IF YOU WERE THE AD
May 11th, 2010
With all of the turnover we saw this spring in the metropolitan area, we also saw no two Athletic Directors think alike when it came down to who they were going to hire. Some knew exactly who they wanted from the get-go….while others got turned down a few times before settling on plan B or C.
Different philosophies amongst administrators lead to schools falling into one of the following categories.
The Rising Star Hire
- Clearly the path taken by the two New Jersey Big East Schools. Seton Hall’s Kevin Willard is 35 and Rutgers’ Mike Rice is 41. Both have shown in only 3 years as a head coach that they know what they are doing. And their personalities both fit what the schools need right now. Seton Hall needs stability, professionalism and X & O’s right now - enter Willard. Rutgers needs passion, positive energy and hard work right now - enter Rice. Obviously recruiting is the foundation of all success; but these other qualities are just as important right now for these two schools.
The No Brainer Hire
- Fordham Basketball needed a new leader after the Dereck Whittenburg regime. Many candidates were mentioned, but all of the other options silenced once Tom Pecora was interested in the job. Regardless of who else was interested, Pecora was the home run hire here by far. He is New York’s media darling for college hoops and there’s not a high school coach in the tri-state area that dislikes him. He is polished on and off the court and he is great with the press. The students will love him on campus and he’ll be loved by the alumni. Throw stats and more qualified resumes out the window when a school finds their No Brainer hire.
Win the Presser Hire
- Hands down this hire goes to St. John’s. Yes, they really liked and wanted Paul Hewitt to leave Georgia Tech. And yes, they fantasized about Billy Donovan coaching in the Garden. But at the end of the day, credit Chris Monasch for getting a big name that will draw media attention to come to St. John’s. This program has been dull and boring. It needed life….it needed buzz….it needed juice in the greatest city in the world. And they’ve gotten it with Lavin so far. Now we have to see how it goes after the honeymoon period is over.
The Out of the Box Hire
- Who was going to get the Iona job? Fran Fraschilla?…Norm Roberts?…Steve Masiello?…nope…enter Tim Cluess from D2 power CW Post in Long Island. Iona returns the majority of their team from a 21 win and 3rd place MAAC finish. Iona decided they wanted experience and they wanted someone who has won a lot of games. They chose a proven resume over candidates mentioned heavily in the media. Well they got that with Cluess, whose winning percentage in 19 years of coaching is way higher than my high school or college GPA ever was.
The Stability Hire
- Andy Toole was hired by Mike Rice when he was 26 years old to be an assistant coach at Robert Morris. He is now the 29 year old head coach of Robert Morris and is the youngest Division 1 head coach in the country. Mike Rice was extremely successful and leaves Toole a program in great shape. If they wanted, the NEC power from Pittsburgh could have taken hundreds of high level resumes throughout the country for their vacant basketball coaching position. Instead, Robert Morris officials chose stability…they chose head coach/player relationships…and they waned to give someone a shot. When the foundation is strong at a mid-major, the Stability Hire is becoming the more and more popular route to go.
So the formula looks like this folks-
When the situation is average to bad, but with potential….usually the Future Star Hire wins out.
When a program is down and out without any buzz….usually the No Brainer or Win the Presser Hire is the way to go.
And when a program is headed in the right direction….the Stability or Out of the Box Hire are the two most acceptable ways of winning the press conference.
If you were AD though, is there a certain candidate you would hire and nothing could change your mind about it? Or would you be the type willing to bend and take a chance? What type of candidate would you pursue if you were AD?
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I feel the AD who is open to all possibilities rather than wedded to one philosopy will, ultimately, have the best opportunity for success.
Of the New York area choices I think some were much easier choices than others.
Once St. John’s got its head out of the Donovan dream and Lavin expressed real interest, their decision was easy.
Fordham’s selection was also relatively easy, especially, since Pecora was apparently lobbying for that job for some time. The problem I see there, is that the people who have been responsible for 20 years of horrible decisons about Fordham basketball, are the people who are still making decisions.
For Seton Hall, I really feel their most difficult decision was to pull the plug on Gonzo. Once done, KW along with Sha became a natural.
Pat Lyons made what I consider the most courageous decision. This is a choice that will either pay great dividends for all concerned or will be just the opposite - it’s all on Pat’s shoulders. Personally, I think this will prove to be a great choice for Iona and, unfortunately, may be the springboard for Pat to move on to a big time opportunity.
As to Rutgers, while their situation became a never-ending saga, I think they, too, ultimately made a choice they will not regret.
All in all, I see college hoops in this area most definitely on the rise.
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