Diallo seemed promising. He had good size and good offers. Due to the coaching changes around basketball he was suddenly available right when Christian needed some talent. The shotgun marriage brought a much needed big man who wanted to play in an elite conference. The problem lies in that due to the rushed nature and desperation, Christian and his staff never got to do their homework on Diallo or really get to know him. The best recruiting is the long-term relationship building when a player and coach know exactly what they are getting into. Now Diallo is a bust and Christian is left scrambling for a big man.
If BC Basketball is ever going to be successful again it is going to come with solid, well-planned and well spaced recruiting. The cycle of mega classes, backfilling, coaching changes, and transfers will just lead to more losing. If Christian showed any real skill in finding good guys late in the process or off the transfer market, I would be fine with it. But so far he hasn't. And if he can't recruit or win with next year's makeshift squad, do we really want to waste time in a fourth year with him doing the same?
All this cyclical chaos should lead Brad Bates back to a plan. If Christian can't pull BC out of this mess, who can and how are they going to do it? I am willing to give someone time. But that guy needs to show he is not going to repeat the same mistakes of Donahue and Christian.
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Next year is it, and there should be no more plans from Bates. We can't afford another whiff from him.
when will this nightmare end
Whose responsibility is it to coach up the BIG men who are asked to play BC basketball? Is there a member of staff who can work with a BIG kid like Diallo?
He had a few moments when he moved and made great blocks and even a basket or two; but he seemed so out of sync with Christian's "offense".
There ought to be a single coach assigned to work with BIG men/projects.
Agree - I feel more comfortable about Christian than I do about Bates. The more Bates thinks, the more we have to worry about. Putting that aside, it will be enormously difficult for Christian to sell this program after last season's record. So what are the odds of Christian saving his job? Pretty long. His successor will need to be an expensive brand name with an ability in his own right to draw recruits. If not, might as well exit hoops and roll it all into fencing where we can become a national sword fighting powerhouse.
there is a good chance we are worse next year than we were this year. not sure how that is possible. Diallo gone and Clifford graduating means the tallest guy on the team will be AJ Turner, who weighs probably 190 lbs.
if we don't close on a big man in the recruiting cycle we are gonna get bulldozed next year on the glass and in the paint. what a disaster.
Napoleon pretty much hit the nail on the head. If you're not going to allow continuity with Christian, you need to write the check to make up for the last 2 hires. It has to be a big name that will draw recruits on its own (since it seems basketball facilities won't be getting an upgrade any time soon).
However, I think Christian just needs to show improvement next year (let's call it slight improve,met from year one since anything is improve,met from last season). I think if he can establish a core of guys (Turner, Robinson, SBT, Reyes) who will be here for long haul, and they show something, he'll be back for year 4.
What the answer is for next year, I have no clue. If Diallo bails, JC will need to bring in at least 2-3 big men 5th years. They need to hit on a second PG this cycle (Bowman or a Vital the UNLV "decommit") and at least a big guy in this Fr class. Hopefully they are working on Okonoboh (the UNlV transfer from Mass) as he would fill a huge need if he can play immediately
The basketball program is an absolute disaster. I don't know where to begin.
When Skinner started at BC the program was a mess. There was a kid from my Frisbee team who walked onto the basketball team. Skinner got lucky that first year because he stumbled onto Jonathan Beerbohm. He also did a good job in finding Troy Bell. Skinners staff conducted a search of the entire country basically leaving "no stone unturned". Christian needs to hit the road and hustle to find and sign good players who want to win basketball games not just "make" an ACC roster.
I think it's important to remember that Skinner had really bad years in year 2-3, but was given time to turn it around.
I'm not going on record and saying that Christian will be Skinner (mainly because the ACC is way harder than the BE ever was) but he can surely get this program to the middle of the league and into the postseason (in some capacity).
Skinner won the Big East in year 4. We will not be in the top 2/3 of the ACC in Christain's fourth year.
5
There has to be a sense after next year that we can get to the top 2/3 for y4, kind of like the feeling w/ Onahue, end of Y3. It'll all come down to the new freshman. If Graves isn't something like Hanlan, then we're sunk. If not pull the plug. As to Diallo, he's liked the kid who flunked and has to repeat a grade. Yes he is a big guy, but he doesn't even understand the basics of the game. He'd be very little help to us next year. He's probably better off leaving sitting out a year, spend it practicing and being babysat by an assistant who can teach him how to play.
Hoib - you could probably say the same about half of the D1 players who are over 6'10. bigs generally struggle with the basics. and notwithstanding Diallo's understanding of the game, you need to have some big guys who are athletic and can at least guard other bigs. our total went from 2 to 1. Reyes better be ready to play 40 minutes per game and stay out of foul trouble, because we literally have nobody else.
It was very limited action but it seemed like Reyes was more poilished offensively than Diallo when he got on the court. Not sure if that means much but at least Reyes has 4 years of eligibility left so he could continue to improve inside.
As long as Robinson, Turner, Barnes-Thompkins, and Reyes (for size) don't transfer I don't know that we'd be losing much. Plus we'd be evening out the class sizes a but. Diallo, Millon, Hicks and Meznieks might end up as decent bench options down the line but they are very replaceable.
After reading all of this you can only say one thing - it is what it is. You either clear Christian out asap and bring in a big name and pay a ton of money OR you give Christian at least two to three more years to turn this around. Its a mess. The first option is unrealistic under these circumstances and, without a change in AD to manage it (which, of course will cost even more money), probably pretty risky. There are no GREAT options. If I was advising Leahy - I'd say give Christian the time he needs. He has a competent staff, inherited a shitty situation and has to have some breathing room without a sword over his head. Its not his fault that we hired him and he deserves decent treatment. Tell Bates he needs to work closely with Christian to make sure there are no impediments to him or his staff. In the meantime (barring some remarkable effort by Bates), I'd put the energy into screening new AD candidates and making a decision on Bates. Like we have said , we do not have access to all the facts surrounding his performance. The AD, new or otherwise, has to ride herd on progress in the program. If after or during the 2-3 years we give Christian its clear he isn't making substantial progress - put the effort in to find and hire a great coach. If Christian succeeds after all of this, rename Conte after him and never let him go.
I don't think Christian is dumb enough to basically push one of two big men out the door without some cards in his pocket. We have two players with size right now - Popovic & Reyes. Obviously 3 or even 4 is ideal. This leads me to believe that the staff is confident they will close on a transfer or recruit of at least Diallo's level, which mind you is not very high.
Also Bowman at PG is a longshot, but would be huge recruiting get - two sport ACC-caliber athlete with big time offers.
Nappy
You are only looking at the cost side. What about all the lost income from losing continually. I'm surprise actually to see you w/ your opinion. You've been pushing for institutional change for some time now. Unless Christian has this thing lined up for a good year 4, we've seen all we need too. The same would go for Bates. The Board has to figure out a way to get Leahy out or strip him of authority over athletics and get the show on the road. Our down cycle is approaching yr 10 a sense of urgency is needed right now. The only good that comes out of such an awful year is that it gives you the cover to make really big changes. The board needs to be lining up their ducks and be ready to make a big move soon.
NB, in the surface this is true, but what is Bates going to do in terms of "working with JC". The one thing Bates can do to help expedite this, is strictly fund raise for an independent bball facility. Upgrades are the quickest way to turn this around
Hoib - I largely agree with you. The top to bottom review goes without saying. So do changes in the decision making process in so far as Leahy goes. I'd be looking at Bates now but with the benefit of all the facts. I think Christian deserves a little more time because it will be impossible for him to turn this around in one year. Even if I could be convinced he's a total lost cause and its worth the churn to the program, I do not want Bates making the hire. I'd be inclined to move Bates out first unless the facts that we do not have entitle him to a bit more time (in which case he'd be on a very short leash). If nothing justifies saving Bates - then the first move (in addition to the review and redesign of the department and management structure)is finding a great AD. The new AD can then decide on Christian and Daz. While you don't want an AD who micromanages the coaches - you do not want a hands off manager either. With respect to struggling programs - he needs bi-weekly meetings with the coaches and their assistants, strategies and plans in place, monitors their progress, gets updates on recruiting (ensures that necessary recruiting $ and time investments are being made) and generally keeps up the heat, stays totally informed, solves problems the coaches can't solve, makes sure there are no resource constraints or distractions best handled by others. He has to ensure everyone who touches that program in any way is totally focused on the objective, fully understands what they were hired to do and promptly moves out and replaces anyone not doing their job. He is an asset to the coaches, makes them better at their jobs and basically ensures there are no excuses.
Nappy
Boy that's a super comment w/ you all the way, and hopefully from your keyboard to God's eye's.
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