events Center, opened in 2002. It made a huge difference in Pitt’s ability to recruit. And a huge difference in the results achieved by Howland and then Jamie Dixon. Howland left after the 2002-2003 season...he coached in that new building for one season as it opened on April 27th, 2002. Howland was the national coach of the year in 2001-2002. But go on about the arena being the difference. Willard was the only coach in Pitt's Big East hoops days to never make the NCAA Tournament even though he had highly rated recruiting classes including NBA first round pick Verteego Cummings and NBA player Mark Blount.
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Post by Sons of Vaval on Feb 8, 2022 14:30:48 GMT -5
Patty knows it is all over. You can see it in the way he conducts himself on the sideline.
I get the same feeling watching Nathan Davis "coach" in the second half of some of Bucknell's games.
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Post by bison137 on Feb 8, 2022 14:41:55 GMT -5
The “guy” that replaced Willard, whose name you should know since he is one of the better known coaches in America, had a huge advantage that Willard did not have. Specifically just after Willard was fired, Pitt finally finalized plans to build their long overdue new arena to replace the small and very outdated gym that they were playing in. That new arena, the Peterson Events Center, opened in 2002. It made a huge difference in Pitt’s ability to recruit. And a huge difference in the results achieved by Howland and then Jamie Dixon. Howland left after the 2002-2003 season...he coached in that new building for one season as it opened on April 27th, 2002. Howland was the national coach of the year in 2001-2002. But go on about the arena being the difference. Willard was the only coach in Pitt's Big East hoops days to never make the NCAA Tournament even though he had highly rated recruiting classes including NBA first round pick Verteego Cummings and NBA player Mark Blount. According to both Howland and Ralph Willard, once Pitt announced plans for the new arena and had its groundbreaking, it immediately made recruiting MUCH easier. It's kind of silly to list Blount. To begin, he was not highly regarded out of HS. Tall but not very skilled. He stayed at Pitt for two years and in his BEST season he averaged 9 ppg and 4 rpg. After he left Pitt, it took him four more years to make the NBA.
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Post by bfoley82 on Feb 8, 2022 14:49:39 GMT -5
Howland left after the 2002-2003 season...he coached in that new building for one season as it opened on April 27th, 2002. Howland was the national coach of the year in 2001-2002. But go on about the arena being the difference. Willard was the only coach in Pitt's Big East hoops days to never make the NCAA Tournament even though he had highly rated recruiting classes including NBA first round pick Verteego Cummings and NBA player Mark Blount. According to both Howland and Ralph Willard, once Pitt announced plans for the new arena and had its groundbreaking, it immediately made recruiting MUCH easier. It's kind of silly to list Blount. To begin, he was not highly regarded out of HS. Tall but not very skilled. He stayed at Pitt for two years and in his BEST season he averaged 9 ppg and 4 rpg. After he left Pitt, it took him four more years to make the NBA. Blount played at Oak Hill for two years in high school, Mr. Basketball in Westchester County, fourth team All-American, and was told by his coach (Willard I assume) according to him he would be a first round pick (he went in the second round) after his sophomore year in college. Not highly regarded, then. www.markblount30.com/nba-career/index.htmlWillard left after the 1999 season so no clue how he can talk about recruiting at Pitt with a new building that didn't break ground for another year. Seems like he is just looking for an excuse for struggling at Pitt. Good coaches struggle in places and Willard had challenges at Pitt at the time but he is the only Pitt coach to never make the tourney during the Big East days, Those are the facts.
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