Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Evaluating a College Coach and The Hurley's

Area College Basketball

Let me make something perfectly clear. I AM A FAN, No let me say it better, I AM A HUGE FAN of The Hurley's, both legendary Bob, and soon to be legendary Danny (especially when my Grandson Logan plays for him in the future lol). They along with guys like Kevin Boyle on the Catholic School side, and Curtis March, Jim Ring, coaches at Newark Eastside, Linden, Plainfield, etc. makes NJ a true hotbed for talent and very good teams. In fact The Hurleys are true New Jersey treasures.

Now that we have that out of the way I need to say something that could be taken the wrong way but as many know, I can sometimes be very controversial. Why in heavens name does everyone feel the Hurley's control the future of the College Basketball teams in the state of NJ? Their names come up regarding future head coaching positions, needing their players for area programs to be successful, looking for their approval on area programs, accepting their player evaluations as gospel, and just plain kissing up to them all the time.

As I mentioned in the past The Hurley's are very good people who have assisted many from their schools and other schools. But watching them, even from a distance, I would think they would frown on the kissing up in areas other than coaching approval and their program support. I wonder how they feel when they are mentioned as possible successors to area head college coaches? Coaches they might admire and think the world of. Well maybe I should say like and feel good about lol.

The problems with area colleges when it comes down to athletics is a thing that needs to be addressed by the college's themselves. If I was an AD, and I am not nor am I qualified to be, I would think the following would be on my coaching evaluation sheet:

- Does The Coach follow NCAA guidelines and directives?
- Does The Coach follow University guidelines and directives?
- Does The Coach run a clean above board program?
- Does The Coach graduate his players?
- Does The Coach manage his staff well and provide good leadership?
- Does The Coach Manage his players well?
- Does The Coach communicate well with his players?
- Is The Coach a good representative of the university?
- Can The Coach actually Coach on game days?
- Does The Coach develop his talent?
- Does The Coach understand fair discipline?
- Does The Coach treat All The Players fairly?
- Does The Coach allow outsiders to have influence on his program?
- Does The Coach win games he is supposed to win based on budgets, and talent?
- Does The Team Compete Every game?
- Does The Coach exhibit the ability to coach, think fast on his feet, adapt,
and lead?
- Does The Coach have the ability to position the team to make yearly post season
tournament runs?

I am sure there might be more but those are some of the areas that always need to be addressed. As a fun exercise people should do it for their favorite teams here or in other areas of the country. Of course for some programs much of what I mentioned is not as important as just winning and getting to the dance by any means necessary. And even the cleanest looking programs might just be big cheaters as I just recently found out. Unfortunately people have a tendency to look the other way as long as the W's are piling up!

JR Inman

OK I need to clear something else up. I feel JR Inman is a very good player and has been totally mis-used to the point he has become in-effective. But that's my feeling and as a person close to him I know I can be biased. But many others feel the same way including some who have the ears of potential players. Of course JR has to take some of the responsibility. But looking at him and others it seems like they are playing the year out and that's a bad refection. They night still turn it around and do it big in the BE Tournament. The SHU game on Thursday could be a huge turning point considering they had a brutal stretch of games early on and I am not talking Binghamton, St. Bonnie's, etc.

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