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Post by Tony on Jan 17, 2015 5:52:44 GMT -5
And Jimmy currently stands 26-28. Injuries this year have seriously derailed us. No question on that, and jimmy inherited a roster in shambles, no question about that. However its clear we have some serious problems- what can be done ( and please save fire Jimmy he has 4 years left on contract in a word it’s not going to happen)
Way I see it, Jimmy’s staff is clearly over their head here at Siena. They are all relatively inexperienced with almost all their experience at Loyola (with exception of Lucious and his 1 year as DBO under Brady )Way too Baltimore centered, I have no problem with Baltimore kids, however very difficult to recruit so heavily in Baltimore area – it’s just too far to go down on a Tuesday afternoon watch a recruit and come back same night. If you don’t see a recruit enough easy to make mistakes It’s too far for most kids to come into TUC for unofficial visit (seldom see recruits at TUC anymore) and unless you can get a kid into TUC, Siena isn’t much different than a boatload of other low major programs. Recruiting mistakes have been made, I have no problem with taking an occasional risky kid, but the Cole situation didn’t work out well. We are in need of talent and Jimmy recruits basically a D2 player offering him a 3 year scholarship? I don’t see the Siena staff out recruiting as often as they should be, and I seldom see Siena linked to top mid major recruits. So first thing that has to be done is clean house of Assistants- get a guy in with jersey/Philly/NYC ties maybe a guy plugged into New England prep ranks. The life blood of any program is the recruits, and Jimmy and his staff just aren’t getting it done consistently enough
OK let’s hear it—what can be done( and please keep it positive- Jimmy isn’t going anywhere soon)
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2015 6:06:43 GMT -5
I'm sure this isn't what Robbie and Evan had in mind for their last season..... There is only one thing to be done......recruit a couple studs. Given your scenario there is no other option.
And the experiment continues.
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Post by Tony on Jan 17, 2015 6:14:13 GMT -5
In my mind, there should be no automatic contract extension of any kind. The asst coaches needs to be diversified – Jimmy has to be counseled as far as what is expected at Siena as far as scheduling and recruiting goes
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SIENA1971
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Post by SIENA1971 on Jan 17, 2015 6:39:42 GMT -5
Women's program had a shake up w assistants this year and seems to have made a difference ... Recent recruits have come from NYC, Jersey, PA and upstate NY ... Next two signees for men's program will point to the future direction of the program ... Siena has the TUC, a large fan base, nearby airport w Southwest Airlines, reputable business school ... It shouldn't be a hard sell
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2015 6:40:32 GMT -5
I know you want this to be a positive thread with suggestions for how we go forward. Recruiting is clearly a need and has been an issue. I'll risk mentioning a couple of other "elephants in the room" that haven't been discussed. Both, IMO, are related. Put yourself in the position of being a kid's parent (usually mom) and watching Jimmy "coach" a few games live (you won't see the real coach by watching a game video), making a visit and watching a hard practice. Then get in a conversation to evaluate his style, etc. How many moms do you think came away saying "Thanks, but no thanks!" The second element is player retention - getting buy in to what the coach laid out during the wooing and dating process. We had a stud in Michael Wolfe, IMHO but couldn't mold him into what Jimmy wanted. Cole was here for a year and whatever became his downfall this year was either never recognized or never fully addressed. Cam may be a good practice horse but the "deal" may come back to burn Jimmy if his dad spreads the word on failed promises. I understand the recruiting needs but don't see it getting fixed now - I doubt we hack the staff now and get recruiters in ASAP. I see us with the same problems this time next year. I sincerely hope I am wrong but right now that's our reality.
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Post by Tony on Jan 17, 2015 7:05:25 GMT -5
I have my doubts the AD will counsel Jimmy on what needs to be done. But I guess I am an eternal optimist. After 3 years of Mitch and now this year- and to be fair the injuries have killed us, but they have revealed a much deeper problem ( talent in the program) I don’t share your feelings on Wofle, I don’t think he was ever going to be a good player, just no motor, hard to ‘fix” that. Wolfe was a mistake, as was White, Cole Paige, Gottfried – just too many swings and misses for my taste- that’s why Staff needs a serious shake up. But has been often said the program is at a tipping point, after 3 years of Mitch and now this year, if Jimmy can’t land a few impact players – the program will start the long slide into oblivion. Even a diehard fan such as myself will reevaluate my commitment to Siena basketball, both from a financial ( I pay 1500 bucks for my tickets) and emotionally vested POV. Hard for me to justify paying 1500 for tickets when the head coach says Siena is no different than Albany or Vermont, when our schedule is “low” major and we recruit on that level. As bleak as that sounds, if Jimmy is able to land a few athletic impact players’ things can turn around in a hurry
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2015 7:11:15 GMT -5
While I understand White and Oliver have struggled, they proved they could play at this level last year. When does their regression start to reflect on the staff as well? We need an assistant to recruit, we also need one for player development.
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Post by Tony on Jan 17, 2015 7:35:07 GMT -5
While I don’t necessarily disagree with you Luca- I’m not so sure how much White proved last year shooting 7 percent from 3 – he is currently shooting 14% from the field for the year. I don’t think Jimmy is for everyone and for whatever reason Mo struggles playing for Jimmy, I actually like Mo but it hasn’t worked out for him at Siena so far
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2015 7:48:14 GMT -5
While I don’t necessarily disagree with you Luca- I’m not so sure how much White proved last year shooting 7 percent from 3 – he is currently shooting 14% from the field for the year. I don’t think Jimmy is for everyone and for whatever reason Mo struggles playing for Jimmy, I actually like Mo but it hasn’t worked out for him at Siena so far I used White and Oliver as examples because they take the most heat. And White's 3 point shooting was his only major drawback last year. But on the entire team, who can we say has truly improved from last year? Wright. Maybe Long. Everyone else is stagnant or regressing. I'd understand if players from the previous regime had problems playing for Jimmy, but he's had more issues with his own recruits.
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Post by Tony on Jan 17, 2015 8:01:37 GMT -5
While I don’t necessarily disagree with you Luca- I’m not so sure how much White proved last year shooting 7 percent from 3 – he is currently shooting 14% from the field for the year. I don’t think Jimmy is for everyone and for whatever reason Mo struggles playing for Jimmy, I actually like Mo but it hasn’t worked out for him at Siena so far I used White and Oliver as examples because they take the most heat. And White's 3 point shooting was his only major drawback last year. But on the entire team, who can we say has truly improved from last year? Wright. Maybe Long. Everyone else is stagnant or regressing. I'd understand if players from the previous regime had problems playing for Jimmy, but he's had more issues with his own recruits. What about JO- he is not only the most improved player on Siena, he is one of the most improved players in MAAC. Again I'm not saying its not an issue at all, my biggest beef is recruiting, he has been here two years, Wolfe, White, Cole, Paige and Gottfried have been recruiting mistakes- that's an awful lot of swing and misses- we cant fire Jimmy but we can fire his staff!!!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2015 8:12:27 GMT -5
I'm not sure JO improved so much as got healthy and is getting more opportunity (and I'm the biggest local player homer here). And, yes, I agreed the staff needs a shake up, for 2 reasons, not just recruiting. But Jimmy has to let the staff do their job, too. We all know Mitch didn't.
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Post by Tony on Jan 17, 2015 8:23:20 GMT -5
I'm not sure JO improved so much as got healthy and is getting more opportunity (and I'm the biggest local player homer here). And, yes, I agreed the staff needs a shake up, for 2 reasons, not just recruiting. But Jimmy has to let the staff do their job, too. We all know Mitch didn't. Gotcha now you want to pick and choose who improved to fit your agenda
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Post by gosaints on Jan 17, 2015 8:32:28 GMT -5
Jimmy needs to adjust his coaching style and learn to recruit at a higher level. Mispractice hit the nail on the head. Jimmys constant yelling at his players is getting, no has gotten old. It doesn't suprise me at all that some of the players shut him out during the timeouts because instead of "coaching" he's chastizing! and yes if I was a parent of a prospect and I saw Jimmy in action during a game I'd be encouraging my son to look elswhere. OK, its only been two years but Jimmy's recuriting is suspect. Year one he gets JO (really Mitch recruited him) Wright, White, Wolfe and Long. Two out of five are a bust. Year two he gets WB, Paige and Gottfried? He has WB and Paige so afraid of making a mistake they are regressing instead of progressing! Giving him the benefit of the doubt I'm giving him a 1 1/2 out of three in recruitng year two. He also needs to get his head out of B'More and also look elswhere, maybe in his own backyard for starters. I've seen Stire play a couple of times and he's ahead of Sienas freshman recruits hands down. I'm not saying Stire would have been an answer but he has to give some of these Section two kids a look. If he misses the boat in recruiting this year (we need at least two impact players/scorers) the end of his coaching tenure at Siena can't come soon enough for me. Expectations, Jimmy needs to be raising them not lowering them. This is Siena not Loyola. The fanbase expects a contender not a pretender. He has more money and resources to work with than any other MAAC coach so these "expectations" are are not unrealistic.
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SIENA1971
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Post by SIENA1971 on Jan 17, 2015 8:40:07 GMT -5
Jimmy will get his third year . . . after that the jury is out . . . Siena needs a better then decent basketball program to fill the classrooms . . . after each NCAA appearance applications went up from the previous year . . . administration will take the necessary steps . . . NOTE: Siena did not fill its' freshman class this year - a byproduct of the Mitch era
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2015 8:45:43 GMT -5
30 hrs from now we get to do this all over again!
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