UNH Wildcats 2021/2022 - Return of the Champions of October?

[wildcatdc]

No need to dig through yearbooks. I think Google could easily disclose the name of the firm and its role in finding DI leaders

You don't go to that sort of firm to find a candidate who worked for you last year, and is just down the street.

Nor would I expect an outsider like Dean to be beholden to the boys' club. It's not like Umile could pull a "godfather" power move to co-opt Dean. Dean has a background in how actual good organizations run.



Yuck, Yuck!!! Amazing we never got any accountability from Marty.

You are SPOT ON with regards to President Dean.

[Darius]

JFC following this thread is like a puzzle. I've been thinking y'all were about Jerry Krause. Guess not since he's been dead for five years and would be well over 80 if not. Time flies. I did find a prominent firm with someone who has a Bulls connection and did a search for UNC so I'll go with that.

President Dean, in addition to having "a background in how actual good organizations run" is also sporadically amusing on Twitter.

Chuck, Paul Hourning is not walking through that door, Forrest Gregg is not walking through that door... lol.

[wildcatdc]

Sorry, Darius. Trying to be as transparent as possible without violating confidences myself.

[Darius]

No worries, 'dc. I get it. In terms of behind the scenes stuff, I've held back more than I have posted to avoid betraying much lesser confidences. Thanks for what you are doing and posting.

Just found a NC based firm, don't see a Bulls connection, but... :-)

[Felger]

New AD has another mess to clean up:

https://tnhdigital.com/20945/sports/...ansfer-portal/

Ironic ain't it? On the one hand you have a team that is 16 games under .500 over the past four years, yet there are calls to bring some of its players back for another year.

The other team was a 3 seed in its conference, yet players are bailing right and left.

[wildcatdc]

New AD has another mess to clean up:

https://tnhdigital.com/20945/sports/...ansfer-portal/

Ironic ain't it? On the one hand you have a team that is 16 games under .500 over the past four years, yet there are calls to bring some of its players back for another year.

The other team was a 3 seed in its conference, yet players are bailing right and left.

Holy cow. Brutal.

[chickod]

Well, I have to agree with Herrion (who, BTW, as former Central Mass. basketball officials, we all know well down here). The whole "student/athlete" thing is controversial enough without making it seem even more as though these players are 'mercenaries.' Are they there for college or sports (kind of an obvious question at that level...yes, there are exceptions)? Now I suppose that could be debated...why is "majoring" in a sport any different than, say, majoring in "art history?" I guess because the percentages of actually getting a JOB at the next level are, statistically, next to none (if you're talking about pro sports). I'll leave that to others, but I just think the "transfer portal" rule makes it even easier to not have to really commit to anything, and I don't think that's the lesson we want young people to learn....but that's just my opinion.

[HockeyRef]

Oh my....

[NCAA watcher]

Time to shrink the court.

[Chuck Murray]

JFC following this thread is like a puzzle. I've been thinking y'all were about Jerry Krause. Guess not since he's been dead for five years and would be well over 80 if not. Time flies. I did find a prominent firm with someone who has a Bulls connection and did a search for UNC so I'll go with that.

President Dean, in addition to having "a background in how actual good organizations run" is also sporadically amusing on Twitter.

Chuck, Paul Hourning is not walking through that door, Forrest Gregg is not walking through that door... lol.

Yes, it's definitely been a "puzzle" for sure, Darius. There's a very good reason you'd be thinking about Krause, because back then, unless your name was Reinsdorf or Krause, you really didn't have a big say in things with the Bulls. Not even Jordan, as was so pointedly displayed in The Last Dance, really had a say on how things were run in Chicago. I know, this is radically different from the NBA we know today, but that's been my point all along here.

I'll even take it as fact that dc's guy in question here (and I'm not looking for anyone to betray confidences, any more than I'm gonna betray mine) was indeed a 27 yr. old up-and-comer on the Bulls BoD at some point in the 1984-1998 MJ Era, but the question there remains ... what real power did ANYONE on that board really have to run the franchise - much less a 27 yr. old kid? BoD appointments in that era - especially in sports - were pretty ownership-friendly, formalities to rubber stamp decisions made by the likes of Reinsdorf and Krause. In this instance, if the BoD had any real power ... wouldn't they have pushed to keep the team that had just won 6 out of 8 titles together? Irrelevant - it was always a Reinsdorf/Krause decision.

In a lot of BoD situations - especially back then in sports - you are there at the behest of ownership because you wouldn't rock the boat, NOT because of some innate insight into operating the business - especially as a wet-behind-the-ears 27 yr. old.

Look at the guys who ran successful NBA franchises at the time ... Red Auerbach, Jerry West, Jack McCloskey (Pistons) and Jerry Krause. If you were lucky enough to sit on the BoD of any of those entities, hey, good for you, nice salary for not much work, and sometimes you even got to see how the sausage was made. Did it infer any actual power that would lead to credit for the on-court product? Highly doubtful. And if it did, then there would be a long line of poorly-performing franchises lined up at your door to hire you to transform their franchise into the next powerhouse, right? I'm betting that didn't happen here.

In summary, and I hate to be the guy who pees in the punch bowl, but being an "executive" with the Bulls during that era is a nice line on a resume/CV, and will open some doors, but in and of itself means very little, other than being in the right place at the right time. Good for him, hope they gave him and his BoD compadres a ring(s) for their title(s), but whatever he's done in his current field is all I care about. And if he's an integral part in making an effective and successful hire, I'm his biggest fan.

I'd also be remiss if I didn't point out there are occasions when a company or school or program goes through a process of seeking out a recruiting firm to provide cover for a closer-to-home hire. As in, "Well, we looked everywhere, but it turns out the best candidate was the guy right under our nose." Again, I hope this is not the case here, I'm on the record as opposing such a hire, but until Commish Nigel isn't the new AD hire, all 'dc is doing here is shooting the messenger.

To be clear, I'm not shooting at 'dc as the messenger of what might be very good news for UNH Athletics. I'm questioning the relevance of the use of what was likely an inconsequential position 25+ years ago to highlight the bona fides of a key part of the team that's leading this process. When you lead your CV with something like that (the exec - not 'dc), it strongly infers that you deserve credit for that organization's success. I sincerely doubt that's the case. If you disagree, you can PM me with link(s) to prove I'm wrong, and I'll promise here to (1) keep it 100% confidential, and (2) back off and admit I'm wrong in my assessment IF that's the case. Over to you, 'dc ...

P.S. to Darius - Hornung also recently passed, but the lessons he and his teammates took from their mentor then are just as universally relevant now as they were 50+ years ago - WAY beyond the banal and/or trite "we're on to Cincinnati" crap that some consider genius-level material these days ...

[HockeyRef]

Seeing how UNH of sitting out tonight's festivities thought I'd continue the score predicts FWIW dept:

NU 3 BC 2
BU 4 UConn 2
UMass 3 PC 1
UML 2 MC 1

Carry on..oh and HR was for the portal before there was a portal lol

[Felger]

Well, I have to agree with Herrion

So does this guy: https://www.espn.com/womens-college-.../31515016/mess

[Whalers]

I know that this is a hockey board, but UNH Men's basketball is Hoopless (intended). UNLESS, they look to think as BIG as they can with what they have. Will take some short term investments and juggling, but it can be done.

Cant do this with the current 42% coach. Pay some dough to an up and coming REAL coach knowing full well that you will lose him soon enough and BRING BACK HOOPS TO THE WHITT. Dont tell me it cant be done, costs too much, too many headaches, blah, blah, blah. They played at the Whitt for 1 or 2 seasons and even sold the place out vs Florida. JUST DO IT!

Who ever heard of Gonzaga or Davidson? What were their facilities like? How does Vermont consistently sit near the top of their league and consistently make the Big Dance? Patrick Gym is just that, a gym AND a clone of Lundholm. Think big, get some energy going with the students and the local area by trying something different. Do this and I would have to say this will get some interest in players going TO UNH from the transfer portal. Remember, the boards will now be 5 Feet closer from the sides to the court because of the upcoming sightline destruction program.

[wildcatdc]

Forbes magazine on the person leading our search: “One of the most influential people in college athletics”.

Chuck Murray: “I know better, because, because, well, just because”.

[Dan]

New AD has another mess to clean up:

https://tnhdigital.com/20945/sports/...ansfer-portal/

Ironic ain't it? On the one hand you have a team that is 16 games under .500 over the past four years, yet there are calls to bring some of its players back for another year.

The other team was a 3 seed in its conference, yet players are bailing right and left.

The notable majority of kids with an extra COVID year transfer and finish somewhere else - very often they're shown the door by coaching staffs to make room for incoming freshmen (of course, its never a concern when adults leave kids in the lurch - only vice versa). Another kid left because he wasn't playing as much as he'd like after Herrion recruited over him with another guard in his class...

The latter guard is also leaving (the only transfer of any note), and I wonder if Herrion thought the portal was the 'worst' when he used it to pick this kid off the roster of a DII school?

This guy should keep his head down, keep quiet and be thankful he still has a job, IMO. Another inadequate coach making pitiful excuses...