Who will replace Ford?

dingo38 · Post by **dingo38** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 12:56 pm

philosopher wrote:I think it would be a bit disrespectful to make the announcement on one of the "signal holidays" in the Judaic world. For me, this is not a "pc" issue. I had many fraternity brothers who are Jewish. It is important for me to keep them, and their faith, in high regard. I don't see the university issuing major statements on Easter, the signal holiday for Christian identity, and feel that to do it on a holiday of similar importance to the Judaic world would be inappropriate. Just my opinion.

not double guessing or anything phil, but could that also have something to do with it always being a Sunday?

minuteman08 · Post by **minuteman08** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 1:26 pm

im pretty sure TF's press conference to announce his hiring here was on Good Friday in 2005? Anyone remember

rayers · Post by **rayers** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 1:27 pm

Very impressive guys on Marty's list. Monroe and O'Shea would be good gets. I especially like O' Shea because of his ties to the area and it's about time BC did something for us. But the more I learn and read and question my initial assumptions, it may be a worthwhile gamble to give Derek a go. I know we will be right in the recruiting game at the get go. I also think his recent experience as part of the Memphis program will be impressive to our guys. Mostly, I love the fact that we'll probably run DDM offense and I'm sure a lot of the top young guys love that. For players that can break down other guys off the dribble it's perfect. Also great for kick outs to the three point shooters. With our guys and hopefully with Gibbs here we could do some serious damage next year. From what Cal says the game coaching is markedly less with DDM than with many other set or patterned offenses. It would allow a guy like a new head coach to let the players play in games. I would also expect that if Derek was the head coach our D would be a lot better than with Fraud, just knowing how he was coached and what he learned from Cal. I'm getting on the Derek bandwagon.

skizz · Post by **skizz** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 1:41 pm

philosopher wrote:I think it would be a bit disrespectful to make the announcement on one of the "signal holidays" in the Judaic world. For me, this is not a "pc" issue. I had many fraternity brothers who are Jewish. It is important for me to keep them, and their faith, in high regard. I don't see the university issuing major statements on Easter, the signal holiday for Christian identity, and feel that to do it on a holiday of similar importance to the Judaic world would be inappropriate. Just my opinion.

Please tell me your joking.

Crank · Post by **Crank** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 1:48 pm

skizz wrote:
philosopher wrote:I think it would be a bit disrespectful to make the announcement on one of the "signal holidays" in the Judaic world. For me, this is not a "pc" issue. I had many fraternity brothers who are Jewish. It is important for me to keep them, and their faith, in high regard. I don't see the university issuing major statements on Easter, the signal holiday for Christian identity, and feel that to do it on a holiday of similar importance to the Judaic world would be inappropriate. Just my opinion.
Please tell me your joking.

Not to speak for Phil, but I highly doubt he's joking.

njumass08 · Post by **njumass08** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 1:53 pm

I just hope the school has been calling Gibbs and Cosby every day giving them updates on how the search is going. That would be the right thing to do to try to keep them.

bharms08 · Post by **bharms08** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 2:15 pm

rayers wrote:Mostly, I love the fact that we'll probably run DDM offense and I'm sure a lot of the top young guys love that. For players that can break down other guys off the dribble it's perfect. Also great for kick outs to the three point shooters.

Calipari calls it "Princeton on steroids." at first i didnt really understand what DDM is, but after watching this 6min clip it makes a lot more sense

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJZcvQES ... re=related

WH · Post by WH » Mon Apr 21, 2008 2:16 pm

As I said earlier, Tim O’Shea is one the coach I do not want. He is a good coach and has done a very good job as Ohio, but I just don’t think his ceiling is as high as other candidates. He’s not a colorless coach. I just don’t think his personality is strong enough. Nor do I think he’ll recruit at the level we’d like to see.

Funny thing is, I went to a Ohio board and someone copied a post I made earlier on this site opposing O’Shea. Some Bobcats fans argue O’Shea is actually a good recruiter and that he sells their program well – the opposite of my criticism.

The critics among Bobcats fans instead seemed to focus on what they view as poor in-game adjustments and lack of a bench. Although I only watch a couple of Bobcats games every year, I actually thought his teams looked fundamentally well coached.

In any case, I guess a few more thoughts on O’Shea are in order. First, he has done a good job recruiting for Ohio. He always seems to get one very good player in every class to help keep the Bobcats near the top of the MAC. Many of his best recruits appear to have been underrated nationally.

If so, that suggests O’Shea has a keen eye for talent. It would not be a surprise. He’s from the Al Skinner mold of talent evaluation. Skinner is as good as it gets in finding hidden gems. He's just not great at signing the recognized prep stars.

My concern is that O’Shea would not win many recruiting battles for clearly talented players sought by BCS schools. I’ve been following recruiting in the East for years and don’t get the “sense” that O’Shea could succeed in this regard.

The complaint by some Bobcat fans that O’Shea doesn’t find enough good players to populate the bench – or that he doesn’t use them – also is a concern. One thing we didn’t have to worry about after Ford took over was getting players. He got them, especially topflight transfers. And he also used and tried to developed our young players.

Compare Ford to Lappas and Flint. Those two usually struggled to find good players, to sign them early and then to develop deep benches. Most of our new guys hardly played (in part because they were not good enough). I really don’t want to go through that again.

Which brings me to O’Shea’s personality. I admit: I cannot put my fingers on it. I just don’t get excited at all about this guy. In fact, I would be very disappointed if he were the choice.

I am not saying O’Shea would not win at UMass. I think he could. After all, he has won an average of 19 games a year at Ohio.

Maybe it’s not his fault. People tend to get more excited about what’s new than what’s tried and true. We know all the warts of the familiar but see greater possibility in the unfamiliar. That might partly explain my desire to see another candidate get the job.

BTW, the Bobcats fans are used to O’Shea getting mentioned or interviewed for every major job that’s come up in the past few years. The hardcore fans don’t like it and they seems split about him.

And yet, they get resentful when fans of teams that consider hiring O'Shea complain about him. They see criticism such as mine an an indirect criticism of their own program.

This situation also gives me pause. Has every school that’s interviewed him come away thinking he was good, but not quite good enough. Why has he always been the bridesmaid and never the bride, save for Ohio giving him the top job?

And why would the fanbase be split given O’Shea’s success at Ohio.

vanmeter · Post by **vanmeter** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 3:01 pm

Good post WH, although I do not agree that Ford has used and developed recruited players. While Lowe (as he had no other choice) and Harris saw early action, I was dissapointed that this years recruiting class did not get much more of an opportunity. Correia did get reasonable minutes but Glass, Lo, Hill, Groebe, Lang and Jones saw very little action. 4 of our starters averaged between 30-33.7 minutes per game which is quite a bit.

Most teams may have 1 or 2 players at most over 30. Memphis and Kansas did not have 1 player that averaged as much as 30 minutes.

While last year we all figured that Harris would be penciled in as a starter because of the minutes he received and how he developed, I do not think that anyone can look at the above list and be projected to start.

WH · Post by WH » Mon Apr 21, 2008 3:16 pm

I think my exact phrase, vanmeter, was "tried to develop." I think Ford tried. Groebe got minutes early on. Papa Lo got some minutes at important times. Correia and Glass became everygame players, albeit in limited minutes. Even Sedale Jones got a shot.

I would have liked to see them play more, but I am not convinced they deserved it. As it was, we were barely on bubble. I dont think we would have been in that position if the young guys played much more.

I do give Ford credit for developing Lowe and Harris and for playing Gaffney. I also think he should get some credit for helping to turn Milligan into an effective inside force by the end of the past season.

As for next season, I liked what I saw especially from Glass and Lo. If both guys get stronger, I expect each to be rotation mainstays next season. Fortunately we should have Lynch and Gurley to throw in the mix.

The question of who gets credit for developing a player is a tough one. I think most players are primarily responsible for their own development. Coaches often get way too much credit or blame, in my view.

throwdown · Post by **throwdown** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 3:17 pm

Harris was peciled in as a starter because there was no other option. He too, as a frosh didn't get major minutes. He obviously had it in him as a freshman.

WH · Post by WH » Mon Apr 21, 2008 3:40 pm

Whether Harris "had it in him" or was "penciled in to start because there was no other option," the coach gets the credit. He recruited Harris, and a lot of other big programs did not.

I always prefer players who are so good that the coach doesnt have to develop them. Give me a coach who can get more Ricky Harris's.

umassfan0299 · Post by **umassfan0299** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 3:44 pm

throwdown wrote:Harris was peciled in as a starter because there was no other option. He too, as a frosh didn't get major minutes. He obviously had it in him as a freshman.

I loved what I saw from Harris as a freshmen. He didn't get big minutes, but when he was out there he was a fearless spark plug. I was fully expecting big things from him this year (maybe not 18 a game though) and I can't honestly say that about any of the guys who were freshmen this year. I agree with WH about Glass and Lo, both guys seem to have the toughness and competitiveness when they are out on the court. Papa has the talent and the mental mindset IMO to be a big time A-10 player its simply a matter of improving his skills and putting on some muscle.

throwdown · Post by **throwdown** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 3:45 pm

I agree with you WH. But, like Harris I think there were freshmen on this team last year that had it in them also and like Harris were playing behind better players. Hopefully we'll see their production next year. Who'll get the credit for that, TF who recruited them or the new coach who played them?

DEM · Post by **DEM** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 3:49 pm

Well, if Ford gets the credit for the 20+ win season in 06-07 and for all the good things that Freeman and Lasme did, then I'd say it should be the same for the next coach.