The Barr Has Been Raised at UMaine

[Jackcurtis23]

I'd rather have Barr and no Richard than Guite+Richard.

Same.

[Chuck Murray]

I'd rather have Barr and no Richard than Guite+Richard.

That really is the bottom line, and I also concur.

[umhockey91]

I'd rather have Barr and no Richard than Guite+Richard.

Me too.

[UncleRay]

I'd rather have Barr and no Richard than Guite+Richard.

+1. This vote will be a bazillion to one. The one being Drew.

[walrus]

+1. This vote will be a bazillion to one. The one being Drew.

No doubt. Sucks we missed out on what looks to be a good player, Walshy missed out on tons of them, it happens.

[Chuck Murray]

No doubt. Sucks we missed out on what looks to be a good player, Walshy missed out on tons of them, it happens.

No one gets them all, right? Not even Walshy/Standbrook. The key is to identify the top talent, get yourself in the mix as a serious contender for their signature, and hopefully your abilities as a coach and the assets of your program draw more than your fair share to commit to you.

Barr seems to have done a nice job at this, at several past destinations.

No reason to think a guy who can win in Schenectady, can't win in Orono ...

[acs64]

No one gets them all, right? Not even Walshy/Standbrook. The key is to identify the top talent, get yourself in the mix as a serious contender for their signature, and hopefully your abilities as a coach and the assets of your program draw more than your fair share to commit to you.

Barr seems to have done a nice job at this, at several past destinations.

No reason to think a guy who can win in Schenectady, can't win in Orono ...

And no reason that if and when Maine starts winning consistently that UNH cant at least try to keep up with them .

[Chuck Murray]

And no reason that if and when Maine starts winning consistently that UNH cant at least try to keep up with them .

Yup, at least that's the logical hope. Having said that, I have no faith in the folks further up the chain at UNH to do the right thing anyway, so until our useless idiot careerist AD retires, I don't see anything positive happening with UNH Hockey. He's the guy who fell for Umile's vaunted succession plan, and now we're living through the resulting wonderland of endless, abject mediocrity.

I'm not exaggerating when I admit your AD and his HC hire seem to be top notch.

You'd think the goal for every program would be to win games/draw fans. Not here in Titletown ...

[amkirby10]

Glad to see Barr invited to throw out the first pitch at Hadlock Field, with his sons in tow. Good way to integrate him into the state community a bit.

[The Zlax45]

Agreed Wally. Although it is interesting to see some of the folks on here trying to draw Barr into the Walshy coaching tree by using the brand-new "Three Degrees of Shawn Walsh" method, taken from the more widely-known "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" meme used for Hollywood connections.

Barr is an RPI guy, through and through. Played there, got his start in coaching there, and that's where he crossed paths with Ralph and Monty. Met up with Leaman (previously a short term UMaine volunteer assistant) at Union, before he followed him to Providence. Not denying Leaman was influenced by Walshy, but I think it's really a stretch to extend that influence to Barr. All of those guys do have an apparent common trait of fearlessness, but that's hardly unique to Walshy.

If the RPI job opens up again, it might be the only D-1 job Barr considers leaving UMaine for ... ?

Carvel left his alma mater for UMass...there was another reason though.

[The Zlax45]

Yup, at least that's the logical hope. Having said that, I have no faith in the folks further up the chain at UNH to do the right thing anyway, so until our useless idiot careerist AD retires, I don't see anything positive happening with UNH Hockey. He's the guy who fell for Umile's vaunted succession plan, and now we're living through the resulting wonderland of endless, abject mediocrity.

I'm not exaggerating when I admit your AD and his HC hire seem to be top notch.

You'd think the goal for every program would be to win games/draw fans. Not here in Titletown ...

I don't think there is an AD in America East or Hockey East that has been at their school HALF as long as Marty has been at UNH.

[Chuck Murray]

I don't think there is an AD in America East or Hockey East that has been at their school HALF as long as Marty has been at UNH.

Therein lies the problem. It's awesome that he spearheaded efforts to upgrade the football facilities from the level of abject embarrassment to the improved state of affairs across the street from The Whitt nowadays. But if the various athletic teams you are charged with overseeing have been most notable for their overall lack of on-field achievement over the last 20 years, that's a huge issue for fans. And so long as you're going to charge your fans money to view those games, the fans should be able to provide feedback on the quality of the product (or lack thereof).

Even his most notable accomplishment - the growth of UNH Football - has tempered in recent years, and may ultimately suffer the same "almost but not quite" fate as UNH Hockey did a generation (give or take) ago. Hoops would kill to achieve such a level, and for the most part, the Women's sports teams have done no better. Hopefully Coach Hubbard and Men's Soccer can accomplish the things that eluded Coaches Umile and McDonnell (so far).

New blood in the UNH AD's office is badly needed. But this is a UMaine thread, so I'll leave it at that ...

[Runsub5]

Latest news/info on Ben Barr by Larry in today's BDN. Moving to Brewer and Ben shares some thoughts about what he is looking for in players. Two transfers and an offer to an assistant coach.

https://bangordailynews.com/2021/06/...nence-to-team/

[Jackcurtis23]

https://bangordailynews.com/2021/06/...nence-to-team/

[Fishman'81]

I know you’re a relatively new fan and weren’t around for the glory days but there was a time when Maine would bring in players like Richard ever year. Since Shawn died there have been few truly exciting recruits. That’s not to say there haven’t been good players because there definitely have been. It’s just a different vibe going into the season with one or two new guys who you are really excited to see play.

Whitehead recruited some vintage Maine talent... Red, none.

No way Barr could do worse.