A Few Things On My Mind

Just a few things on my mind

I love how some college basketball fans worship certain coaches who can do no wrong regardless of their teams performance and season record. Such is the case of many of the name coaches out there. Please understand a few do alot for their communities and many others charity wise. But what they have done to be successful basketball coaches has much more to do with factors outside of X and O's and great personalities when it comes to recruiting.

If people think many, not all, of the top recruits sign on to programs based on 1 home visit and 1 campus visit they are wrong. I am stunned not many people to this day see what is going on in NCAA basketball. George Mason has been a true exception to what I am saying based on getting to the final 4 with a team that was developed and coached as opposed to a team put together by any means necessary. I guess many see the direction I am going with this.

When it comes to the recruiting game I have heard that many coaches nationally turn up the heat to get players by providing extra incentives. No I am not talking about extra tutoring and a king size bed. I will not go into more detail on this but will say just because a coach is charming, does not mean it is enough to get that signature. And though tradition can be a great factor, it often can come down to a top level recruit seeing some great incentives to attend the school in question.

This brings me to the 3 local schools in the Big East. All three are coached by hard working guys with different personalities. One is smooth and calm, the other gets after it and has very good local connections, the other is a tenacious competitor who has been to the NCAAs at his former school. All three bring something to the table. All three are so different it is refreshing. In fact I love the fact that 2 of the 3 seem to hate each other. I LOVE IT because it brings good drama to the basketball scene. Heck they could sell 19,000 seats if Don King promoted the games they play.

Unfortunately all 3 have played the recruiting game with pea shooters while others have used cannons. Despite this they all have recruited fairly well and next year should be a great one in the NY Metro area. All 3 will be a hard game for anyone next season and most coaches know this. Coaching wise they all have grown, even though one was a pretty good coach at his past school anyway.

At a time when schools are making changes because the grass might look greener, I hope the 2 schools that are seriously thinking change will consider who they would hire as replacements. Why trade your Chevy for a Ford? Why move from Alpine NJ to Franklin Lakes? What makes Burger King so much better than Wendy's? Now if you have a choice of Wendy;s or Morton's Steak House that is a difference. Or a nice NJ neighborhood like Ridgewood vs Alpine, that's a difference!

It will not be as easy as people think to get the right coach regardless of where the opening is. I again say if it is not a super home run why not provide time for coaches to complete what they started, especially with the returning talent they have.

Congratulations to all 3 area BE Teams for improved seasons from a year ago. At one time that is what really mattered.

Lots of talk about coaching changes and if they do happen schools better look for the right fit. They also need to remember winning at a mid major does not mean they will be successful in the big time. However I do agree with many that it has been done and sometimes people deserve an opportunity. But in all fairness, coaching in the NY Metro area requires a certain type of personality. You need to not only be a very good coach, you need to be media smart and well connected in more ways than one.

HS Basketball

Looking forward to a great salad at Salad Works and than two great games at The RAC tonight. I guess I will sit inn the cheap section so that I can stretch out and enjoy the games. Hope everyone has a great day.