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

[pirate]

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

A question for everyone... (Particularly to those who want to show Jack the door)...

Back in September, what were your expectations for this years team?

I'm not in favor of showing him the door (see previous post) but my expectation would have included not finishing 4th in the Beanpot and not missing the HE semis. If those events did transpire I would hope that it was because we got stonewalled by a ridiculous G or because we had a key injury(s) not because the team seemed to shrink when the going got tough.

The freshmen aren't all 18 years old...they have probably played in more hockey tournaments in their young lives than players used to play in a lifetime. These kids don't need to learn how to give effort...they wouldn't be at BU if their mo was to wilt when things get tough. They have been playing hockey year round for maybe 10+ years, against the same players they are seeing now and supposedly are better than most of their peers.

My biggest expectation would have been seeing some fight, seeing some 'refuse to lose', seeing an increase in continuity and playmaking as the year went on...we did beat a few decent teams early in the year...my expectation wouldn't have been that besides UNH we wouldn't beat a 'good' team after the new year.

To be really cliche, terriers are small but supposed to be feisty and willing to engage enemies much larger and stronger and fight to the death...there weren't many terrier moments this year. With a young squad, that would have been one thing I would have expected they would develop even if their game was still a year or two away.

BU Hockey 2010-2011: Less Than The Sum Of The Parts

 

[mookie1995]

A question for everyone... (Particularly to those who want to show Jack the door)...

Back in September, what were your expectations for this years team?

Win 21-25 games
Make the garden for he tournament
Make the NCAA tournament-win at least one game

Didn't expect them to win national title. That's bc's this year.

 

[northeastern]

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

Go back and read all the NU fans saying Cronin was an idiot if he didn't start Witt last night..

No one at NU said that about Cronin.. but they sure may have said that about you.

Are your posts part of your recovery program.. where you admit in public that you're a dope?


ps BU: Parker is an uber competitor.. few left like him. He will bounce back & if he were to step down, it would be on his terms & time. Your AD knows that. He was & is a very smart man.

 

[Friend_of_BU_Hockey]

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

A question for everyone... (Particularly to those who want to show Jack the door)...

Back in September, what were your expectations for this years team?

Very fair question to ask...

My expectations were for this team to come out and compete much harder than last year's (more talented) team did. By doing so, I thought they would probably be able to:

1. Win the Beanpot
2. Earn home ice in the HE Quarterfinals
3. Advance to the Garden for HE
4. Earn either an automatic or at-large berth for NCAAs
5. Finish with 20+ wins.

It appears they will have only accomplished #2 above. I was most disappointed by the inconsistent level of effort and competitiveness as the season progressed. I thought this would be a fun and exciting team to watch, a team that could potentially be proficient offensively yet leaky defensively. I was really impressed with the level of competitiveness from the Ice Breaker thru the home game vs. UNH the weekend before Thanksgiving. However, from that point forward, I don't think they put together more than 3 consecutive games where the effort/competitiveness was as high as it needed to be.

I am still convinced that the BC series in December inflicted major damage to this team's psyche. I don't think they ever fully recovered from that series. That series also exposed the flaws in the defensive system that the coaching staff implemented this season; I don't think the team as a whole made the necessary adjustments to correct those flaws.

Another way to think of this season is that take away the 6-0-1 start in October and they're pretty much a .500 team (13-12-7). Even the 6-0-1 start could've been much different if it wasn't for the come from behind wins @ the Ice Breaker, vs. UMASS on the road, and vs. Lowell @ home.

 

[slurpees]

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

I am still convinced that the BC series in December inflicted major damage to this team's psyche. I don't think they ever fully recovered from that series. That series also exposed the flaws in the defensive system that the coaching staff implemented this season; I don't think the team as a whole made the necessary adjustments to correct those flaws.

Another way to think of this season is that take away the 6-0-1 start in October and they're pretty much a .500 team (13-12-7). Even the 6-0-1 start could've been much different if it wasn't for the come from behind wins @ the Ice Breaker, vs. UMASS on the road, and vs. Lowell @ home.

Very much agreed on the BC series, that took all of the wind out of their sails.

You can also look at the Harvard Beanpot game, the 3-3 UVM tie, and the ND tie in Chicago as the flip of the "if it wasn't for this..." argument, so it's basically even on both sides of that coin. Their record is what it is.

 

[Sam Adams]

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

I doubt the administration would act to force him out even if they thought it was time for him to go. They aren't going to force him out after a season where he's coached his youngest team ever. So if we suck again next year, then they might think it's time for him to go. But I'm sure he's got a pretty huge buyout so unless he's willing to step out on his own, then why would they pay that buyout which could be two or three times his yearly salary when his contract is up after the 2015 season anyway? The way I see it, he'll either retire on his own or leave in 2015 when his contract is up.

Exactly who in administration is going to try to force him out? Lynch as Athletic Director is lower on the totem pole than Parker (Executive Director of Athletics).

 

[jcarter7669]

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

This is the same guy who won a NC 2 years ago and also has run an arguably top-5 and inarguably top-10 program in the NCAA over the past decade, right?

Ummm, they aren't a top 10 program this year or last year.........just for accuaracy's sake.

So, require Parker to bring in a few new coaches with skills where JP has weaknesses,

Sanity?

 

[Friend_of_BU_Hockey]

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

Very much agreed on the BC series, that took all of the wind out of their sails.

You can also look at the Harvard Beanpot game, the 3-3 UVM tie, and the ND tie in Chicago as the flip of the "if it wasn't for this..." argument, so it's basically even on both sides of that coin. Their record is what it is.

There are so many "what ifs?" with this season's team. 18 games decided by one goal (BU went 12-6 in those games). 8 ties. That's 2/3rds of their games that could've gone either way. They walked a very fine line between sub-.500 vs. being very good.

 

[Jofa]

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

Exactly who in administration is going to try to force him out? Lynch as Athletic Director is lower on the totem pole than Parker (Executive Director of Athletics).

President or influential donors. Other then Parker detractors on this Board, its your basic Emperor with no Clothes scenario where everyones thinking it but afraid to say it. I was thrilled when Dennis Wolff was finally given the gate last year as his situation was looking like it was developing the same as we see with Parker but on a much smaller scale of course. Chambers coming in brought new energy and year 1 the AE Finals and CBI semi final and this year AE title and NCAA berth. Just sayin.

 

[Tater]

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

Exactly who in administration is going to try to force him out? Lynch as Athletic Director is lower on the totem pole than Parker (Executive Director of Athletics).

I don't think that is true. Lynch also has a title as Assistant VP and is listed above Parker in the Athletic Department listings. With the "executive" title it does seem to me a little ambiguous but I think Lynch is higher.

From the bios on the website:

"Terrier Athletics continues to reach new heights under the leadership of Assistant Vice President and Director of Athletics Michael P. Lynch, who enters his seventh year as the head of the department."


"Parker, who serves as the chief strategist, advocate, and spokesman for varsity athletics at Boston University, also works closely with Assistant Vice President and Director of Athletics Mike Lynch in the strategic issues involving the athletic department. "

 

[Jofa]

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

Ummm, they aren't a top 10 program this year or last year.........just for accuaracy's sake.

Or 3 years ago for that matter but who wants to get caught up in the facts.

 

[slurpees]

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

There are so many "what ifs?" with this season's team. 18 games decided by one goal (BU went 12-6 in those games). 8 ties. That's 2/3rds of their games that could've gone either way. They walked a very fine line between sub-.500 vs. being very good.

Which actually points out that in close games, they weren't all that bad. For a young team, that's more of a positive than it is a negative, despite some of those games being against low-level competiton.

Ummm, they aren't a top 10 program this year or last year.........just for accuaracy's sake.

And if you reread what you quoted, you'll notice he said top 10 program over the past decade, not the last two seasons. Then if you take a look at the "Greatest Programs of the Decade" thread from the end of last season, you'll notice that BU was ranked something like 7th. This year certainly didn't help to improve that much, but some of the other top 10 teams around them, namely Wisconsin and Minnesota, had worse seasons this year than BU, so that #7 number likely would not shift by more than one slot, if at all, thus making his original point correct.

 

[Tater]

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

Ummm, they aren't a top 10 program this year or last year.........just for accuaracy's sake.




Sanity?

While we are legitimately discussing whether Parker should continue to be the head coach at BU, fact is you guys would kill to have a guy like him and his current success at UVM. So keep the idiotic (Sanity?) comments to the UVM thread.

 

[jcarter7669]

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

While we are legitimately discussing whether Parker should continue to be the head coach at BU, fact is you guys would kill to have a guy like him and his current success at UVM. So keep the idiotic (Sanity?) comments to the UVM thread.

If I had the choice of Sneddon or Parker (currently) I'm fine with Sneddon. Maybe a decade ago then I would choose Parker, but the old man is showing signs of dementia. Seriously. BTW, because my opinion doesn't align with yours hardly makes it idiotic. Only an idiot would believe they are always right. Idiot.

 

[mookie1995]

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

J-bone has issues with numbers.....

"decade = last two years"
"bu = 20th place in the league"

 

[slurpees]

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

President or influential donors. Other then Parker detractors on this Board, its your basic Emperor with no Clothes scenario where everyones thinking it but afraid to say it. I was thrilled when Dennis Wolff was finally given the gate last year as his situation was looking like it was developing the same as we see with Parker but on a much smaller scale of course. Chambers coming in brought new energy and year 1 the AE Finals and CBI semi final and this year AE title and NCAA berth. Just sayin.

Dennis Wolff and Parker are in different realms, and are in no way comparable. Wolff had the problem of running a woefully boring system that few in attendance could sit through. You think our PP is tough to watch, try sitting through a Dennis Wolff peach basket slow down game. He recruited players who ended up transferring to other schools, some to play OTHER SPORTS, the obvious implication being Wolff either recruited a guy who wasn't sure he even wanted to play basketball or Wolff took away that guy's desire to play basketball. While Parker has thrown a couple of guys off the team in recent years, Wolff had something like seven guys transfer in his last three seasons. For a basketball team, that's a HUGE loss in numbers. From what I've heard, mostly rumors, Wolff didn't exactly get along with everyone he interacted with, and there were stories of players strongly disliking him, namely those who transferred. And finally, he produced NO results, at all. You can gripe about some of the marginal seasons Parker has had, but there's no denying that he has produced results throughout his career, including the last decade. Wolff's teams were picked to win America East nearly every season while I was a student at BU, and they never won it once, and I don't believe they ever advanced to the America East championship game once while I was there. He was a somewhat disliked, underachieving coach in a bad basketball conference, whose players consistently transferred out of the program, some to play other sports. BU either dominates or is at the top of America East in almost every sport except for men's basketball, and that is the sole reason why they are still a member of America East. Parker competes against the best of the best in his sport and produced top shelf results, with some marginal to medicore results thrown in. Wolff competes against the worst of the worst in his sport, and produced marginal results at best. No comparison between the two whatsoever.

 

[jcarter7669]

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

J-bone has issues with numbers.....

"decade = last two years"
"bu = 20th place in the league"

Tell me where I went wrong oh great math guru....

'02 Quarter FInals = top 10
'03 Regional Finals = top 10
'04 NO NCAA = < Top 10
'05 First RD loss in Regionals = < Top 10
'06 Regional Finals = Top 10
'07 First RD loss in Regionals = < Top 10
'08 NO NCAA = < Top 10
'09 National Champions (congrats) = #1
'10 NO NCAA = < Top 10
'11 NO NCAA = < Top 10

By my count half the time BU is a top 10 team, half the time they aren't. What should be more disturbing for BU fans is the recent trend... First half of the last decade BU made the regionals 4 of 5 years.... last 5 years BU hasn't made the tourney over half the time. As Parker gets older and more erratic teams are less and less sucessful.

 

[slurpees]

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

Tell me where I went wrong oh great math guru....

'02 Quarter FInals = top 10
'03 Regional Finals = top 10
'04 NO NCAA = < Top 10
'05 First RD loss in Regionals = < Top 10
'06 Regional Finals = Top 10
'07 First RD loss in Regionals = < Top 10
'08 NO NCAA = < Top 10
'09 National Champions (congrats) = #1
'10 NO NCAA = < Top 10
'11 NO NCAA = < Top 10

By my count half the time BU is a top 10 team, half the time they aren't. What should be more disturbing for BU fans is the recent trend... First half of the last decade BU made the regionals 4 of 5 years.... last 5 years BU hasn't made the tourney over half the time. As Parker gets older and more erratic teams are less and less sucessful.

1. BU is not eliminated this season, and the path to an at-large birth in the NCAA tournament, while more unlikely than likely, does not require ridiculous things to happen like Bemidji State running the table, or Colgate winning the ECAC. We need mostly chalk with a few tweaks to have a shot.

2. More importantly, ask FightingSioux23 how he took the same set of data you presented, subbing 2001 for 2011, and came to the conclusion using a complex mathematical formula accepted as representative of true success that BU was ranked #7 in terms of program success over that period of time.

 

[mpereira]

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

No one at NU said that about Cronin.. but they sure may have said that about you.

Are your posts part of your recovery program.. where you admit in public that you're a dope?


ps BU: Parker is an uber competitor.. few left like him. He will bounce back & if he were to step down, it would be on his terms & time. Your AD knows that. He was & is a very smart man.

hahaha you have got to be kidding me. Your whole thread was filled with start Witt posts and now your fans just go act like Rawlings is the savior again. Yeah yeah im an dumb fanboy but don't come out and blame me for what your own fans said.

1.nufan2001- "Well here is to hoping Witt starts tonight"
FL- According to the line chart we got, its Rawlings
nufan2001- God *****

2. Skinsfan2009 -"Three Keys for NU

1. Senior Top Line playing like it' could be the end

2. Goalie Play (please Witt)

3. Discipline "

3. smalogna -"Witt needs to start tomorrow night. It has turned into a mental thing for Rawlings. He just can't come up big in the big game and with this game being arguably the biggest of his career (yes a HE playoff game 3 @ BU is bigger than the Beanpot final earlier this year) you need to sit him. Both teams are tired hitting the end of their seasons and it's gonna come down to who has the mental fortitude and toughness to find the will to win. "

4. PPGuru- "Would BU have gotten out to the lead without Rawling's perfromance? Doubtful. I think a hard decision must be made to start Witt. I don't think you can start Rawlings, even with a short leash, and chance giving BU a lead that NU won't be able to recover from. "

5.NUkid - "Rawlings is just extremely inconsistent. He will have a 40 save game then the next night let up 3 goals on 6 shots so you never know who turns up. I think Witt deserves to start after how well he played in his last 2 appearances but Rawlings is much more experienced. It would also be strange to bench your #1 goalie all year when your season is on the line. Its a tough decision and I wouldn't be surprised either way but I think Rawlings at least gets the start. "

6. "I hate to agree with RossiRules, but it appears that Rawlings cannot handle the big games. I'm just thankful that the coaching staff was smart enough to pull him after giving up three goals on six shots as opposed to the Beanpot when they left him in after giving up six goals. At some point you just have to say that it is not the kid's night and give the backup a chance. "

7. "If Rawlings starts, kiss this series goodbye for NU. "

All posted by NU fans and there are even more but I figure you get my point by now. Your own fan base has no faith in your own goalie. He played a hell of a game until the two late goals where it was obviously because you had a three goal lead. Maybe they didn't call him an idiot exactly but when you question his decision-making that much if he starts Rawlings it isn't exactly a compliment of his coaching.

 

[chickod]

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

1. BU is not eliminated this season...

Can we PLEASE stop with this ridiculous delusional attitude that "they can still make the tournament?" "Let's see now, if this happens and this happens and this happens and the stock market climbs 9000 points we can get in at #15..." Before the Northeastern series it was "If they sweep." When they lost the first game, it was "If they go 2-1 and then win in the HE tournament." When they lost the series it was, "But we're not out of it yet." GET OVER IT already. They had 39 games to get to the postseason. Their goal differential was PLUS 4. BC's was PLUS 60. UNH's was PLUS 39. I'm not intimating anything about Jack's future, but can we make an objective assessment that it was not a good year, or at least one that did not meet expectations and leave it at that? With a slew of young players coming back, they should be better next year.