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

[wildcatdc]

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

[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]

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.

[wildcatdc]

I deleted it in case you wanted to keep it private.

Thank you. I shared as much as I felt comfortable sharing.

[NCAA watcher]

You appear to have deleted the link but yes, you got it.

I deleted it in case you wanted to keep it private.

[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.

You appear to have deleted the link but yes, you got it.

[wildcatdc]

Apples and oranges, 'dc. Here's my challenge to you ... go find a Chicago Bulls yearbook (or other source) which lists front office personnel back in the Jordan Era (1984-1998). Pick one - any one. Or any similar listings for NBA teams during that era. I'll tell you what you're going to find in advance - even high level NBA teams did not have layers of management in that era. The real money definitely hadn't hit the league in the '80's, although the Bird/Magic era definitely had things moving in the right direction. By the '90's the NBA was well on its way to where it is now, but front office-wise, still nowhere near the current level of "front office" (execs per you?) and "basketball operations", and back then it was mostly a situation where there was just one umbrella for everything. And there were a lot less people under that umbrella, and those people tended to be basketball lifers, not some Billy Beane or Theo Epstein types. And if there were younger folks in the front office, I'd hesitate to call them "execs", not in that era. You're taking the current blueprint and imposing it on a much different era.

What do guys like McVay, Beane, Epstein, Bloom, etc. (a/k/a The Revenge of the Stats Nerds Era) all have in common, 'dc? NONE of them - nor their predecessors of the same young age - were working at their levels, even in the late stages of the previous century. It's why those guys are seen as big deals now. They broke the mold. That mold still held in the MJ Era, no matter how you try to conflate current trends with "old boys club" models that actually still existed at that time.

Apples and oranges, 'dc. Apples and oranges. Thanks for "indulging" me with your weak sauce.

P.S. - two things. One, I hope my sources are wrong, and two, I hope UNH knocks it out of the park with the new AD hire. Just no need to put imaginary frosting on the recruiting firm's cake, please ...

Well, Watcher did what I didn’t want to do, but I support him.

Your ignorance is now FULLY on display. Bulls Board of Directors at 27. Sound like Costanza type to me.

With Watcher putting the nail in your coffin, I am now done with this. Your ignorance is only exceeded by your absolute irrelevance.

[NCAA watcher]

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.

The Patriarch Through the years, fans and insiders of Wildcat hockey often thought of themselves in terms of a “nation,” but the operative word might be “family,” with Umile in the role of patriarch. When Scarano was the athletic director at Colorado College, he had tried to recruit Umile to Colorado’s hockey program. Not only did Umile stay at UNH, he helped recruit Scarano to Durham. Scarano recalls with great fondness the weekend he came to campus to interview for the newly vacant athletic director position. “I came into town and stayed at the Three Chimneys Inn,” Scarano says. After his interviews, Umile invited Scarano to dinner at his favorite Portsmouth restaurant, The Rosa. “I show up and the owner Jerry leads me past the diners into a back room. It’s completely empty except for one table for two where Dick is sitting. “‘This the guy?’ Jerry asks. “‘Yep, that’s the guy,’ says Dick. “Dick’s got a big grin on his face. It was like something out of the Godfather. So, we sat, two Italians, and had a glass of wine and I ordered spaghetti with olive oil and extra anchovies. “He’s a “‘He must be Italian,’ says Jerry.’”

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

[Chuck Murray]

Oh, my… I don’t even know where to start. I don’t even want to board your little train to Clownsville, but I’ll indulge you one last time.

I’m going to have to assume that you are clouded by your own personal career trajectory, that perhaps you were never exposed to people who, by the time they hit their late 20’s/early 30’s, are well into the upper echelons of their respective industries. People who have made partner, managing director, EVP’s, etc. Hell, even some C-suite types. And I’m leaving out the whole swath of entrepreneurs.

But maybe you’re on to something - that NEVER happens in sports. After all, Billy Beane, Theo, Chaim, Sean McVay didn’t see their time in the spotlight until what, their 50’s? 60’s?

Here’s hoping you and your sources have a terrific weekend watching Seinfeld reruns and honing that keen business insight.

Apples and oranges, 'dc. Here's my challenge to you ... go find a Chicago Bulls yearbook (or other source) which lists front office personnel back in the Jordan Era (1984-1998). Pick one - any one. Or any similar listings for NBA teams during that era. I'll tell you what you're going to find in advance - even high level NBA teams did not have layers of management in that era. The real money definitely hadn't hit the league in the '80's, although the Bird/Magic era definitely had things moving in the right direction. By the '90's the NBA was well on its way to where it is now, but front office-wise, still nowhere near the current level of "front office" (execs per you?) and "basketball operations", and back then it was mostly a situation where there was just one umbrella for everything. And there were a lot less people under that umbrella, and those people tended to be basketball lifers, not some Billy Beane or Theo Epstein types. And if there were younger folks in the front office, I'd hesitate to call them "execs", not in that era. You're taking the current blueprint and imposing it on a much different era.

What do guys like McVay, Beane, Epstein, Bloom, etc. (a/k/a The Revenge of the Stats Nerds Era) all have in common, 'dc? NONE of them - nor their predecessors of the same young age - were working at their levels, even in the late stages of the previous century. It's why those guys are seen as big deals now. They broke the mold. That mold still held in the MJ Era, no matter how you try to conflate current trends with "old boys club" models that actually still existed at that time.

Apples and oranges, 'dc. Apples and oranges. Thanks for "indulging" me with your weak sauce.

P.S. - two things. One, I hope my sources are wrong, and two, I hope UNH knocks it out of the park with the new AD hire. Just no need to put imaginary frosting on the recruiting firm's cake, please ...

[Chuck Murray]

I was completely down with the following take - especially citing the all-too-frequent high water mark of the now-typical UNH Hockey career arc starting down in the Coast ...

We have 2 centers and a wing that could possible greatly improve their stock with a strong 5th year. Short of a 2way deal why not put off that initial (and perhaps longer) ECHL run. Work on/obtain a masters in your area of interest.

... until a more logical and persuasive argument cut the legs out from the original hopeful pitch ...

Maybe another year in this UNH system would NOT actually improve their stock. The few guys UNH might want back, would also likely have options at better programs for their final seasons of eligibility...

... and that's where the reality set in. As UNH fans, at least in the short run, we are screwed.

I also wholly agree with Dan's pointed-yet-accurate commentary regarding the AD's disingenuous approach to excusing poor performance on the back of strong performance in the classroom. To paraphrase the great Vince Lombardi ... "success isn't a sometimes thing, it's an all the time thing ... you don't do things right once in awhile, you do them right all the time". And while credit may be due to the players' academic "coaches" in the classroom, it would seem the players' "teachers" on the ice simply aren't getting the job done.

I've suggested this before, and I'm going to suggest it again ... if we are to assume MS7 has one final year to prove himself under the incoming AD, one would think he would benefit from taking a long, hard look at himself, and at what he and his two assistants have been doing over the last several years, frankly assess where he/they are coming up short, and implement the necessary changes ASAP. Long gone is the time where he had 3 years to prep himself to take over the program, and almost as long gone is the period where the "new car smell" and having the opportunity to make a great first impression wore off. You are established as a low-performing D-1 coach in a program that's had a mostly-winning history, and the success of your players' on-ice careers after they leave the program is also modest at best. The typical obstacles faced by all coaches - the other D-1 coaches all trying to achieve success - are dwarfed by the emerging biggest obstacle, which is the perceptions of others in your universe that you aren't very good at what you're doing. So if you don't change, the new AD will change you.

[After the Whistle]

Whoa there Whalers. Please read both of our posts again. Believe we are basically saying the same thing. The difference is that not only do the upper classes lack true goal scores but the team as a whole lacks individuals with in-depth experience and leadership . Anyone of these referenced seniors could bring that to this team and improve its performance in my opinion.

[wildcatdc]

Thanks Wildcatdc for the opportunity to have input into the AD hiring process. It was also a great follow up with both specific information and general observations. I think most of us really appreciated your taking the time.

Much appreciated, ATW. I know what a pain point this has been for the folks here and I’d have been remiss in not making this a group effort. My only hope is that the decision errs on the priority of winning programs and not other tent poles that leave us with underperformance and indifference across the board. Hope springs eternal.

[wildcatdc]

MJ left Chicago 25 years ago, and he started in Chicago almost 38 years ago. So even if your "senior partner with one of the world's largest search firms" is 60 years old today, that would have put him somewhere between a new college grad in his first real world job or (tops) a junior something-or-another on Krause's staff at age 35 when MJ and Co. were breaking up

He's the one who's introducing himself to your group as an "exec with the Bulls during the MJ era"; only you know the firm's name, and only you know the guy's name, so you only leave the rest of us with crumbs to work things out. Those crumbs of info - for reasons outlined above - leave me to only deduce that your guy on the UNH AD hiring committee is possibly "bigging himself up" to a major degree. Unless your last name was Reinsdorf (owner), the only Bulls' exec that mattered during the MJ era was Krause. You know that, everyone knows that. Mr. Senior Partner nowadays may have been Krause's go-fer or travel secretary, or most likely any one of a number of far less impressive stations than he would have you now believe ...

I'm not asking you to divulge his ID, 'dc. But I can't help but think of George Costanza "working" with Steinbrenner for the Yankees of yore when your senior partner includes the Jordan era Bulls as part of his present-day bona fides. Maybe I'm just far less easy to impress than you are?? No biggie ...

Oh, my… I don’t even know where to start. I don’t even want to board your little train to Clownsville, but I’ll indulge you one last time.

I’m going to have to assume that you are clouded by your own personal career trajectory, that perhaps you were never exposed to people who, by the time they hit their late 20’s/early 30’s, are well into the upper echelons of their respective industries. People who have made partner, managing director, EVP’s, etc. Hell, even some C-suite types. And I’m leaving out the whole swath of entrepreneurs.

But maybe you’re on to something - that NEVER happens in sports. After all, Billy Beane, Theo, Chaim, Sean McVay didn’t see their time in the spotlight until what, their 50’s? 60’s?

Here’s hoping you and your sources have a terrific weekend watching Seinfeld reruns and honing that keen business insight.

[Whalers]

We have 2 centers and a wing that could possible greatly improve their stock with a strong 5th year.

Whoa, lets put the brakes on or at least get windshield wipers for those rose colored glasses. The leading scorer this year had 27 points, tied for 79th best in the country, doubt many GM's are salivating. Not like the old days, when we had 4th liners (ie. Warren Foegele) who were chased off the team and still made the NHL. :-)

From what I can see, the only players on UNH's team who can improve their stock with a 5th year, are the ones who havent found the aforementioned future wife. The only 2-way deals in the mix might be between working during the day and taking night time MBA classes on said companies dime.

[Whalers]

The list of Who's Who in these two recruiting classes makes one yearn for the Austin Block Era.

That is pure gold right there! Made me laugh out loud on a Friday afternoon.