Re: Boston University 2010 Offseason I - The Year after the Year after effect
Wow ... you know things are pretty sour around here when the debate has turned to whether the much-loved PMac was a slacker.
As for Coach Parker, over the long haul, a coach should be judged based on whether he wins. St. John's Baskebtball just fired Norm Roberts. Everyone agreed that he was a good guy who cleaned up the program and the team was improving. They just didn't win enough. So after giving him six seasons, they let him go.
In college hockey, it's the same thing. There really is only one way to evaluate the coach: is the program winning? I don't think it is simply winning percentage or even Frozen Fours. The nature of the game and the "one and done" system in the tournament allows for even a great team running into a hot goalie and getting knocked out early. Conversely, thanks to an upset or favorable draw, sometimes a team that is not really FF material makes it to the final weekend. So, for me, the analysis is whether the team is a legit contender to win the championship. Teams like Denver, BC, North Dakota, Michigan, even Miami lately, are usually in the running. Sure, they don't often win the whole thing, they don't always make the Frozen Four, once in a while they have an off year. Still, most of the time, based on how the team played during the season, their fan base can go into the tournament thinking, "this might be our year. We've got a team capable of doing it." In the 90's this was the case at BU. They only won the championship once, but most years, it
could have been BU still standing at the end.
With its tradition and reputation, BU ought to be in that group with DU, Michigan, North Dakota, etc. Are they? Looking at BU over the last decade, how many times did BU have a
chance to win? How often did BU have the type of success where you could say with a straight face that if this team gets a couple of breaks, they could be holding the championship trophy? As best as I can remember, BU has only had that kind of team twice over the last decade, 05-06' and 08-09'. Other than that, even the teams that made the tournament did not really have a shot at winning it. They were good but that was about it. Of course, over the last decade, some BU teams were mediocre. Or worse.
For a program like this one, 20% is just not good enough. In any given season, a tough group of players can screw up despite the best efforts of a successful coach. Over the course of a decade, however, you can't pin it on one group of players. Over this long a period of time, the buck has to stop with the guy in charge.
