TJ blew up enough during his senior year, that he would have had plenty of D1 offers. It's just a question of what level of D1 they would have been. Certainly MAC level schools would have offered him, maybe even some of the upper level also rans would have been interested.

I only saw T.J. Mc Connell play one game, at UMass.  I was ready to see a star after hearing all of the accolades on this board.  I was dasappointed.  He was smoked by Chaz Williams.  I didn't think his shot was that good, I didn't think he had very much speed.  As T.J. waited to run the last play of the half, he had the ball stolen from him for a layup.  T.J. a recruiting tool for Duquesne?, maybe some other kind of tool, but not a recuiting tool.  I was more impressed with Coulter last year than T.J.  At least Coulter has God given speed.

I don't understand the thought process of Duquesne somehow benefits from McConnell transferring and having success. To me, if I were a recruit, I would be saying "Why would I want to go to Duquesne? McConnell didn't. He left." Just baffling.

If I was a player who knew in my heart I could do well in a better program, I would join the countless D-1 players that transfer every year. This kid was good a Duquesne and is better at AZ.

Officer Dribble wrote:

I have no evidence with which to back this up, but I'll always believe in my heart of hearts that TJ, along with Talley & Herrara, left coz Amodio decided he didn't wanna spend the cash to let the team participate in the CBI Tournament. Not that it's a great tournament by any stretch of the imagination, but it made Duquesne look cheap & second-rate, especially when Pitt accepted a bid to go to the CBI & Pederson said something to the effect of doing whatever was necessary to make his team better. For this reason, if folks look into what happened at Duquesne right before TJ left, I don't see this as a positive recruiting tool.

I don't buy it.Talley and TJ's fathers, both coaches, played a large role in those two leaving, and I believe they played a role in getting Ron fired as well. I think they were in GA's ear, criticizing RE's coaching, and it trickled down to their sons. TJ arguing with Ron on the court and such. TJ was out the door as soon as the team got back from Arizona.

Everyone knows there was bad blood between Amodio and Ron to start with, and everyone knows there were others in the ear of Amodio as well -- a vocal minority, if you will, that sided with the AD against the coach. That was evident on the existing message boards at the time by the gloating and the continuous attempts to discredit what Ron was able to accomplish here. IMHO, the wrong guy was let go at the time, but I am trying to move on from it. Jimmy Ferry at least is able to see that you can indeed build a winning program here, and in fact now has more tools at his disposal, including Amodio, than Ron did during his tenure. 

I really want to see Ferry be very successful and for Duquesne basketball become as strong a mid-major program as it can, with regular 20 win seasons, visits to the NCAA Tournament, etc.

Please ... no silly comments from the peanut gellery about me lamenting the past ... I'm just sharing my perspective with Officer Dribble.

Go Dukes!

Officer Dribble wrote:

Like I said, I have no evidence, so I'm not gonna tell you you're wrong. I feel the way I do coz the timing of the announced departures compared to the timing of the decision not to play in the CBI was a bit curious to me. Maybe if Daddy McConnell had succeeded in getting Everhart fired before TJ transferred, TJ might have thought of staying, but the decision not to play in the CBI may have been the last straw. I dunno, like I said, it's just a feeling I have. Your theory could be right, too, but I hope Amodio isn't gonna fire the coach every time a kid's dad isn't happy with how his kid is used.  In any event, I don't think the decision to skip the CBI made any sense. I can't imagine how that looked to potential recruits.

 
No, your theory is not accurate; and I understand that you qualified your statements by stating that you had no proof.  Well, I can tell you that you are wrong, because TJ was spreading the word throughout his soph season that he was going to transfer.  His decision was already made long before the CBI offered.  The decision not to play was a good one. Why play in a tournament with a lame-duck coach and a handful of players who already had one foot out the door?  It would have guaranteed an embarrassing result.

Phil, then who's left for us to recruit? The truth is that any kid wants to be on a team that can play in the NCAAs or better (e.g., can win it). If Norm Nixon were playing today, you know every top team in the country would be trying to pull a Miller and steal the kid (I guess it's easier than doing the work yourself). But that doesn't help our cause any.



 

levon1975 wrote:

Officer Dribble wrote:

Like I said, I have no evidence, so I'm not gonna tell you you're wrong. I feel the way I do coz the timing of the announced departures compared to the timing of the decision not to play in the CBI was a bit curious to me. Maybe if Daddy McConnell had succeeded in getting Everhart fired before TJ transferred, TJ might have thought of staying, but the decision not to play in the CBI may have been the last straw. I dunno, like I said, it's just a feeling I have. Your theory could be right, too, but I hope Amodio isn't gonna fire the coach every time a kid's dad isn't happy with how his kid is used.  In any event, I don't think the decision to skip the CBI made any sense. I can't imagine how that looked to potential recruits.

 
No, your theory is not accurate; and I understand that you qualified your statements by stating that you had no proof.  Well, I can tell you that you are wrong, because TJ was spreading the word throughout his soph season that he was going to transfer.  His decision was already made long before the CBI offered.  The decision not to play was a good one. Why play in a tournament with a lame-duck coach and a handful of players who already had one foot out the door?  It would have guaranteed an embarrassing result.

I have mentioned previously that I was told in early February by personal friends that TJ was leaving. Friends from the same group hinted that Miller was talking off and on to TJ. That's why I have no respect for Miller and do not wish him well. The Millers are a great basketball family, but I get the very clear impression that they believe they are entitled -  to always win, to always be on top.

Westernder, now that's a different matter. It seems McConnell acked like a smack off , or as Pittsburgers say, Jag. Off, his Soph year. Loyalty doesn't seem to run in that clan with his Aunt as an example.

All said and done, he left and has had some early success, take a look at Mike Tallys box scores, 3 points, 2 assists 23 min., 1 for 5 from field. Let's wait until seasons end for totals. And I don't think it helps Duquesne recruiting any more than Duquesne's floor did on Arena floor in past NCAA first round games.

Westender wrote:

levon1975 wrote:

Officer Dribble wrote:

Like I said, I have no evidence, so I'm not gonna tell you you're wrong. I feel the way I do coz the timing of the announced departures compared to the timing of the decision not to play in the CBI was a bit curious to me. Maybe if Daddy McConnell had succeeded in getting Everhart fired before TJ transferred, TJ might have thought of staying, but the decision not to play in the CBI may have been the last straw. I dunno, like I said, it's just a feeling I have. Your theory could be right, too, but I hope Amodio isn't gonna fire the coach every time a kid's dad isn't happy with how his kid is used.  In any event, I don't think the decision to skip the CBI made any sense. I can't imagine how that looked to potential recruits.

 
No, your theory is not accurate; and I understand that you qualified your statements by stating that you had no proof.  Well, I can tell you that you are wrong, because TJ was spreading the word throughout his soph season that he was going to transfer.  His decision was already made long before the CBI offered.  The decision not to play was a good one. Why play in a tournament with a lame-duck coach and a handful of players who already had one foot out the door?  It would have guaranteed an embarrassing result.

I have mentioned previously that I was told in early February by personal friends that TJ was leaving. Friends from the same group hinted that Miller was talking off and on to TJ. That's why I have no respect for Miller and do not wish him well. The Millers are a great basketball family, but I get the very clear impression that they believe they are entitled -  to always win, to always be on top.

Fair enough, gentlemen. I'd rather learn something from others than prolong arguments with them. Thanks for your replies.

However, I do still feel like the Dukes shoulda played in the CBI. If you're gonna fire the coach, fire him, but that hadn't been done yet. Either fire him or carry on as tho' he's gonna be the coach, but don't do something that makes the university look like it's cheap & not supporting the program.

I started to read a post made earlier by grammudder which I thought was a reply to one of my posts. But I had to run off and couldn't finish reading it. Now, I can't find it. Did one of the Moderators delete granmmudder's post, and if so, why?? Or am I imagining things??

Last edited by Westender (12/10/2013 10:54 pm)