Sorry dover, but it's clear you're opinion is either biased or you're not paying attention. First of all, I have a hard time giving credit to the coaching staff for 'committing' players who don't show up to school. Part of the recruiting process is understanding what your school's admission standards are when you're recruiting. I can't believe that the new admission's director didn't make those standards clear when he was hired (standards, which I personally agree seem far to stringent and have hurt the program ). The coaching staff needs to recruit based on the standards in place. When recruit after recruit is passed over by admissions an adjustment needs to be made and it hasn't been.
I coach and coordinate recruiting for a DI sport at an academic university. I could recruit a full team of elite prospects who don't make the admissions cut - but what good would that do me?
Are you following the program? The last season Coach McCloskey was here the forward group consisted of Haydar, C. Hemingway, Collins, Gare, Busch, Prudden, Saviano, Abbott, Caron, Calendar, Martz, Aiken. The current group is Moses, Sorkin, Goumas, Downing, Henrion, Block, Thrush, Burke, Borisenok, Speelman, McCarey, Silengo, Camper, Pavelski. What rosters are you looking at?
Last year's roster with Thompson, Sislo and DeSimone is still nowhere near as talented as the 2001-02 team. You may not miss the rosters that had THREE scoring lines and a young, talented line paying its dues defensively - but I do! Moses, Sorkin and Goumas is a THIRD line on those teams.
I hope the coaching staff doesn't make these excuses. UNH hardly plays in a barn - the Whitt is a great arena and certainly remains as one of the best facilities in college hockey. If UNH coaches can't recruit competitively based on the condition of the Whittemore Center than they should all be fired immediately...
When early recruiting the onus falls on the coaching staff to make projections. Clearly, if this is the UNH coaching staffs opinion on Vecchione's development than they failed miserable with their projections. Vecchione was not even recruited that early - he committed as a HS senior. If UNH commits Vecchione and tells him to play one year in the USHL, I'd imagine they projected him to be ready by that point. If they didn't they should have asked him to play two years immediately. At best this shows poor projection of skills by Borek and the staff.
Saviano came in a year earlier than I imagine they would have liked. He played 16 games and scored 1-1--2. He followed that up with 27, 39 and 49 point seasons. Vecchione would have been talented enough to play next season and the development curve would have been good for him down the road. Consider it playing up in age group - play older kids, better players and you'll develop faster. But I guess they'd rather hold those 4th line spots for the Pavelski's or the world...
Bottom line is you can only fairly judge Borek and the staff for the players that get to campus. I don't care who they 'commit' if they never play for UNH. Learn the landscape, understand the hurdles your university and program present and bust your ***** to get the best players you possibly can. Unfortunately for UNH, somewhere in that process there is a major disconnect.
You can deny it all you want - but when kids are constantly being deferred, denied admissions, decommitting for other schools/major junior/BCHL or being kicked off the team (Dries) are they really doing their job as recruiters?
Finally, I give Borek and the staff ZERO CREDIT for replacing talented recruits that got away with players who lack talent and upside simply to fill roster space. If you don't think a player can compete at this level - you shouldn't bring them in, period. For years, BC would play with limited roster size - I can only assume that was because they felt they'd rather carry a smaller roster than offer scholarship money and roster spots to players they didn't believe in. Maybe less desperate grabs to use money and roster space would have opened up room for Vecchione, etc.
I'll stand by my opinion that modern recruiting has passed this staff by. Changes need to be made - certainly in method and potentially in personnel. It's simply necessary to sustain the recent success of the program. Umile ignored more pressing issues when he hired Torterella over a younger assistant with the energy, passion and ability to relate to young players that is necessary to recruit today.
Personally, I'd love to trade assistant coaching staffs with Brown when they make the trip up to Durham. That would be the same Brown staff who recruited the current leading scorer in the USHL (as a '93). I wonder if he'd be admitted to UNH...
