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Post by efg72 on Jul 12, 2023 18:45:59 GMT -5
While we don't need to read a thread, especially about a painful leadership of the program, it is summer and we get sucked in We need to help each other by no longer posting on his tenure
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Post by timholycross on Jul 14, 2023 11:06:16 GMT -5
Agree w/efg and rjs; and gave Foley a thumbs up (which doesn't happen very often).
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Post by bfoley82 on Jul 14, 2023 18:17:13 GMT -5
Pul-leese, Foley. I won't speak about the other coaches but Milan Brown was not in the same league of incompetence as Nelson. Nelson's won/loss record makes him, hands down, the worst coach in Crusader men's basketball history. Not. Even. Close. Happy for Nelson's family he got another job. Not particularly happy that he reportedly made out like a bandit on the sale of his house. So, he got fired at the right place at the right time, I suppose. Bret Nelson's resume outside of Holy Cross is more impressive. First assistant at a power 6 school, former All-American player, etc. He has that draw coaches look for on their benches.
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Post by Non Alum Dave on Jul 15, 2023 4:22:06 GMT -5
Lots of failed Coach Resume's out there.......
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Post by longsuffering on Jul 15, 2023 12:46:19 GMT -5
A Sinatra send off for our former coach.
I've been up and down and over and out And I know one thing Each time I find myself Flat on my face I pick myself up and get Back in the race.
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Post by longsuffering on Jul 22, 2023 15:10:42 GMT -5
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Post by timholycross on Jul 23, 2023 8:29:10 GMT -5
(couldn't resist making this up!) Nelson's Crusaders held opponents to a .670 free throw shooting percentage, 17th best in the nation!
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Post by timholycross on Jul 23, 2023 8:33:33 GMT -5
A Sinatra send off for our former coach. I've been up and down and over and out And I know one thing Each time I find myself Flat on my face I pick myself up and get Back in the race. Jimmy Boylan was just as bad a head coach at UNH and ended up being a long time NBA assistant and also briefly a head coach in that league. Can't rebound any higher back than that, can you? You never know.
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Post by sader1970 on Jul 23, 2023 9:37:25 GMT -5
(couldn't resist making this up!) Nelson's Crusaders held opponents to a .670 free throw shooting percentage, 17th best in the nation! So, here’s an alternative take to your alternative: it wasn’t our sterling free throw defense; it was we played lousy opponents and still had a lousy record. Putting a Christian take on Nelson: he MAY be a wonderful head coach somewhere, someday - just not at Holy Cross. There, he stunk. His record proved it and pretty sure the statisticians on the board will confirm there is a significantly high number of occurrences to confirm that.
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Post by sader1970 on Jul 23, 2023 12:28:13 GMT -5
Putting Brett's experience at Holy Cross into perspective, it seems that the most successful coaches in recent history, generally speaking, perhaps with an exception or two, are the ones who went to or were most familiar with the Holy Cross culture (i.e. Willard, Blaney).
The further away the coach was from the Holy Cross experience, the worse they were. There is great hope for Dave Paulsen because, while he is not a Crusader alum, he comes from an academic-first background and long-time PL coach. He knows what HC is about. The guy who with 20/20 hindsight was the most disappointing was Bill Carmody. While neither an HC alum nor a prior PL coach, his experience at Princeton gave him the foundation to have been much more successful.
Brett never quite seemed to "get" what Holy Cross was about with a Florida/Marquette background which neither had any touch points with Holy Cross other than Marquette being Jesuit. Large universities is 180 degrees different from Holy Cross. Milan, at least, knew enough to connect with alums and fans. Sean connected with the alums and fans but apparently not with the players and probably not his inherited assistants. I suspect that at both Florida and Marquette, the universities are so large that there is no pressure to develop any kind of relationship with the regular fans or alums, just the deep pocketed ones. And coming from a non-New England state, didn't help his background knowledge of our alma mater. Maybe Brett really never had a solid chance for success? Maybe we just figured he was the answer after Bill Carmody since he was coming in with the opposite background?
End of rant.
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Jul 23, 2023 13:24:06 GMT -5
Maybe he is just not a leader and not a good head coach, regardless of background??
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Post by bfoley82 on Jul 23, 2023 13:56:34 GMT -5
Maybe he is just not a leader and not a good head coach, regardless of background?? Then you never saw him play then....
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Post by longsuffering on Jul 23, 2023 14:11:14 GMT -5
Putting Brett's experience at Holy Cross into perspective, it seems that the most successful coaches in recent history, generally speaking, perhaps with an exception or two, are the ones who went to or were most familiar with the Holy Cross culture (i.e. Willard, Blaney). The further away the coach was from the Holy Cross experience, the worse they were. There is great hope for Dave Paulsen because, while he is not a Crusader alum, he comes from an academic-first background and long-time PL coach. He knows what HC is about. The guy who with 20/20 hindsight was the most disappointing was Bill Carmody. While neither an HC alum nor a prior PL coach, his experience at Princeton gave him the foundation to have been much more successful. Brett never quite seemed to "get" what Holy Cross was about with a Florida/Marquette background which neither had any touch points with Holy Cross other than Marquette being Jesuit. Large universities is 180 degrees different from Holy Cross. Milan, at least, knew enough to connect with alums and fans. Sean connected with the alums and fans but apparently not with the players and probably not his inherited assistants. I suspect that at both Florida and Marquette, the universities are so large that there is no pressure to develop any kind of relationship with the regular fans or alums, just the deep pocketed ones. And coming from a non-New England state, didn't help his background knowledge of our alma mater. Maybe Brett really never had a solid chance for success? Maybe we just figured he was the answer after Bill Carmody since he was coming in with the opposite background? End of rant. Surprised "March Madness" during Carmody's first season didn't lift him above SK and BN in the most disappointing category. Perhaps because he had the most potential of those three that was never fully realized? Perhaps you are saying that with 20/20 hindsight Carmody actually was a good logical pick by FADNP who disappointed whereas SK and BN were poor picks from the getgo by FADDR and FADMB?
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Post by longsuffering on Jul 23, 2023 14:13:11 GMT -5
I will say with 20/20 hindsight my impression of FADNP has risen, mainly due to the Chesney hire but you raise an interesting point about the Carmody hire. Even though ironically Northwestern and Assimption are about as different as you can get as warm up acts for coaching at Holy Cross.
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Post by sader1970 on Jul 23, 2023 14:36:12 GMT -5
Maybe what I am saying is that we saw in Brett Nelson what we wanted to see.🤷🏻♂️
As for Carmody’s first year championship, based on some stories I have heard, it was a fluke where factors unrelated to his coaching came into play and reinforced by a conversation I had with him after the season.
Very interesting that his high water mark at HC was the championship run in a losing record season.
The last season or so were understandable considering his wife’s sad, terminal illness which would more than distract anyone. She was a very nice person that many posters got to know, many here, knew her better than I.
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