As most of you probably read, the
Globe had an excellent feature on Steve Donahue Sunday. It points to a player injury as a turning point in his career but also shares some of Donahue's personal, professional and financial struggles. In the end winning the right way will be what matters most, but I think having a coach who is emotional and willing to share his story will help BC basketball in many ways.
Here is another feature on Herzy. Despite knowing the story, I find each article refreshing and inspiring. This season cannot get here soon enough.
This blogger predicted our starting five and the other ACC lineups for next year. The list includes the now departed Ravenel.
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22 comments:
Really great article on Donahue. I have high hopes for the future of BC basketball. His simple emotional openness is such a welcome change from Skinner's demeanor.
Coaching changes always bring turmoil, particularly when there, as here, is such a stark difference between the old and the new coach.
Still, the loss (or likely loss) of 5 players -- Sanders, Ravenell, Noreen, Ndao, Heslip -- is troubling. Losing 5 guys (42% of the players) in 2 months is a problem.
I am getting the vibe that Donahue does not have a good touch with players -- too much strictness, too much "my way or the highway" attitude.
Hope this is all just a neccessary "correction" from the Skinner years, but it could be a sign of the unappealing, rigid, overly strict disiplinarian side of Donahue.
Keep in mind it took Donahue several years at Cornell to get his system and his kind of players in place before he became successful. Given that Donahue asked for and got a 6 year contract at BC, that sort of indicates that Donahue knows the turnaround will take some time. We may be looking at 3+ years of crappy basketball.
One more reason to be thankful to have Jerry York!
Maybe Tony Barnhart reads this blog. Can you link to his latest ACC expansion article in today's AJC?
mod34b, have you read that article linked in this post?
"With only eight scholarship players on the roster (the NCAA allows 13) and five due to leave after next season, Donahue recognizes the obstacles before him. He said he also needs to change the team’s culture.
“We’ve got to change everything in terms of accountability, discipline, and commitment,’’ he said. “The players really need to take ownership of the program. I don’t sense a lot of that right now. It’s not going to be easy, but it needs to happen.’’
sanders, for one, was a guy who pretty obviously did not try his hardest and mentally just coasted throughout all of last season. losing 5 players is troubling, true, but if they were all lazy, unaccountable, and irresponsible, perhaps its best to rid the program of them, no?
Yes, El Miz, I read the article.
How do you reach your conclusion that all 5 cast offs were: "all lazy, unaccountable, and irresponsible"?
The quote you put in bold suggests a rigid "my way or the highway" kind of guy. For 2011, he will have a roster with 2 experienced players. yikes. If you only have 2 guys 12 months from now, you would think Donhaue would try to keep a few more.
Hope he is a great coach, I just don't get a great feeling the more I read about the D-man, and more i read about the continued shedding of players. The 5 cast offs all saw something they did not like ... and it not just that he is a tough-minded coach. What they saw in DOnahue or what Donahue saw in them remains a mystery.
I'll bet we can come up with 20 players that Skinner ran off in his 13 year. No joke, we can do 20.
This is like a public company that knows it's about to report a bad quarter and is sitting on a bunch of bad debt and maybe some other bad news. Rather than trickle is out and have it taint several quarters in a row, you just get it all out there at once, take one big hit, and start fresh. That's what Donahue is doing, I think. Some existing players that don't have the attitude he wants, maybe some recruits that he sees as potential problems (not his guys), and anyone who's not sure they want to be there leaves of their own will. 2010-11 season was going to blow, anyway. At least now it will clear the stink out of the room.
Erik -- here is a start....
Marquez Haynes
Shamari Spears
Steve Hailey
Sean Williams
Akida McClain
Johnnie Jackson
Evan Neisler
Andrew Bryant
Ryan Sidney
Tavio Hobson
Adoya Evans-Miller
Devon Everston
Gordon Watt
Daye Kaba
Now, its obviosuly debatable whether or not Skinner "ran them off," but that is an awful lot of players that started with the program and didn't stick around for four years.
mod 10 -- I think the 2010-11 will be the best season we have over the next 3 seasons. It's 2011 and beyond that is currently lacking
and Yes, clearing the deadwood at the begining can be a good approach. Let's hope that is what is at work at BC presently.
Clinton Sims
Willie Dean
Osei Millar
Andrew Dudley
Kostas Maglos
Kirsten Zoellner
Javier Rodriguez
Ludmil "Udo" Hajasotirov
Gets us to 22, and I'm not counting Dan Coleman who left after a summer as "homesick", or Andy Bedard & Nate Fox who didn't follow Jim O'Brien but transferred to Maine instead of playing for Skinner at BC.
Wasn't there another Greek guy who came in the year after Maglos left? Memory is hazy, but I thought maybe there was.
I have no context for knowing whether the number of players who left early (and not in a good way) during the Skinner years is abnormal. It sure looks like a lot of people, but I really don't know. Also, did any of them have significant success elsewhere that would indicate that their leaving was a significant loss to the BC program? Just curious.
Mod 34B said "The quote you put in bold suggests a rigid "my way or the highway" kind of guy."
If Donahue's way is "accountability, discipline, and committment", then I'll sign up for that and see where it takes us.
I had a problem with Skinner keeping a short rotation, but to be honest he won way more than he lost in those years. And he kept the legit talent, and none of those transfers had successful careers anywhere else except marquez haynes.
To take some names off that list, these guys had huge personal problems:
Sidney
Bryant
Williams
McClain
Gordon Watt
And these guys couldnt really play in the Big East/ACC:
Udo
JJ
Hobson- who scored more with the ladies than on the court
Evan Neisler
Zoellner (dornekamp's sidekick)
I also think its harsh to think that all the 5 defections are "all lazy, unaccountable, and irresponsible"?
I've also heard he didnt think some of them were talented enough. So players with ACC experience are worse than having no players at all
Willie Deane had a great career at purdue. Most guys ended up low-Mid Major and weren't gonna be impact players at BC.
I wouldn't list Sean Williams for the record.
FWIW, a Kansas City radio station is reporting that the Big 10 (11) is offering membership to ND, Rutgers, Nebraska, and Missouri.
Thought they were still a ways away from making a decision, so we'll see...
Maybe the big game of musical chairs is closer than we think...
Maybe Donahue is going to be a player/coach...
I don't believe the current rumor, but if it's true it as reported it basically means ND gets to pick who it wants to go with it to be an even number after Rutgers, Mizzou and Neb. Who do they pick?
Yeah, all the higher-ups are denying the report. But it does all come back to ND and whether the Big 10 goes to 12, 14, or 16 teams. Cool stuff.
erik, the guy you are thinking of is timo papadimitrou...i don't even think he made it out of the fall semester his freshman year.
Where does Herzy rank with the icons of Boston College football?
He's definitely one of my all-time favorites, but I put him just behind Sir Doug Flutie Duke of Natick and Matty Ice. Kiwi is also high on the list. You gotta put Phelan up there. Then of course, there is the Black Knight, Bill Romonowski. I would think Pete Mitchell is in the conversation.
Anyone I am missing? I'm talking major icons. Matt Hasselback?? Not great at BC but one of BC's best pros. Glen Foley? Paul Peterson? Other than Hasselback, these are not national names at the level of Romo, Flutie and Herzy.
At what point is Flutie knocked of the pedestal? I would think he can milk another decade before he drifts into ancient history.
I don't think Flutie will ever lose demigod status at the Heights. Especially not as long as he can still play the drums and certainly not with ESPN playing the Hail Flutie clip 2,000 times each Fall.
Ry,
Great call, great memory on that name. I definitely remember he didn't last at all. Not sure he even made it to November.
I am very entertained thinking of old BC basketball names. It's fun. Like pointing out how Clinton Sims was Alvin Sims' younger brother. how Andrew Dudley was way worse than Jared Dudley or Andrew Bryant, but I have to take the extra second to think about it and not say the wrong name.
BC football icons: Mike Mamula had a shot, but blew it. He was a terror at DE, though.
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