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Package Deals, Recruiting Article


pompeytir

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This strategy goes way back. I recall that Jabbar's, then Lew Alcindor, HS coach was hired by Holy Cross with the hope LA would join him in Worcester. Alas, young LA headed for the bright lights of LA, and we all know how that worked out. It really only sucks when you're the school on the losing end. Sendek said it best, "as college coaches we're hired to bring in the best players", if this is what it takes, and apparently in a lot of cases it does, how do you fault him? College sports is all about money these days...What if Griffey or Sugg's hc wanted an asst's job? If the budget allows it, would you complain if either signed w/ SLU?

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Good Read!

This was some enlightening stuff... kind of makes you wonder about the Bills choice for DBO. What is this guy's [batucci (sp)] backgound? I know C. Sloan was a former SLU player, but I heard the new guy was just a team manager. Come on. Is that the best we could do? Surely there was someone out there with a better pedigree that could help us with recruiting - IMO

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The DBO happens to be a good friend of mine, and in my lowly opinion, there isn't anyone more suited for the job than Brian Bertucci. His passion and respect for the game is second-to-none. The guy wanted to break into the coaching ranks without ever playing a minute of D-I basketball, and he earned it by being a terrific student-manager for Brad Soderberg.

He's no Charlie Weis or anything, but hey, somebody gave that kid a shot, and look where he's at now. Bertucci is a great fit for our program.

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Norm Stewart hires Lee Winfield to be an assistant coach and amazing julian decides not to transfer to Kansas but instead to SLU.

Spoon hires Derrick Thomas (then the CBC head basketball coach) and amazingly Larry Hughes and Justin Tatum sign with the Billikens two years later. Thomas did have 1 year of assitant coaching experience at SLU, but still.

Quin hires Tony Harvey as an assistant. Harvey was the AAU coach of Robert Whaley and Jeffrey Ferguson, quins two top recruits in his first full year at Mizzou. Harvey is later thrown under the bus when the NCAA probe occured.

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.. what's your mom paying him? Sorry, couldn't resist.

Seriously, if the reasons for this appointment to the DBO position are true and the guy got the job because of his dedication and hard work, I see nothing wrong with that. I hope he makes its as far as the ceiling allows. All the way to the top even. Who was that kid on the Arizona bench a few years ago that is now an Olsen assistant? I would argue he never saw a minute of major college basketball on the court either, he just occupied a seat on the bench. Its like when all those Dukies on the bench jump up and applaud Grant Hill or Christian Laettner and you have no idea who they are. Whatever.

Now, if you are going to advocate "inventive" ways to get this program to better heights, as Hardball and some others have, then I think you have missed a golden opportunity with this DBO position. Again, IF that's the way you want to go. Which is the way I thought Booby woudl go seeing as his calls for improving the program have been quite loud. Cut-throat success sometimes warrants it (see: Fassel, Jim versus Billick, Brian under BALTIMORE RAVENS 2006).

Kshoe missed my first go around with this stuff. Didn't Grawer hire Jackson Wheeler out of JUCO so Manual and Tadysak came as part of the package? Both were listed in Street and Smith's top five JUCOS at small forward and center respectively at the time. Crash and burn.

I guess its degrees of accountability. Coach to coach seems okay; truck driver to coach (Danny Manning's dad) seems quite a stretch. Makes me think that the stuff in that movie with Nick Nolte, Fast Break or something, is more true than not. Heck, Gabe Kaplan did a similar movie before that. Gabe is best remembered as Kotter in Welcome Back. What I'm saying is that if movies on this kind of stuff were being made that long ago, then you know its been happening for years.

The NCAA is joke. As long as its rich members get substantially wealthy and control the board room, all is well.

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