vanmeter wrote: ↑Tue Apr 27, 2021 7:41 pm
KahunaK
Your post is wrong on many counts
1) trying to diminish what Greg Carvel has done is shameful. Taking over a program that was one of, if not the worst, program in college hockey and in 3 years making the national championship game and in 5 years winning a national championship is a tremendous accomplishment period.
2) Thinking that running a clean program and graduating players is enough - except for some on this board - is foolish. I’m pretty sure that this would not only not satisfy those on this board but the athletic department as well.
No one expects that we will have an NCAA championship in basketball, but ‘making’ the tournament would be a not so demanding expectation.
I could be wrong on many things as we all could be. I would never diminish what Coach Carvel has accomplished-it is extraordinary. UMASS hockey has always been seen as a sleeping giant just waiting for the right person to show up....and he did. Congrats to him and his team.
What I was trying to say is that you can't compare apples to oranges. MM walked into a disastrous situation where another coach just said screw it and left on the day he was to be announced!!!! Think about that. How many schools have EVER had that happen to them??? Obviously, something was not right in Amherst for that to happen. MM had a mess to clean up.
The ability to attract top players to UMASS is easier for the hockey program for the reasons stated. UMASS bball is a middling program (out of 350 programs) in a second-tier conference. UMASS hockey is in Hockey East- a premier conference.
As for point two- if all those good things happen but UMASS remains at .500, this board would be looking for a new coach-its in the DNA of the posters here. Unfortunately many will say Coach Cal did it-why can't someone else do it? Cal is one of the best coaches of his generation- UMASS struck lightning in a bottle. MM is not Cal and I dare say UMASS may never get another Cal. The expectations of what UMASS can accomplish are way too high in the short term. What UMASS needs is some consistency-it has been a jumble since MM arrived. If Tre and Gray stayed for next year I think UMASS would have been solid. Unfortunately, the transfer portal and a certain assistant coach have set them back. Perhaps MM can turn it around or maybe not. Time will tell. But comparing the hockey program to the bball program or MM to Carvel/Cal just is not a reasonable way to judge MM.
As far as the not-so-demanding expectation of making the tournament- since 1998 (24 years) UMASS has had 5 coaches and 1 NCAA appearance. In that appearance, UMASS got blown out in the first round by an 11 seed. Not sure where the confidence in going to the NCAA comes from but it is not from recent past experience.
Bottom line is that MM entered a very difficult situation which has persisted. The Tre/TB fiasco is his responsibility and should be held accountable for it. But everyone was on board when they started to win- forget about a program that you can be proud of - just win baby.
The other two things are Swamy will fire Bamford if he tries to fire MM-UMASS doesn't have the money. Second- what great coach will want to walk into Amherst. You will get exactly what MM is- a coach from a lower/bottom tier school that is hoping to make the next step. Then UMASS will go through exactly what it has been experiencing for the past 24 years. If UMASS supports MM AND he succeeds and turns it around then the reputation of UMASS will be enhanced as a good bball school. If he got fired UMASS will be seen as a tainted place. I hope MM turns it around.