Thursday, March 08, 2012

Both Sides of the Napkin

Pros and Cons of Matt Henry - the top candidate - in Mt. St. Mary's internal search for a new basketball coach.

Here is a collection of the Pros and Cons I've heard from folks on this blog and elsewhere - sprinkled with some of my own thoughts

Pros

  • Well Educated and intelligent
  • Respected by the players and incoming recruits
  • Respected and liked by others on campus
  • Hard, diligent worker
  • Organized
  • Handled a tough situation well in four games at the end of 2012 season
  • Good recruiter
  • Good Spirit
  • Gets along with others
  • Team played harder for him than they did for Burke
  • Likely to agree to short term contract
  • Foam Finger thinks its a good choice

Cons
  • Lack of Experience
  • Only part of Burke regime that was here the whole time
  • Not liked by several players on current team
  • Recruiting classes during two years at Mt. St. Mary's provided very little
  • Not viewed in college basketball community as a head coaching candidate
  • Productivity of team during two years as top assistant
  • Will not motivate an already deteriorating fan base
  • Viewed as a continuation of the "Burke Era"
  • Experience came with a dysfunctional program



Send an email to thefanblog@gmail.com

14 comments:

  1. I'm Matt Henry. People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You can't prove yourself until given a shot.

    I hope Krajina is one of the players that doesn't like him. I'd like to see him gone for good

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dan, You're clearly out of the loop and have nothing to contribute.

    Raff, The majority of your pros and cons list is not even relevant. Organized, well educated and intelligent, hard worker? Come on...we don't need the fluff.

    Your list shows your opinion and its a little too negative. I think Henry is a good choice. If I'm proven wrong, I'll admit it here first. Give him a shot.

    ReplyDelete
  4. @Foam Finger - As far as the Pros go, I went through the comments and made up the list. The list is comprised of the reasons those who are supporting him state. As well as things I've heard from others I've talked to.

    As far as the cons go, I went through the comments and made up on the list. The list is comprised of the reasons those who are not supporting him or not supporting a rushed decisoion state. As well as things I've heard from others I've talked to.

    If you have something to add to the list, I will gladly add it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous10:15 AM

    Krajina needs mom. So does Dan.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Dan, I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you, but you are no Matt Henry.

    Any of you old enough to catch the derivation of this comment?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Dan - do you have anything to contribute right now? If not then hold your childish comments to yourself.

    I am not for the decision to hire Henry but if that is what they do - as Mount fan - I have to go along with the decision and hope Henry turns out alright.

    If anyone is throwing their arms in the air because of the hire they better not jump on the bandwagon if he turns the Mount into a winning program because if this turns out to be a bad hire we all know you all will be the first one to say I told you so. It goes both ways.

    I do wish they started from scratch, but if Henry truely is the coach, I hope he can turn this around.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  9. You all need to calm down. I've said before, if it's Henry, I hope he succeeds. And I'll always support the school and the program no matter what, even when I disagree with a hire or how its done.

    I just feel like the administration isn't doing its due diligence here and rushing a decision for some reason that I can't put my finger on. If we do a full search and Henry turns out to be the best candidate, then fine. But to just give him the job without going through any type of process is a massive mistake.

    And like Raff said, outside of what he posted (very few of which have to do with basketball), I haven't seen any other reasons posted here. By all means, let's hear em.

    ReplyDelete
  10. @Harry

    I haven't had the pleasure to meet you, but your idiotic comment that Burrell is "fair at best" at Holy Cross shows that you have less than no idea of what you're talking about. He was the Patriot League Rookie of the Year.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Why are you guys in such a big hurry to hire a coach? (I'm an Illini fan and saw the Nottingham reference). Think you guys should look into Chester Frazier.

    ReplyDelete
  12. we need a head coach who has a built up or could easily create a good recruiting network. that usually comes hand in hand with reputation - someone that has a successful track record of coaching (head coach or assistant coach); sprinkle in if they were also a successful player as another plus. look at what the name hurley has brought to wagner in 1 year.

    it does seem there is a rush to fill the position, maybe it's the easiest answer to give Matt the nod, they need to bring in other candidates and interview - just like any other job opening. what do they have to lose by doing that? if it ends up Matt is the best of the bunch fine, but take the time and look at other candidates.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Sorry for the re-post, I put this original comment in the wrong thread:

    It's obvious to me that the passion for Mount Hoops runs deep for everyone who has commented the past couple of days. It's doesn't take a pair of Coke Bottle glasses to see that. Being one of the 5 smallest Divsion 1 schools means that opportunities for success are, in my eyes, few & far between. That's why once we taste a little bit of success, we want it more & it hurts so much b/c we've been to the Dance. 1995, 1999, & 2008 were special seasons, no doubt, but when has the Mount been considered a consistent challenger for the NEC Championship??? The Mount has only been a preseason favorite twice, back prior to the '95-'96 season & the '09-'10 season. Other than that, we have been mediocre at best, & won our last 2 Conference championships as a #4 seed (2008) & #6 seed (1999).

    The Mount botched hiring Robert Burke as Milan's replacement period, end of sentence. He never gelled with the school. Could it be because he was used to being involved in larger programs with loads of money that the Mount will never have...possibly. The accountability will never surface & this will be swept under the rug almost like it never happened & I'm cool w/ that. Turn the page & more on. The only thing we can hope for as fans is that the same mistake isn't made again. All of this talk of who is Head Coach matters to an extent, but until we can compete against Long Island, Robert Morris, Wagner, & Quinnipiac, it doesn't matter who our Coach is. Those programs have lapped us in terms of recruiting, facilities (although LIU does play in a box), & recent success. RMU has been to 4 straight NEC Tourney Finals, LIU is a repeat NEC Champion. We have nothing to hang our hat on but 2008 & we are too far removed from our other championship seasons to matter. The Here & Now is painfully obvious. Attendance is non-existent, the talent pipeline is a question mark, & now we are onto our 3rd Head Coach in the past 4 seasons.

    I'm not saying anything earth-shattering here. These are all known facts. I think we all just want to help our Alma Mater plan for the future & get out of the "Dark Ages." Incorporate some forward-thinking instead of the status quo. Do I have all the answers or ideas. Definitely not. I'm not in Emmitsburg to see the day-to-day interactions & on-goings. I will tell you this, until they find a way to get the students to start showing up again, it won't matter. Why should the players care, when their friends & classmates don't bother. The next Coach needs to make a connection with the student body in the most crucial way. Mass email the students, have promotions around the games, have a Mount Spirit Chair as part of the SGA & pair them up w/ someone in the Athletic Department, but do something to actually make it worthwhile for the students to get their nose out of their books & walk basically a frickin' half mile to the Arena! College is the BEST four or five (based on some of my buddies) years of your life. They need to find their "selling point," & sell themselves a little. Don't be shy...be proud of what & who you are. The only issue is what does the Mount feel the most proud of most recently??? I only wish I knew...

    ReplyDelete
  14. In my book Dunlap should be head candidate, I played for both guys and they're both good coaches but Dunlap would do better with recruiting and teaching. I think Henry should get a few more years under his belt to experience a winning season before becoming a head coach

    ReplyDelete