GW0509 wrote:

GWRising,

It almost sounds like the relationship between GW and its coaches mirrors the arguments made here.

Coach to GW: Hey I need more resources to compete with all the other higher paid coaches in the A10. If you want to be a repeat tourney team I need more money.

GW to Coach: Hobbs and Lonergan took us to the NCAA tournament with the same resources so if you can’t do that it’s your own damn fault and we’ll find someone else who can.

Fair representation?

Yes. Everyone at GW has to realize that the A-10 is "not your father's Oldsmobile" to borrow a commercial. The level of resources that worked under Jarvis, Hobbs or Lonergan probably doesn't work here now. It's an arms race in Division I college basketball and we are unilaterally disarming even if we spend the same level as before.  

As with each of the past 5 coaching changes I've witnessed, my chain of reactions will mirror the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance, though not in that order. If there's at least one remarkable thing that ties the new person to us in a new or innovative way, I'll at least shut up for a few years until I call for the guillotine (and I've never actually called for any GW coach to be fired except KH in Year 8). MJ was Pat Ewing's high school coach and did well at BU. TP had D1 bonafides and a UConn diploma that provided the validation from Storrs that GW once craved so dearly. Same with KH, a former UConn guard who was riskier as to forecasting his potential but had a win-at-all-cost mentality that we all recently wished in a different thread would return (even knowing how he must hate our guts after shutting his recruiting MO down in the final 3-4 years). I preferred Dooley to ML but after watching him win at BU in Year 1 with 5 freshmen changed my mind immediately. JC seemed like a lightweight but looked the part, said the right things and was probably the right guy for the time and a decent risk worth taking. So, I'll be invariably skeptical until the results warrant otherwise, both in the search and its results on the floor.
Hopefully we can revert to doing something innovative, as JK did masterfully as AD. I fear we don't have any more tricks in the bag, though. We may actually have to pay up.

Last edited by Mentzinger (3/29/2022 1:27 pm)

GWRising wrote:

Yes. Everyone at GW has to realize that the A-10 is "not your father's Oldsmobile" to borrow a commercial. The level of resources that worked under Jarvis, Hobbs or Lonergan probably doesn't work here now. It's an arms race in Division I college basketball and we are unilaterally disarming even if we spend the same level as before.  

Realizing of course that they are the exception, I would be fascinated by your explanation for Saint Peter's run to the Elite 8, led by a coach with a $260,000 salary in the worst job among 11 in a low-major league.

BM wrote:

Making shit up, and as I Vikings fan, I wonder if there was a Jim Harbaugh moment at GW.  If you recall, Jim Harbaugh was widely rumored to be the front-runner for the coach of the Vikings a couple of months ago.  The new GM continued with his due diligence and interviewed a number of other candidates as well.  Harbaugh apparently said his goodbyes at Michigan and flew over to Minnesota to take his seat on the throne, but was surprised when he got there that he was expected to go through the full interview process like the other candidates.  Apparently, the Rams assistant Kevin O'Connell had come in with an in-depth study of the Vikings roster, understood the strengths and weaknesses and had a robust plan of action worked out (all this while prepping for the Superbowl).  Harbaugh had done none of this and was passed over for the job. 

I don't know if we have a Kevin O'Connell among the candidates who has thrown a wrench into the plans of those who championed Caputo and the Becker camp but, optimistically, that would be a great scenario.

 That would be a great scenario but based on what I am hearing it's not the case. I think there is significant pushback and GW is feeling the heat. I could be wrong but I believe Caputo was the choice all along. But perhaps what has surprised GW is the blowback over this whole situation, especially in light of other moves in the A-10. Caputo could still be the guy at any minute but at a minimum, GW has been forced to consider much more than just the next hire. I don't care if it takes them 3 weeks, just get it right.

This is getting tiresome.  MoJo got extended because he was an inexpensive option while paying off ML.  Jamion was inexpensive relative to other available options.  GW might be learning that it's a dangerous thing to allow candidate names to be floated out there if in fact you aren't willing to pay enough for most if not all of them.

After 6 years of this, it's time for the school to show its supporters something, not the other way around.  You want my donation?  Let me know what you plan on doing with it.  Increasing coach's salaries?  Buy some high quality home games?  Construct a practice facility?  Instead, are we supposed to just be confident that the money will be wisely spent?  Sorry, but the benefit of the doubt has been lost here.

There's an alternative.  Compete for first place in a one bid league rather than to annually stay out of the play-in games in the A10.  Drop down.  Spend less.  Cut your ticket prices because the quality of the product and its opponents will be considerably reduced.  Unless you really don't care whether anyone comes to these games or not, in which case you might as well raise prices.  

Either way, let's put an end to the "pretend we're something that we're not" game.  We've lived in the shittiest house in a nice neighborhood long enough.

Free Quebec wrote:

Gwmayhem wrote:

This is getting tiresome.  MoJo got extended because he was an inexpensive option while paying off ML.  Jamion was inexpensive relative to other available options.  GW might be learning that it's a dangerous thing to allow candidate names to be floated out there if in fact you aren't willing to pay enough for most if not all of them.

After 6 years of this, it's time for the school to show its supporters something, not the other way around.  You want my donation?  Let me know what you plan on doing with it.  Increasing coach's salaries?  Buy some high quality home games?  Construct a practice facility?  Instead, are we supposed to just be confident that the money will be wisely spent?  Sorry, but the benefit of the doubt has been lost here.

There's an alternative.  Compete for first place in a one bid league rather than to annually stay out of the play-in games in the A10.  Drop down.  Spend less.  Cut your ticket prices because the quality of the product and its opponents will be considerably reduced.  Unless you really don't care whether anyone comes to these games or not, in which case you might as well raise prices.  

Either way, let's put an end to the "pretend we're something that we're not" game.  We've lived in the shittiest house in a nice neighborhood long enough.

What’s tiresome is the drop down leagues schtick. The same people have been peddling it for years here.

Lean closer to FQ on this one. Too many excuses, not nearly enough performance.
  Even more than salary and perks, but in terms of performance for a coach being paid a fair salary for his achievements, GWMayhem's description of the let's say crappiest house in a nice neighborhood
sounds about right.
    Not sure throwing money around is the sole answer, rather than the challenge of finding the right people to coach and play for us. But a lot of renovation is certainly necessary.

Let's clarify some things here.  This is literally the first time that I have ever made a reference suggesting that a move down would be viable.  So if FQ is including me among "the same people peddling this for years", he could not positively be more off-base.

Second, just in case it needs any explanation, it is not my preference to drop to a one bid league.  Not by a mile.  I love A10 basketball and would miss it as much as anyone.  That said, I mentioned this possibility to point out that now is the time for GW to "shit or get off the pot" when it comes to sports.  All sports since the others would be coming along as well.    My strong preference is that GW will do the right thing and that means invest more in athletics, particularly revenue-generating athletics.  

 

DC Native wrote:

The idea that GW would voluntarily drop out of the A10 and join a lesser conference is just ridiculous. Can anyone name a single school that has ever done that?

The School in NW That Claims a Metro Stop Even Though Metro is Nowhere Near their Campus did that a decade or so ago moving from the CAA to the (limited scholarship) Patriot League. The move was made to better focus on academics, reduce costs and increase competitivity. When it happened, some (especially Faculty Senate backbenchers) murmured that GW should consider doing the same but they never got past the brainstorming phase of the idea.

GW Alum Abroad wrote:

DC Native wrote:

The idea that GW would voluntarily drop out of the A10 and join a lesser conference is just ridiculous. Can anyone name a single school that has ever done that?

The School in NW That Claims a Metro Stop Even Though Metro is Nowhere Near their Campus did that a decade or so ago moving from the CAA to the (limited scholarship) Patriot League. The move was made to better focus on academics, reduce costs and increase competitivity. When it happened, some (especially Faculty Senate backbenchers) murmured that GW should consider doing the same but they never got past the brainstorming phase of the idea.

Hartford dropped from D1 to D3 ... does that count?

Of course GW wouldn't voluntarily leave the A-10. What we are talking about is GW being asked to leave as we pick up new teams in the league. We have been bottom feeders in the A-10 for the last 5 years. I laugh my ass off every time someone brings up Mojo's 20 win season in his 1st year - would of been 30 wins had we dealt properly with the sexual predator. This years 7th place was not only the result of cancelling St Bona but playing the worst teams twice each - UMass removed any hopeful feelings we had entering the tourney.

I also laugh when a few here demand changes or they will withhold donations. For the last 40 years I have followed GW Basketball, I am not aware of anyone who gave significant contributions to GW Basketball. Everyone thinks lottery winner Gil Cisneros gave big bucks like he's MD's version of Kevin Plank. Cisneros gave money but not enough to have any significant impact on the program. I was around him and talked with him a lot over several days years ago at the Hawaii tourney (which we won - was that the only or last pre-season tourney we won?). He was just as cheap as all the other GW alums and donors they were wining and dining at that tourney. 

We can't (or won't) hang with the big dogs of the league so we should just fill out the Patriot League application now and try to beat American twice a year!