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I thought he should be interviewed for the GW job. Guessing he'll move on to a top HC job in a couple of years.
Pete Thamel@PeteThamel Sources: Virginia Tech is targeting DeMatha Catholic coach Mike Jones as the school’s new associate head basketball coach. Deal is not done, but he’s a leading candidate and a decision is expected next week. Jones just finished his 19th season at DeMatha.
Last edited by BM (5/14/2021 1:01 pm)
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Thanks BM. Great info for us DMV hoop junkies!
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BM is right. Don't know if we talked to him,but that would have been an excellent idea for us. Recruiter who knows HS basketball from a powerhouse perspective. And someone with a great amount of bench experience, even if HS.
Looks like a higher level team see his value. Good for him.
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Does anyone know if Mike Jones was ever interested in a college job? GW definitely should have interviewed him if he was interested. It's a bit puzzling that M.Jones first college job would be at Virginia Tech instead of Maryland or Georgetown(or even GW). Maybe the alleged, on-going bad blood between Maryland and DeMatha, which followed a long Georgetown-DeMatha feud prevented him from seeking jobs at Maryland and Georgetown.
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Interview with Mike Jones
Said he's been approached before but never really considered the offers until this time as he thought he could learn from Mike Young. He'll be joining Christian Webster (Darryl's son & Harvard grad) on the coaching staff. Recruiting the DMV just became harder.
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Mike Jones was reportedly the highest paid high school coach in this area between camps, leagues and his coaching salary (and maybe nationally) - perhaps well over $200,000 per year. VPI offered him a lot of money to be an assistant coach - reportedly in the range of $400,000 a year..GW could never match that nor what he was making at DM.
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I was referring to interviewing him as a head coach.
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Mike is a tremendously talented basketball coach. However, basically no mid-major or above is taking an initial flyer on a head coach straight from high school. So, no, I don't think GW should have interviewed him for the HC job.
That said, if he wants to be a college head coach, he has started down the right path.
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Agree with Rising.
Remember Bob Wade from Dunbar? All Maryland fans of my generation do. The reason we have sucked for the past 5 years was because of piss poor decision making. Lets not keep making bad decisions. JC will be gone after the next 3 years - he will either be fired or more likely (in my opinion) he will show much improvement and grab the 1st offer that comes his way.
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Worked well for Wagner.
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BM wrote:
Worked well for Wagner.
Wagner is not at the same level as GW. The NEC has taken many flyers on coaches either from the D3 level or otherwise. Dan Engelstad at the Mount came from a D3 program that is no longer in existence - Southern Vermont. The main reason is the level of pay. Mike Jones would have had to take a considerable pay cut to coach in the NEC. The only real candidates for NEC jobs seem to be low level assistants, D3 guys, Coaches on the rebound (Kellogg) and high school coaches.
GW would be crucified by the fan base if they took a high school coach with no college experience in this day and age. Now if the GW job was open 3-4 years from now and Jones did a good job at VPI, then it's a whole different discussion.
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Our old friend Pete Strickland has been named Interim HC at DeMatha
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Interim is probably a good label. That way he can up and leave in September and no one will think any different lol.
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Pete Strickland is a super class guy and deserves to be head coach at Dematha!
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Pete Strickland was a great asset for GW, the sudden loss of his recruiting had a deep impact.
GW has not yet recovered from the abrupt resignations of Strickland and Sutton, whose ties to key players were responsible for most of our best recruits of the last decade, we haven't recruited anywhere near that level since those two guys left us
Last edited by The Dude (5/20/2021 1:00 pm)
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HS is the perfect place for Strickland. He can teach gym class or driver's ed to fill his day. DeMatha will allow him to be a caretaker for a few months over Summer (when nothing is going on with the HS team) until they name the successor to Jones.
I predict it may be Morgan Wooten's son Joe from O'Connell HS.
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The Dude wrote:
Pete Strickland was a great asset for GW, the sudden loss of his recruiting had a deep impact.
GW has not yet recovered from the abrupt resignations of Strickland and Sutton, whose ties to key players were responsible for most of our best recruits of the last decade, we haven't recruited anywhere near that level since those two guys left us
Specifically Dude which players did Strickland recruit for Lonergan? (Note to self ... can't wait to read the bs that will follow)
Last edited by GWRising (5/20/2021 1:09 pm)
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No big mystery to the Strickland departure other than the dreadful timing. Lonergan wanted assistants who when not with his own team, would be in high school/AAU gyms 6 days a week or 7 if there were games that 7th day. Pete was getting up there, had college-aged children, and decided that he did not want the life of a young 30 year old trying to move his way up the coaching ladder. He simply was not a fit given what Mike was looking for.
I'll help The Dude out since there's an excellent chance that he doesn't know: Pete had a relationship with Zeke Armwood and his family. He played a nice role in bringing him to GW. After that, not a whole lot.
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Gwmayhem wrote:
No big mystery to the Strickland departure other than the dreadful timing. Lonergan wanted assistants who when not with his own team, would be in high school/AAU gyms 6 days a week or 7 if there were games that 7th day. Pete was getting up there, had college-aged children, and decided that he did not want the life of a young 30 year old trying to move his way up the coaching ladder. He simply was not a fit given what Mike was looking for.
I'll help The Dude out since there's an excellent chance that he doesn't know: Pete had a relationship with Zeke Armwood and his family. He played a nice role in bringing him to GW. After that, not a whole lot.
Correct.
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GWRising wrote:
BM wrote:
Worked well for Wagner.
...GW would be crucified by the fan base if they took a high school coach with no college experience in this day and age. Now if the GW job was open 3-4 years from now and Jones did a good job at VPI, then it's a whole different discussion.
There are always exceptions to the rule. Dan Hurley, with the Hurley pedigree and fantastic record at St. Benedict's was a lower risk hire. Jones, with his audacious record and great reputation, would have been a low risk interview for GW.