Let's look at Mike Rice. He came here in 2010 with a mess on his hands. The two top players transfered out. He managed to get a ton out of his 2010-2011 team and just missed being .500 that year in a very tough Big East. He also recruited his butt of and came up with some of the best players to come to RU in a while. In year 2, we knocked off a bunch of teams, faultered a bit, and were set up for big year in 2012-2013. Then that summer, everything began to unravel. Gil Biruta transfered. A bunch of top recruits that we were leading for began to fade away and go elsewhere. Word hit the street (leaked by Eric Murdock) that Rice was an out of control, and that a tape existed that would eventually bring him down. That tape was discussed on this board for months. All the mometum he had built evaporated. A mid season suspension was bungled and eventually the national scandal hit that killed his career.
Why rehash this. Well for almost two years, Mike Rice was transforming this program. From sheer will and drive, the guy was making things happen here that hadnt happened for years. He did all this without facilities. The problem is that aside from turning the program around, he only had one other job - not to become another Bobby Gonzales. Willard was hired over Rice precisely due the fact the SHU didnt trust Rice. TP hired him, but his out of control behavior, what kept him from SHU, was not properly monitored and kept in check. Tie this all together with the horrible hire of Eric Murdock, and this whole disaster had the ending that we all know.
To me it shows that the right coach can change things. If Rice was properly managed in his early months, he would have finished the job here. He turned out to be the wrong guy because of his personality flaw.
I just think this tells me that this arguement that it doesnt matter whose coaching here is way off. Eddie Jordan was the proper replacement for Rice. After that scandal, our program was stuck in the mud for at least two years. Jordan was an adult who came in and got us off the front pages. However, year 3 should begin the rebirth of the program. And EJ has done nothing in his first two years to show he can do this. Next year has all the makings of a disaster. While Jordan may have been the right coach coming out of the scandal, he is not the right coach post-scandal. Any time you hire a guy that would not be a candidate for a D-1 job anywhere else in America, you took a gamble. This five year contract we signed with him seems not to contain a buyout (like Flood's did). Thats bad news. So while our athletic department needs to fund raise for a practice facility, they better also be ready in case year 3 is as bad I fear. Because we better be in a position to negotiate a buyout financially. We cannot afford 3 - 5 more years of this type of program.
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Why rehash this. Well for almost two years, Mike Rice was transforming this program. From sheer will and drive, the guy was making things happen here that hadnt happened for years. He did all this without facilities. The problem is that aside from turning the program around, he only had one other job - not to become another Bobby Gonzales. Willard was hired over Rice precisely due the fact the SHU didnt trust Rice. TP hired him, but his out of control behavior, what kept him from SHU, was not properly monitored and kept in check. Tie this all together with the horrible hire of Eric Murdock, and this whole disaster had the ending that we all know.
To me it shows that the right coach can change things. If Rice was properly managed in his early months, he would have finished the job here. He turned out to be the wrong guy because of his personality flaw.
I just think this tells me that this arguement that it doesnt matter whose coaching here is way off. Eddie Jordan was the proper replacement for Rice. After that scandal, our program was stuck in the mud for at least two years. Jordan was an adult who came in and got us off the front pages. However, year 3 should begin the rebirth of the program. And EJ has done nothing in his first two years to show he can do this. Next year has all the makings of a disaster. While Jordan may have been the right coach coming out of the scandal, he is not the right coach post-scandal. Any time you hire a guy that would not be a candidate for a D-1 job anywhere else in America, you took a gamble. This five year contract we signed with him seems not to contain a buyout (like Flood's did). Thats bad news. So while our athletic department needs to fund raise for a practice facility, they better also be ready in case year 3 is as bad I fear. Because we better be in a position to negotiate a buyout financially. We cannot afford 3 - 5 more years of this type of program.
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