This article is just as ridiculous as most of the other media coverage of Duquesne basketball. After 5 years I am so tired of this "firing Ron Everhart was a huge mistake & injustice" crap from both board posters & sports columists. 

Yep, RE did a great job resurrecting a moribund program & handling the shooting. He should be (and is) commended & lauded for these accomplishments.

Yep, the administration  showed incompetence, lack of professionalism, & zero Christian charity in the WAY he was fired. However, the quoted portion of the leaked memo is 100% true.

“[Everhart] has stalled at a modest plateau with our program,” “It is clear that we will not be capable of moving to the next level of excellence with Ron at the helm. By next level, I mean annual contention for the top of the A-10 conference, regular appearances in the NIT and periodic appearances in the NCAA tournaments.”

His teams absolutely sucked the last third of his final 3 seasons & he had no talent or viable recruiting class going into year 7. Many on this board noted the constant lack of an offensive game plan & the fact that his teams quit on him in 2 of the 3 final seasons. RE wasn't a season away from an NCAA bid he was, at a minimum, another 3 seasons away.

In 18 years as a Division I coach he produced zero NCAA appearances, 2 NIT appearances, 1 tie for  a conference regular season title, a .511 overall winning percentage, & a .479 conference winning percentage. I ask you, if DU announced the hiring  of a guy with these credentials this afternoon; would you be supportive?

Hiring RE was a good decision. Hiring Ferry was a huge mistake. Firing RE was another correct decision.  There was absolutely no indication that by year 8 he would even produce a second NIT bid.

RE seems to be a great guy but was a mediocre coach & is likely to always be a mediocre coach. That isn't good enough for me.

 

phil95 wrote:

 RE wasn't a season away from an NCAA bid he was, at a minimum, another 3 seasons away.

Firing RE was another correct decision.

RE seems to be a great guy but was a mediocre coach & is likely to always be a mediocre coach. That isn't good enough for me.

 

This makes no sense.  Don't get me wrong, you are certainly entitled to your opinion.  First you say Ron was three seasons away from getting DU to the NCAA, then you say firing him was the right decision. I agree it was going to be a few more years to get to the NCAA, however, you having said that makes no sense that anyone would fire the guy. Firing Ron in my opinion was a personal issue between him and the jagoff AD. So what happens, DU fired Ron (a guy who did what nobody, I mean nobody in the last 40 years has done in having 5 consecutive no losing seasons) and hires the "next level" who takes us to the A10 basement. 


 

It makes perfect sense. to can a guy that would take 9 years to POTENTIALLY get to an NCAA tournament & has no career history to suggest he could do better.

I'll ask again. Would you be happy if today DU hired somebody with Ron's resume & a promise to get an NCAA bid in 9 years? 

CLK wrote:

phil95 wrote:

 RE wasn't a season away from an NCAA bid he was, at a minimum, another 3 seasons away.

Firing RE was another correct decision.

RE seems to be a great guy but was a mediocre coach & is likely to always be a mediocre coach. That isn't good enough for me.

 

This makes no sense.  Don't get me wrong, you are certainly entitled to your opinion.  First you say Ron was three seasons away from getting DU to the NCAA, then you say firing him was the right decision. I agree it was going to be a few more years to get to the NCAA, however, you having said that makes no sense that anyone would fire the guy. Firing Ron in my opinion was a personal issue between him and the jagoff AD. So what happens, DU fired Ron (a guy who did what nobody, I mean nobody in the last 40 years has done in having 5 consecutive no losing seasons) and hires the "next level" who takes us to the A10 basement. 


 

Tired of this process. Tired of anyone having to defend RE and the job he did here given the circumstances. As I said in another post, If he had the support Ferry had, he would still be here! Let's make the best hire that we can and hope that we catch lightning in a bottle. It appears that is what it's going to take. We are truly reaping the "rewards" of a miserable and incompetent program for most of the last 40 years. Really bummed by it all!

At this point I'm just tired of this debate/discussion.  


Hakuna Matata.  Put the past behind ya.

NapaDuke wrote:

phil95 wrote:

This article is just as ridiculous as most of the other media coverage of Duquesne basketball. After 5 years I am so tired of this "firing Ron Everhart was a huge mistake & injustice" crap from both board posters & sports columists. 

Yep, RE did a great job resurrecting a moribund program & handling the shooting. He should be (and is) commended & lauded for these accomplishments.

Yep, the administration  showed incompetence, lack of professionalism, & zero Christian charity in the WAY he was fired. However, the quoted portion of the leaked memo is 100% true.

“[Everhart] has stalled at a modest plateau with our program,” “It is clear that we will not be capable of moving to the next level of excellence with Ron at the helm. By next level, I mean annual contention for the top of the A-10 conference, regular appearances in the NIT and periodic appearances in the NCAA tournaments.”

His teams absolutely sucked the last third of his final 3 seasons & he had no talent or viable recruiting class going into year 7. Many on this board noted the constant lack of an offensive game plan & the fact that his teams quit on him in 2 of the 3 final seasons. RE wasn't a season away from an NCAA bid he was, at a minimum, another 3 seasons away.

In 18 years as a Division I coach he produced zero NCAA appearances, 2 NIT appearances, 1 tie for  a conference regular season title, a .511 overall winning percentage, & a .479 conference winning percentage. I ask you, if DU announced the hiring  of a guy with these credentials this afternoon; would you be supportive?

Hiring RE was a good decision. Hiring Ferry was a huge mistake. Firing RE was another correct decision.  There was absolutely no indication that by year 8 he would even produce a second NIT bid.

RE seems to be a great guy but was a mediocre coach & is likely to always be a mediocre coach. That isn't good enough for me.

 

Ron obviously knew how to win here where seemingly no one else has?  Ferry was a dud from the start.  Let's hope that this search doesn't pull in an other dud.  Firing Ron is the biggest reason it's going to be hard to hire someone here after Ferry crashed and burned.  Thinking Everhart stalled is delusional,  his recruiting ability and his aggressive style of play were going to assure a consistent level of winning in the A10 for Duquesne when no one else has since the early 70's  . He was voted Coach of the year by his fellow Coaches just the year before Duquesne  canned him?  I was a season ticket holder those years and RE sold out the Polumbo  quit a few times. Now it's just plain empty at games? RE  beat a ranked Xavier and later a ranked Temple team  and an A-10 final.  Think we are just going to throw out big bucks and some Big Time Coach is going to wonder in here now?  It's not Ferry's firing, it's Ron's firing that's going to keep coaches thinking twice about a school that fires a  coach for winning when no on else could? .  No matter who gets hired,  it's going to be a long, long road to get DU from the bottom back to Ron's level, and as quick as Ron did.       

Agree on all points stated + RE won his OCC schedule & players developed.

On the margin - if you are a potential candidate today - do you accept an additional $250-400k annually & risk an outcome like RE & maybe never HC again?

Due to past Admin transgressions - this Admin is going to have to take an equal risk on a coach as the coach is on us ... until behavior proves otherwise.

NapaDuke wrote:

Box & One wrote:

NapaDuke wrote:

Ron obviously knew how to win here where seemingly no one else has?  Ferry was a dud from the start.  Let's hope that this search doesn't pull in an other dud.  Firing Ron is the biggest reason it's going to be hard to hire someone here after Ferry crashed and burned.  Thinking Everhart stalled is delusional,  his recruiting ability and his aggressive style of play were going to assure a consistent level of winning in the A10 for Duquesne when no one else has since the early 70's  . He was voted Coach of the year by his fellow Coaches just the year before Duquesne  canned him?  I was a season ticket holder those years and RE sold out the Polumbo  quit a few times. Now it's just plain empty at games? RE  beat a ranked Xavier and later a ranked Temple team  and an A-10 final.  Think we are just going to throw out big bucks and some Big Time Coach is going to wonder in here now?  It's not Ferry's firing, it's Ron's firing that's going to keep coaches thinking twice about a school that fires a  coach for winning when no on else could? .  No matter who gets hired,  it's going to be a long, long road to get DU from the bottom back to Ron's level, and as quick as Ron did.       

Agree on all points stated + RE won his OCC schedule & players developed.

On the margin - if you are a potential candidate today - do you accept an additional $250-400k annually & risk an outcome like RE & maybe never HC again?

Due to past Admin transgressions - this Admin is going to have to take an equal risk on a coach as the coach is on us ... until behavior proves otherwise.

It's not an easy search, for sure.  And by the way, RE didn't only win  his OCC games but put together an impressive streak in the A-10 the year before getting fired. (8-0 start in conf ) 

yeah and I remember Ron winning an OOC game at Boston College with only eight players dressed!  Ferry could have scheduled Steelton Highspire and improved his OOC RPI!
 

phil95 wrote:

RE is/was a confirmed rebuild specialist & a fine man. He didn't suck at all. He just wasn't good enough.

-18 years as a head coach & zero NCAA appearances. 12 of those years were in crap conferences & his career conference winning percentage is below .500.  
-3-20 win seasons out of 18
-At DU he did worse than stall; he peaked & then regressed.
-His final 3 teams imploded after February 1st. (Even the one with Saunders & Clarke as seniors)
-On the day he was fired there was no hope to be derived from the existing roster or his recruiting class. 
-There is not one poster on this board that would be happy if today the school hired a guy with this resume.

The disaster that was Ferry does not make the above facts irrelevant. There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that Ron could/can make any program a perennial 20 game winner with regular trips to the NIT & occasional trips to the Big Dance. Six years ws long enough to prove that 
 

​Are you really Web posting under a different alias? If you're tired of hearing that Ron Everhart did enough to earn a chance to save his job, maybe you should stop reading the Board.

phil95 wrote:

RE is/was a confirmed rebuild specialist & a fine man. He didn't suck at all. He just wasn't good enough.

-18 years as a head coach & zero NCAA appearances. 12 of those years were in crap conferences & his career conference winning percentage is below .500.  
-3-20 win seasons out of 18
-At DU he did worse than stall; he peaked & then regressed.
-His final 3 teams imploded after February 1st. (Even the one with Saunders & Clarke as seniors)
-On the day he was fired there was no hope to be derived from the existing roster or his recruiting class. 
-There is not one poster on this board that would be happy if today the school hired a guy with this resume.

The disaster that was Ferry does not make the above facts irrelevant. There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that Ron could/can make any program a perennial 20 game winner with regular trips to the NIT & occasional trips to the Big Dance. Six years ws long enough to prove that 
 

I think you miss two things:

1. Ron won with the talent that he had. Yes, the roster took a hit with the departure of TJ, but we as a group of board posters keep making assumptions about recruits that can't be verified. What if Ron brought in just enough talent to keep the ship steady that year, and put together a strong class the following year? That is at least as possible as what you suggest, whether or not you agree. But even if that weren't the case, then if Ron did bomb that year and prospects weren't looking good, then most or all of the fan base would have agreed with the idea of letting him go. What's the difference? A better candidate might have viewed the Duquesne situation differently. The way it was handled, from firing a guy with a winning record to the mess that Amodio created further tarnished a program that didn't have such a great reputation to begin with.

2. With some actual support from his boss and a higher level of commitment from the university, Ron might have succeeded in getting the program to the NCAA Tournament. He was already one game away once. Getting back to that point is not easy, but not impossible. Winning the A10 tournament would have broken the ice. That would have loosened up recruiting a little.

I appreciate what he accomplished here. Danny Nee came here with an NIT title, NCAA appearances, and a lifetime of experience with the likes of KAJ and Digger Phelps. John Carroll was the hot young assistant from a Final Four program under PJ Carlesimo. Jim Satalin was expected by everyone to be a success here. Jim Ferry was coming off of two NCAA appearances. You would have taken all of their resumes over Ron Everhart's then and now. But Everhart won here, and no one else has since Mike Rice and before him Red Manning.

I understand that you don't think he could have gotten the job done. But way more damage was done here as a result of firing him, than if he would have coached one final season.

Peace.

Because I am devoted Duquesne fan. 

Westender wrote:

phil95 wrote:

RE is/was a confirmed rebuild specialist & a fine man. He didn't suck at all. He just wasn't good enough.

-18 years as a head coach & zero NCAA appearances. 12 of those years were in crap conferences & his career conference winning percentage is below .500.  
-3-20 win seasons out of 18
-At DU he did worse than stall; he peaked & then regressed.
-His final 3 teams imploded after February 1st. (Even the one with Saunders & Clarke as seniors)
-On the day he was fired there was no hope to be derived from the existing roster or his recruiting class. 
-There is not one poster on this board that would be happy if today the school hired a guy with this resume.

The disaster that was Ferry does not make the above facts irrelevant. There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that Ron could/can make any program a perennial 20 game winner with regular trips to the NIT & occasional trips to the Big Dance. Six years ws long enough to prove that 
 

​Are you really Web posting under a different alias? If you're tired of hearing that Ron Everhart did enough to earn a chance to save his job, maybe you should stop reading the Board.

I think that Ron's firing was more damaging than Jim's because all coaches know if they don't win, then they'll be fired. They don't expect to be fired when they did something no one else had done in a long time.

A smart coach–a coach worth having–should ask himself: "What can Duquesne offer to help me win?" This is because he knows he is only going to get 5 years to win or else he is going to be fired. If he is fired, then he'll be lucky to stay in major-college coaching, he can forget about his Power 5 job, and unless he is close to retirement anyway is going to be taking a big pay cut. This is Mr. Harper's task: to convince a good applicant that Duquesne is different now–that it is sincere about winning and honest with him.

That's kind of where I'm at, Phil, and I think what the new administration seems to be shooting for. I do wonder if that isn't just a pipe-dream though. A lot of our most passionate fans feel like we had a good thing going with Ron and should never have pulled the plug on him even if the ceiling would be limited. That doing so only set the program farther back. So far they've been right. And I think most in the media and the college basketball world at large shake their heads that we even aspire to be more than what we were half a decade ago. It will take time, patience, good coaching, an updated Palumbo, more administrative support and some lucky breaks to get us there.