GW0509 wrote:

jf wrote:

Before this thread is locked (and it shouldn't be, though it's fine to move to rewind).
Appreciate GW69's professional insights and human experience and certainly understand his point. 
   But we need to understand ML's career perspective. From his point of view, he built up his career,
turned down triple his salary and was brought down by a scandal that doesn't seem to be a scandal,
according to Deadspin and what we know, both collectively and individually.
I don't know, but somewhere around the age of 50 with a wife and I believe five kids, he lost his livelihood.
He may never have to work again thanks to GW, but needs to do something to occupy his time and have health insurance, especially. And pretty sure he loves basketball and in fact, sports.
  ML had worked all his life for this spot that he had, climbing up the ladder. He may never coach again, starting at the level he had attained. ML could have climbed the coaching ladder further
later, probably at a point of his choosing.
    

Everyone can do things how they want but if ML truly wanted to get back into college basketball in some capacity, he's going about it in all the wrong ways.  

Take a look at his buddy Jimmy Patsos.  Fired for similar allegations of "verbal and emotional abuse" from Siena.  I'm sure he refutes those allegations but from all I've seen he doesn't go out of his way to badmouth Siena in public.  He's gone on to have a successful DC coaches podcast with Gary Williams (why doesn't ML go on that show?), travels the AAU circuit, and now obviously has a relationship with GW and NBC Sports Washington doing color on the broadcast.

Pat Chambers is another coach that was fired for abuse, took some time off, and is now a HC again at FGCU.  Give him a few years and he may be back at like an AAC or A10 level school.

Point is, I don't know ML personally so I'm not going to try and tell him how to feel or when he should "get over" what happened at GW.  All I'll say is that if he truly wanted to get back into basketball, either through coaching, scouting, or media, he needs to rethink how he protrays himself on social media. At some point, the reason ML is not involved in basketball is ML.


 

Unless of course, ML has spoken to enough people that he realizes there really is no path for him to return.  He's likely not going to leave the area and likely not going to take an Assistant Coaching job anywhere except at a major program.  I suppose Georgetown is a remote possibility should a decision be made to give Ewing the ax but then Gtown would have to explain why they hired a head coach who has been out of the sport for 7 years.  The fact that the UMBC job opened up and ML was not even interviewed tells me that he is in all likelihood finished with college coaching.

Let it go Keith Greene - focus on your work. We've had 3 coaches in the last 6 years and ML isn't one of them. Maybe ML will go to the marquee match up in a few hours against MD (Eastern Shore that is) and you can ask him yourself!

Raise High Colonials!

I knew Mike pretty well and appreciated his success at GW.At the same time I am aware of the unacceptable behavior he displayed with some of his players. I wish him well.

In response to Keith's query, don't know the language of the settlement gag (which should be removed in
an educational institution). But he doesn't really address the issues in a way that would seem to violate it.
  In any case, he's earned his bitterness, even with a $3 million payout.

Dixon landed a few talented players in Sessoms and the Tarke brothers but clearly not enough of them.  It appeared that the stench of putting on the uniform of a perennially downtrodden program was more powerful than the allure of playing for a local legend.  Of course, it's entirely possible that today's players have no real understanding or appreciation for what Juan accomplished as a player, which makes me feel even older than I already am.

And of course, having an alleged sexual predator on his staff, with Juan allegedly knowing about advances on one of his players and not doing anything about it, could not have helped matters to say the least.