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Boston University Part IV: Off-Season or New Season?

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Re: Boston University Part IV: Off-Season or New Season?

Just got word that the team has no scheduled practices this week. Certainly interesting.
 
Re: Boston University Part IV: Off-Season or New Season?

claver2010 said:
Slurpees, this has been hashed out tons of times but it's a Monday I'm bored.

The clear difference is that in addition to York getting the top kids, he also gets kids that fit the program (will stay for 3+ years, fit into team & community).

Now what's a "better" recruit:

Brian Gibbons or Colin Wilson?
Wilson will obviously play more in the NHL, 7th overall pick vs undrafted but...

Gibbons is a local kid, who stays 4 years and will go down as a top 10 scorer ever at BC
Click to expand...

Are you saying the 09 team would have been better with Gibbons as opposed to Wilson?
 
Re: Boston University Part IV: Off-Season or New Season?

Federal League said:
Just got word that the team has no scheduled practices this week. Certainly interesting.
Click to expand...

Sooo...either the thinking is the time off will do them good? orrrr the staff if as optimistic about their chances as we are...either way, not what I expected
 
Re: Boston University Part IV: Off-Season or New Season?

claver2010 said:
Slurpees, this has been hashed out tons of times but it's a Monday I'm bored.

The clear difference is that in addition to York getting the top kids, he also gets kids that fit the program (will stay for 3+ years, fit into team & community).

Now what's a "better" recruit:

Brian Gibbons or Colin Wilson?
Wilson will obviously play more in the NHL, 7th overall pick vs undrafted but...

Gibbons is a local kid, who stays 4 years and will go down as a top 10 scorer ever at BC
Click to expand...

I'm not sure how any of what you just said is relevant to my post. My point had nothing to do with who BU is or isn't getting compared to BC. My point had to do with a good number of the guys who BU did get (whom the previous poster noted as top recruiting classes that haven't yielded results save 2009) that were highly regarding leaving early for the pros. Nothing to do with BC, York, or how they're recruiting. But to your point, it's foolish recruiting to look at a guy who you have a shot at and say, nah, he'll only play for two seasons because he's so good, I'm not going to recruit him.
 
Re: Boston University Part IV: Off-Season or New Season?

BigRedTerrier said:
Sooo...either the thinking is the time off will do them good? orrrr the staff if as optimistic about their chances as we are...either way, not what I expected
Click to expand...

I'm thinking the former. Also gives everyone a chance to go home and see their families over break.
 
Re: Boston University Part IV: Off-Season or New Season?

Federal League said:
Just got word that the team has no scheduled practices this week. Certainly interesting.
Click to expand...

Any chance you can ask Parker why? I'm curious...

ericredaxe said:
Are you saying the 09 team would have been better with Gibbons as opposed to Wilson?
Click to expand...

I think his point was that Gibbons won a national title as a junior and could win another as a senior. Wilson of course won one as a sophomore and then left.

slurpees said:
But to your point, it's foolish recruiting to look at a guy who you have a shot at and say, nah, he'll only play for two seasons because he's so good, I'm not going to recruit him.
Click to expand...

I don't think it's foolish at all. Ultimately there's a mix you have to find between guys you know are four year players and guys that you know will leave early.
 
Re: Boston University Part IV: Off-Season or New Season?

I see an email from Agganis Arena today offering NCAA basketball tickets only to those who sign up to buy Basketball season tickets next year.

Memo to BU: Unless something is happening that I am not aware of, there aren't many BU fans rushing to buy flights to & hotels in Tulsa to see BU (likely) get whipped at the hands of Kansas on Friday. They should be only too happy to accomodate the fans who are making the trek out there without committing them to spend $$.
 
Re: Boston University Part IV: Off-Season or New Season?

The awards banquet is this Thursday?? Granted, the chance of them getting a bid is slim but I would think they would wait until they are officially eliminated.
 
Re: Boston University Part IV: Off-Season or New Season?

The awards banquet is before the season is officially over? It's more unlikely than likely, but it's not like BU needs the world to flip upside down to get an at-large bid.
 
Re: Boston University Part IV: Off-Season or New Season?

A caveat: I didn’t see BU play too many times this season (all four BC games, the last period of the Beanpot consolation game, a few games on NESN and the RPI game on CBS Sports.) But after checking their season stats, a few things stand out for this BC fan who still has some respect for the BU program, even though I expect to be blasted by BU followers by my comments.

Of their 12 losses this season, eight were to BC, NU and Harvard, and they finished last in the Beanpot for the first time since the USA hockey team’s 1980 Miracle on Ice. That can’t be good for their off-season image among the locals. Does that – or does the BU women’s team going to their Frozen Four – give them any motivation to work harder in the off-season, or do they have no players who can lead like the leaders they had in 2008-09?

They apparently peaked in October – good for Major League Baseball teams, apple-picking season and foliage changes in the northeast; bad for NCAA hockey. Was that a product of coaching, youth or overrated talent?

They appeared to be the least-motivated, least-focused and least-skilled BU team I’d seen in many years. I suppose it may have been due in large degree to having no upperclassmen other than their goalie who could be considered star players (and I still don't get the Bruins' infatuation with Warsofsky because the best move I've seen him make was his goal celebration with a home run swing at Fenway Park last season); but only once, in their Beanpot opener, did I see a BU team that looked like it was capable of competing with the good teams in the nation. They definitely did not look like a top 20 NCAA team.

Yet had they pulled out a win last night, they would’ve been on the NCAA bubble, and they get everyone back for next season except a forward who was their leading goal scorer (but only their 9th leading scorer) and a backup goalie who rarely played. I don’t know anything about their recruits for next season. Are any of them expected to contribute or are they basically redshirts next season?

Do most BU fans consider Jack Parker to have outlived his useful life as their head coach, and if so, who do they get to replace him? Do they have someone in mind like a Patrick Chambers who could replace a Dennis Wolff and bring enthusiasm and winning back to the BU program? (This BU hockey team could’ve used a player like John Holland against NU in the HE quarterfinals.)
 
Re: Boston University Part IV: Off-Season or New Season?

wtbu60 said:
do they have no players who can lead like the leaders they had in 2008-09?

Do most BU fans consider Jack Parker to have outlived his useful life as their head coach, and if so, who do they get to replace him? Do they have someone in mind like a Patrick Chambers who could replace a Dennis Wolff and bring enthusiasm and winning back to the BU program? (This BU hockey team could’ve used a player like John Holland against NU in the HE quarterfinals.)
Click to expand...

On the first item - it didn't used to be critical to the success of a BU team that they had the best leadership. But now that the coaches ability to motivate has deteriorated, it is apparently the most critical element of success. The only time that BU has been an elite team since 1998, they had a 25-year old captain who was not afraid to question Parker's decisions (like convincing the coach not to kick two players off the team before the season started).

Yes Parker should move on. I respect him for his accomplishments, and am thankful that we had him as a coach. I would have liked to see a replacement around 10 years ago, but the new arena kept him around. I would be excited to hear of any of the following replacements, probably in order of desirability:

Dave Quinn
John Hynes
Mike Sullivan
Mike Bavis

All 4 of these guys played under Parker and learned a lot from him. Yet they are much younger than he and can better relate to college age kids.

(Interesting as I look at these names that Sullivan is the only one that has not had to directly deal with some significant adversity (at least that is well known by BU fans).
 
Re: Boston University Part IV: Off-Season or New Season?

just because someone is younger, that doesn't necessarily mean they will be better able to relate (or motivate) college aged kids.

there has certainly been a lot of "don'treallygivea****ness" the past decade.

except of course the 09 season when you had a veteran team that remembered how bad the prior season sucked and had a good mix of leadership with good cop/bad cop motivating internally. and as someone mentioned, the zach/smo situation and the way the guys went to parker and got them to stay, that made their bones. it was a team at that point. common guys working for a common goal. they were there for each other and were for the most part treated equally (from matt having parker blow up at him to matt then blowing up at the others [including kevin]). i'm sure there were favorites, but without favoritism.

that doesn't exist.

here you have kids gone, and kids allowed to stay. kids suspended and kids not. that breeds "don'tgivea****ness".
 
Re: Boston University Part IV: Off-Season or New Season?

wtbu60 said:
Does that – or does the BU women’s team going to their Frozen Four – give them any motivation to work harder in the off-season, or do they have no players who can lead like the leaders they had in 2008-09?

They appeared to be the least-motivated, least-focused and least-skilled BU team I’d seen in many years. I suppose it may have been due in large degree to having no upperclassmen other than their goalie who could be considered star players (and I still don't get the Bruins' infatuation with Warsofsky because the best move I've seen him make was his goal celebration with a home run swing at Fenway Park last season); but only once, in their Beanpot opener, did I see a BU team that looked like it was capable of competing with the good teams in the nation. They definitely did not look like a top 20 NCAA team.
Click to expand...

1. I think no matter how good the leaders of a BU team are, they will never measure up to the Gilroy/McCarthy/Strait trio. Those guys were very unique characters, and to expect somebody to lead this team the way they did that season is kind of unreasonable.
2. I would certainly hope this season would give them the motivation to work harder in the off season. I don't think how far the women's team goes has any affect on the men's team, however.
3. No way this team was less motivated than last year's team. Last season, half the team had their foot out the door and was already envisioning NHL futures. In terms of them struggling to focus at times, I think the lack of seniors on the team had a lot to do with it. I don't think it matters if the upperclassmen are star players or not - the experience is what is important, and BU did not have nearly enough of a veteran presence this season.
 
mookie1995 said:
just because someone is younger, that doesn't necessarily mean they will be better able to relate (or motivate) college aged kids.

there has certainly been a lot of "don'treallygivea****ness" the past decade.

except of course the 09 season when you had a veteran team that remembered how bad the prior season sucked and had a good mix of leadership with good cop/bad cop motivating internally. and as someone mentioned, the zach/smo situation and the way the guys went to parker and got them to stay, that made their bones. it was a team at that point. common guys working for a common goal. they were there for each other and were for the most part treated equally (from matt having parker blow up at him to matt then blowing up at the others [including kevin]). i'm sure there were favorites, but without favoritism.

that doesn't exist.

here you have kids gone, and kids allowed to stay. kids suspended and kids not. that breeds "don'tgivea****ness".
Click to expand...
Just wondering: where is the administration in all this? Michigan State forced Comley out four years after a title. Lucia is on the hot seat in Minnesota. But not a word from the BU higher ups (that we know of).
 
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