I want BC to wait on most big decisions until a new Athletic Director is in place. It's only fair since he or she will have to live with the repercussions of those decisions. However, there are a few things that can and should be done immediately now that Gene is gone. The first is inducting
Al Skinner into the Boston College Varsity Club Hall of Fame. The Hall has technically been independent of Gene, but his influence was felt. With Gene removed from the scene any potential politics or bad feelings between Al and Gene are a non-issue for the Hall. Skinner has more than earned his spot. He's the school's all-time winnningest coach and rebuilt BC basketball in the late 1990s. I don't know Steve Donahue but the sense I get is that he would support the timing too. Things did not end on the best note with Al and BC. A Varsity Club Hall of Fame induction might be the best way to mend fences and say thanks.
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12 comments:
"He's the school's all-time winnningest coach and rebuilt BC [foot]ball in the late 1990s."
In that case, TOB should be in the HOF, too.
TOB will be but I don't think we should enshrine him as long as he is coaching another ACC team. The minute he retires, BC should show TOB the respect too.
Are you Al should be inducted so as to mend fences with him?
If Gene did not let him go would you say Al is deserving?
The tone of the posting has gotten dark lately.
The powers that be are listening and making the needed changes.
There is no reason smear people on the way out.
Gene is gone you do not have to kick up any more dust ATL.
You are playing the role of Larry Lucchino. Ex,'s Nomar in 2004 and Francona last year.
11:08 PM
I thought the Hall of Fame was for all those players and coaches who excelled and was not a place for mediocrity? Jerry York, definite Hall of Famer. Al and TOB, while their contributions were appreciated, do not belong in the Hall of Fame. That said, if one was to be inducted, it would have to be Al. At least who actually won a Conference Championship.
I can't believe people are so negative on Skinner!
He brought in some excellent kids and won a beast of a Big East, got us to the ACC championship and was just an all-around good coach and guy. So his last couple of years weren't great? That's true of just about everyone in coaching.
I agree with ATL - get Al in the HOF right away!
Blist--As I've always said, Al was a fantastic recruiter and player developer. He was truly atrocious at actual in-game coaching though. Remember all those times BC could never break the press or even inbounds the ball? He never used timeouts, and never modified his flex offense when it wasn't working. Plus his teams usually severely underperformed in the postseason tournaments.
There were many times when Skinner drove me nuts, but if he can't make the HoF, then Jerry York is the only BC coach who can.
Knucklehead, you are pretty sensitive if you think ATL's comments here smear GDF.
THIS is smearing someone's name on their way out:
http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/mens_basketball/articles/2010/03/31/skinners_successful_boston_college_tenure_had_run_its_course/
I think Al Skinner may be one of the more polarizing people in the history of Boston College athletics:
There are many, many people that feel he was a great coach, amazing recruiter, should never have been let go, and essentially gotten the leeway to lay out his own departure method and timeline.
On the other hand, there are the people that thought he should have been shown the door sooner, grew stale, credit his assistants with all the work, say he wasn't an ACC caliber coach, blah blah blah.
I'm not sure whether there is some sort of timeline on when people started following BC that leads to these 2 viewpoints, but I'm sure it has some affect.
There are also people like me, who believe Al was a good coach but passed his prime and was let go for good reason. I respect and appreciate all that he did in the school, but his teams were trending down and the fan base was declining. His assistants have come out and said they were doing much of the work at the end, and their results show at other schools.
Al definitely deserves some recognition at BC, I'm just not sure what it is. Himself, TOB, and even Spaz are all the same class/type of coach in terms of management style. That form just doesn't fit the current state of NCAA competition. People want fun and exciting and none of these coaches manage to that...
Not sensitive to the actual comments. They are correct. The issue is the timing. The AD is gone and the head football coach is on the way out. Lets focus more on the teams and games.
A personal shot does not need to be taken at the previous AD and current head coach who have been or are in the process of being fired.
Everyone wanted the AD gone and he is gone so lets move on.
The difference between Bob Ryan and ATL is clear.
Ryan wrote ONE article explaining his view on Al and why he had to be let go.
ATL has been after Gene and Spaz for years(as have I. That is one reason why i read this blog and post to it.). ATL is a contributing factor to why Gene is gone and Spaz will be gone.
Lets act with some class and not make every post/issue about how terrible Gene behaved/performed.
He hired terrible coaches but hell I would rather be in the ACC than playing games against Rutgers, USF, and DePaul.
Lets balance out the posts a little bit since he is gone.
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