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For me personally, the most exciting time in the last 40 years was when RE came in and brought a running fast break style of play. It was fun to be in Palumbo and there were really good crowds then. I remember when Ron walked into the arena before games the students (there were quite a few) would reach down to high five him and Ron was very accommodating. Not to live in the past but the style of play was fun and the players really bought into it. A 99-89 record after the Nee years was pretty good but idiocy reigned supreme and RE was out the door. Total boredom for me ever since. I will interject that KD's first 3 years were pretty solid with progress each year. There are lots of ways to win. Let's please find one soon!! And for my money, I don't care if the next coach has D1 experience or not. If he's the right man he will do the job. Last edited by El Presidente (1/31/2023 11:13 am) For me personally, the most exciting time in the last 40 years was when RE came in and brought a running fast break style of play. It was fun to be in Palumbo and there were really good crowds then. I remember when Ron walked into the arena before games the students (there were quite a few) would reach down to high five him and Ron was very accommodating. Not to live in the past but the style of play was fun and the players really bought into it. A 99-89 record after the Nee years was pretty good but idiocy reigned supreme and RE was out the door. Total boredom for me ever since. I will interject that KD's first 3 years were pretty solid with progress each year. There are lots of ways to win. Let's please find one soon!! And for my money, I don't care if the next coach has D1 experience or not. If he's the right man he will do the job. I agree. Fast pace teams are more entertaining and RE got things going after the Nee years. KD's team is better when they are up tempo. That St. Joes game should be the way the Dukes should play going forward. Same rotation of players from that game too. Agree 100% Napa. I just don't think KD can bring himself to completely get away from what he's coached all of his life. There are moments where it's so obvious that this is a much better team when on the run. Then it's back to a standing around kind of offense then chuck something up when the clock is running out. I'll never get it! 1040 was fun. I was at Duquesne at the time, and we had a blast in the student section during that run. But there was nothing sustainable about it. Last edited by Face (1/31/2023 1:57 pm) Well TJ did leave just a bit early and may well have left the program in a bit of a lurch. Last edited by El Presidente (1/31/2023 5:51 pm) 1040 was fun. I was at Duquesne at the time, and we had a blast in the student section during that run. But there was nothing sustainable about it. RE only used that 10-40 in the middle of the first year because the shooting left him with little to compete with so he tried it at the start of conf. play and reeled off 4 strait wins against way better teams. He then tried it the second year but found too much criticism for using a 5 man rotation every 4 minutes. He never used it the next 3 years, but did play a very fast running style of play. When AJax was a senior and we went to the finals, RE pretty much played a short bench. I think RE's biggest flaw was he wasted too many scholarships on BIGS that were projects and had less openings to recruit fast forwards to replace Damien and Clark. RE might have had an easier time recruiting now with this open portal now, since a lot of fast running style players that are leaving teams for a better position can come here and play right a way. Stew, For a little more context - Schmidt was 54-68 and 29-47 in the A10 after 4 seasons with a CBI bid that year. Many on this board probably would called for him to be fired. The next year brought an NCAA bid. Then Nicholson graduated and Bona did not qualify for the A10 Tournament going 14-15 and 7-9. RE never got the NCAA bid. 2 CBIs, 1 NIT. But his winning percentages after year 6 were better. People called for his head. Doing some quick math and using Wikipedia it was not until year 10 when Schmidt had a winning record and year 12 a winning record in the A10. Well said SteelBowl. We can’t ignore the work it takes to get there. It’s not built in a day short of an insane stroke of luck. There is something to be said for stability...and patience...especially considering where this program has been. Dukes up 50-20 at half. We’ve had two good coaches more than capable of winning at Duquesne in the last half century and some idiots feel the urge to want them fired. Last edited by coffee (2/04/2023 4:52 pm) Stew, For a little more context - Schmidt was 54-68 and 29-47 in the A10 after 4 seasons with a CBI bid that year. Many on this board probably would called for him to be fired. The next year brought an NCAA bid. Then Nicholson graduated and Bona did not qualify for the A10 Tournament going 14-15 and 7-9. RE never got the NCAA bid. 2 CBIs, 1 NIT. But his winning percentages after year 6 were better. People called for his head. Doing some quick math and using Wikipedia it was not until year 10 when Schmidt had a winning record and year 12 a winning record in the A10. That argument doesn't hold water in the case of whether KD should stay or go. Last edited by phil95 (2/04/2023 6:07 pm) For the life of me, I can't figure out why anyone would still harbor a grudge against RE, yet alone 10 years later. RE did have the issue about the used tennis shoes sent to Boward For the life of me, I can't figure out why anyone would still harbor a grudge against RE, yet alone 10 years later. If you want to say the following about RE, I am on board: Stew, For a little more context - Schmidt was 54-68 and 29-47 in the A10 after 4 seasons with a CBI bid that year. Many on this board probably would called for him to be fired. The next year brought an NCAA bid. Then Nicholson graduated and Bona did not qualify for the A10 Tournament going 14-15 and 7-9. RE never got the NCAA bid. 2 CBIs, 1 NIT. But his winning percentages after year 6 were better. People called for his head. Doing some quick math and using Wikipedia it was not until year 10 when Schmidt had a winning record and year 12 a winning record in the A10. That argument doesn't hold water in the case of whether KD should stay or go. And after the NBA player left, Bona had a losing record and 2 below .500 seasons in the A10 and no postseason play until the NIT until year 9, and he was still below .500 overall and in the A10. The bottom line is that Schmidt had the team moving in a very positive direction at the end of year 4 & went dancing at the end of year 5 while more than half of KD's team left at the end of a mediocre year 4, he went 6-24 in year 5, & is not presently within sniffing distance of a post-season appearance with 8 games left in year 6. Canning Schmidt at the end of year 4 would have seemed premature to most of the basketball world given what he inherited. Firing Schmidt after year 5 would have been madness. Winning the A-10 tournament on a run like that EARNS you more years. Stew, For a little more context - Schmidt was 54-68 and 29-47 in the A10 after 4 seasons with a CBI bid that year. Many on this board probably would called for him to be fired. The next year brought an NCAA bid. Then Nicholson graduated and Bona did not qualify for the A10 Tournament going 14-15 and 7-9. RE never got the NCAA bid. 2 CBIs, 1 NIT. But his winning percentages after year 6 were better. People called for his head. Doing some quick math and using Wikipedia it was not until year 10 when Schmidt had a winning record and year 12 a winning record in the A10. That argument doesn't hold water in the case of whether KD should stay or go. RE was known for being a turn-around coach. All his career he took teams from the bottom and moved them up. Judging his over all win loss is not indicative of what he achieved at each school he coached. Take away the first year at each school then look at his win-loss record. Heck, the shooting at DU alone made his job here even harder than just about any new coach, anywhere. Jamie Dixon as a first year coach took over a top team of top players and his record, ofcourse looks better than most coaches that had to build a winner out of a loser. RE was way better than his record. If KD wins the A-10 or just gets us to the finals, then yes he's as good as RE. If not, maybe not. But at this point in this season and this big win, I am rooting for KD and the Dukes. They have a fair chance if they keep this style of play the rest of the season. The next coach does not have to come from Division I. I remember Buzz Riddle came from NAIA Westminster and turned a sorry Pitt team around. Oh yeah? Who was president then? Typical Duquesne talking about the ancient past like things aren't different now. In the new landscape of college basketball, would this concept possibly work….. Last post on this topic.
CONGRATULATIONS COACH DRU JOYCE III
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Re: Who's the next coach? Dambrot never got to NIT/NCAA in his 6 Years!
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Re: Who's the next coach? Dambrot never got to NIT/NCAA in his 6 Years!
El Presidente wrote:
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Re: Who's the next coach? Dambrot never got to NIT/NCAA in his 6 Years!
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Re: Who's the next coach? Dambrot never got to NIT/NCAA in his 6 Years!
Let's also not forget that RE had no point guard lined up after TJ left and did very little to adequately replace Clark and Saunders. Unless you think Mamadou Datt was the answer, or the "dream class" who mostly did very little during their college careers.
But why rehash past coaches? We can only worry about now, and in the modern environment there's less reason than ever for a student who didn't come to Duquesne to watch basketball to go to an event.
You all talk about tradition and legacy in this thread but *no one on campus knows about it.* Legacy students don't hear about it from their parents. We're at the point where legacy students might have two generations of Duquesne-going family who never saw anything worthwhile happen on the court.
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Re: Who's the next coach? Dambrot never got to NIT/NCAA in his 6 Years!
Have never really forgotten that! I do tend to hold on to stuff!!!
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Re: Who's the next coach? Dambrot never got to NIT/NCAA in his 6 Years!
Face wrote:
Let's also not forget that RE had no point guard lined up after TJ left and did very little to adequately replace Clark and Saunders. Unless you think Mamadou Datt was the answer, or the "dream class" who mostly did very little during their college careers.
But why rehash past coaches? We can only worry about now, and in the modern environment there's less reason than ever for a student who didn't come to Duquesne to watch basketball to go to an event.
You all talk about tradition and legacy in this thread but *no one on campus knows about it.* Legacy students don't hear about it from their parents. We're at the point where legacy students might have two generations of Duquesne-going family who never saw anything worthwhile happen on the court.
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Re: Who's the next coach? Dambrot never got to NIT/NCAA in his 6 Years!
FAM wrote:
Let’s talk about tradition a little. The Bonnies, right?
[url=tel:86-89 - 31-53]86-89 - 31-53[/url]
89-92 - 22-62
[url=tel:92-2001 - 132-131]92-2001 - 132-131[/url]
[url=tel:2001-2003 - 18-27]2001-2003 - 18-27[/url]
[url=tel:03-07 - 24-88]03-07 - 24-88[/url]
Then came along Mark Schmidt, from across the street at Robert Morris. Yes, the Bonnies took a chance but it was the right chance. He is a winner in a place which did not have a proven tradition in a geographical area that is in the middle of nowhere.
Duquesne has tradition and has had better tradition…
Would I trade his record and post season bids for what has happened at DU during that same period? Hell yeah! I am claiming Schmidt isn’t a good coach or doesn’t deserve some of the credit? No. But I am questioning the wisdom of the coaching carousel, how some measure success, and realistic expectations.
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Re: Who's the next coach? Dambrot never got to NIT/NCAA in his 6 Years!
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Re: Who's the next coach? Dambrot never got to NIT/NCAA in his 6 Years!
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Re: Who's the next coach? Dambrot never got to NIT/NCAA in his 6 Years!
Remember Richmond.
Not over until it is over.
KD got to keep them focused.
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Re: Who's the next coach? Dambrot never got to NIT/NCAA in his 6 Years!
Dambrot’s best team was ruined by the Covid season and now he’s proven he can play the transfer treasure portal.
I try to be respectful but if you are a real fan, aren’t psychotic and know the records and stats you’d realize that Dambrot and Everhart deserve(d) SUPPORT!
Remember who we dug up after we fired RE
Look what happened to St. Joe’s.
Nice win today. This team shows flashes of being a champion. We just need to be consistent and be more disciplined.
COFFEE
Attitude is everything
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Re: Who's the next coach? Dambrot never got to NIT/NCAA in his 6 Years!
SteelBowl wrote:FAM wrote:
Let’s talk about tradition a little. The Bonnies, right?
[url=tel:86-89 - 31-53]86-89 - 31-53[/url]
89-92 - 22-62
[url=tel:92-2001 - 132-131]92-2001 - 132-131[/url]
[url=tel:2001-2003 - 18-27]2001-2003 - 18-27[/url]
[url=tel:03-07 - 24-88]03-07 - 24-88[/url]
Then came along Mark Schmidt, from across the street at Robert Morris. Yes, the Bonnies took a chance but it was the right chance. He is a winner in a place which did not have a proven tradition in a geographical area that is in the middle of nowhere.
Duquesne has tradition and has had better tradition…
Would I trade his record and post season bids for what has happened at DU during that same period? Hell yeah! I am claiming Schmidt isn’t a good coach or doesn’t deserve some of the credit? No. But I am questioning the wisdom of the coaching carousel, how some measure success, and realistic expectations.
In Schmidt's year 4, the Bonnies were on the rise & playing post-season basketball. After KD's year 4, DU was going down, had no chance at playing post-season basketball, & 8 of the 13 scholarship players left. In Schmidt's year 5, the Bonnies went dancing & had an NBA first round draft pick. After KD's year 5 the team finished dead last in the league, had an overall record of 6-24, & 8 of the 13 scholarship players left.
Let's not forget that KD got a sparkly new arena & very nice player, facility, & staffing updates in years 4 & 5 while Schmidt continues to have positive results in the 50+ years old Reilly Center while having to convince teenagers that Olean is a great place to spend 4 years. Finally, when KD was hired at DU, his annual salary was just short of DOUBLE Schmidt's year 10 salary at SBU.
Also, for the 100th time, in 18 years as a head coach RE never coached an NCAA tournament game. He had 3 teams qualify for the NIT & lost all 3 games. He was 1-2 in CBI games. His career winning percentage in the A-10 was .479 & .511 overall. After year 6 his roster was decimated after finishing 9th in the A-10. I really liked him. He gave us some nice moments. The program was worse off after 6 seasons than it was after 3 or 4 with a coach that had no track record of getting a program over the NCAA bid hump. HE HAS NEVER BEEN A HEAD COACH AGAIN!
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Re: Who's the next coach? Dambrot never got to NIT/NCAA in his 6 Years!
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Re: Who's the next coach? Dambrot never got to NIT/NCAA in his 6 Years!
and the question who pays the shipping cost.
Otherwise, I agree. I thought he was a good coach.
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Re: Who's the next coach? Dambrot never got to NIT/NCAA in his 6 Years!
rosceaux wrote:
-The way he was fired was moronic!
-He didn't get anywhere near the university support that KD has gotten. If he had, his tenure would likely have been much different.
-He is a much better game coach than KD, Nee, Porter, or Ferry.
-Ferry looked, on paper, like an excellent hire but turned out to be ill-equipped to handle the job.
-His first year got off to a terrible start as a result of the shooting.
I don't harbor a grudge against RE. I liked him then & like him now.
I just can't stand the revisionist history that has him portrayed as a savior of this program & big winner at DU. Having a losing record in the A-10 after 6 seasons does not a winner make. His time here & for the balance of his career confirms him as a barely above average coach. He simply did not get the job done here & wasn't even close to doing so after 6 seasons. I thought he would get over the hump but he didn't. His 6th team quit on him even though they had a confirmed NBA talent running the show. His 7th year team was looking like complete trash.
No matter what puff pieces a couple of local journalists wrote, the consensus in the college basketball world was that he wasn't going to make it & it was time for a change.
I only let myself hop on this soap box once a year now even though multiple posters, in dozens of posts continue to advance the fallacy that RE was IT and the program has been doomed since his departure.
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Re: Who's the next coach? Dambrot never got to NIT/NCAA in his 6 Years!
phil95 wrote:SteelBowl wrote:FAM wrote:
Let’s talk about tradition a little. The Bonnies, right?
[url=tel:86-89 - 31-53]86-89 - 31-53[/url]
89-92 - 22-62
[url=tel:92-2001 - 132-131]92-2001 - 132-131[/url]
[url=tel:2001-2003 - 18-27]2001-2003 - 18-27[/url]
[url=tel:03-07 - 24-88]03-07 - 24-88[/url]
Then came along Mark Schmidt, from across the street at Robert Morris. Yes, the Bonnies took a chance but it was the right chance. He is a winner in a place which did not have a proven tradition in a geographical area that is in the middle of nowhere.
Duquesne has tradition and has had better tradition…
Would I trade his record and post season bids for what has happened at DU during that same period? Hell yeah! I am claiming Schmidt isn’t a good coach or doesn’t deserve some of the credit? No. But I am questioning the wisdom of the coaching carousel, how some measure success, and realistic expectations.
In Schmidt's year 4, the Bonnies were on the rise & playing post-season basketball. After KD's year 4, DU was going down, had no chance at playing post-season basketball, & 8 of the 13 scholarship players left. In Schmidt's year 5, the Bonnies went dancing & had an NBA first round draft pick. After KD's year 5 the team finished dead last in the league, had an overall record of 6-24, & 8 of the 13 scholarship players left.
Let's not forget that KD got a sparkly new arena & very nice player, facility, & staffing updates in years 4 & 5 while Schmidt continues to have positive results in the 50+ years old Reilly Center while having to convince teenagers that Olean is a great place to spend 4 years. Finally, when KD was hired at DU, his annual salary was just short of DOUBLE Schmidt's year 10 salary at SBU.
Also, for the 100th time, in 18 years as a head coach RE never coached an NCAA tournament game. He had 3 teams qualify for the NIT & lost all 3 games. He was 1-2 in CBI games. His career winning percentage in the A-10 was .479 & .511 overall. After year 6 his roster was decimated after finishing 9th in the A-10. I really liked him. He gave us some nice moments. The program was worse off after 6 seasons than it was after 3 or 4 with a coach that had no track record of getting a program over the NCAA bid hump. HE HAS NEVER BEEN A HEAD COACH AGAIN!
Maybe my math is bad or I’ve seen different info than you. But from what I’ve seen Schmidt was making over $900k around the time KD was hired. Not sure KD’s salary was double his. Now, Schmidt’s pay reportedly has doubled to $1.8.
The Coop’s not new. It’s vastly improved. But not new. It’s probably middle tier in the A10 now. Bona has a great fan base, including students, and is the only game in town. I’ve never recruited a D1 basketball player. But my gut says game day at Olean will sell more players than what DU’s staff has to sell - unless it’s $1 beer day.
It’s interesting that Bona was “playing post season basketball” when it went to the CBI and lost but DU “playing post season basketball” 3 of Everhart’s 6 seasons here, doesn’t seem to mean much. But this is not about Everhart. It’s about this idea that changing the head coach, again, is the answer. It’s about thinking that somehow, this time, DU would attract the right guy. It’s about, even if it did, whether he be given time to succeed.
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Re: Who's the next coach? Dambrot never got to NIT/NCAA in his 6 Years!
Firing KD after year 4 would also have seemed premature to most of the basketball world given what HE inherited. The difference between the 2 is that KD achieved absolutely nothing in years 4 & 5 while finishing last in the conference.
My assertion is that making a strong finish this year followed by 7-8 scholarship players staying for year 7 are the only acceptable conditions for extending KD. If he can't swing something close to this, It would be just fine with me if he were fired.
Unless he commits some kind of crime, I definitely expect KD to be back for year 7. I honestly believe the team could lose the next 8 games & it would not change that outcome. Then, he will have been given 7 years to establish a consistent winner that is heading in an indisputably positive direction. No coach at no school deserves any longer than that to get the job done.
(Keeping 7 or 8 guys won't be easy as 4 of this year's 13 scholarship players are out of eligibility. That would force KD to lose no more than 2 players from the current roster to meet my standard. He has not shown the ability to retain that many quality players in any of the previous post-seasons.)
I also know for a fact that prior to the 2017-18 season that Schmidt's salary was less than $550K. (My source was as close to that salary negotiation as you can be.) Of course Schmidt's salary has grown significantly since then. He has twice been the A-10 coach of the year, gone to the NCAA tournament 2 more times (winning a first 4 game), & gone to the NIT 2 more times making the tournament semi-finals just last season.
Your commentary about The Coop is just ... The school ponied up for awesome locker rooms & team fitness facilities while letting the coach expand his leadership staff, hire a top-flight sports psychology guru, & turn the crap-tastic Palumbo Center into a venue that fans, media, & recruits have been impressed by.
=20px"But my gut says game day at Olean will sell more players than what DU’s staff has to sell - unless it’s $1 beer day. "
Damn straight! Do you think the coaching staff shares in the blame for that state of affairs? Would you send your stud recruit kid to play for the guy that went 6-24 last year, has had more than half of his recruits transfer or be pushed out, & has yet to log any major accomplishments in 5 + seasons?
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Re: Who's the next coach? Dambrot never got to NIT/NCAA in his 6 Years!
phil95 wrote:SteelBowl wrote:FAM wrote:
Let’s talk about tradition a little. The Bonnies, right?
[url=tel:86-89 - 31-53]86-89 - 31-53[/url]
89-92 - 22-62
[url=tel:92-2001 - 132-131]92-2001 - 132-131[/url]
[url=tel:2001-2003 - 18-27]2001-2003 - 18-27[/url]
[url=tel:03-07 - 24-88]03-07 - 24-88[/url]
Then came along Mark Schmidt, from across the street at Robert Morris. Yes, the Bonnies took a chance but it was the right chance. He is a winner in a place which did not have a proven tradition in a geographical area that is in the middle of nowhere.
Duquesne has tradition and has had better tradition…
Would I trade his record and post season bids for what has happened at DU during that same period? Hell yeah! I am claiming Schmidt isn’t a good coach or doesn’t deserve some of the credit? No. But I am questioning the wisdom of the coaching carousel, how some measure success, and realistic expectations.
In Schmidt's year 4, the Bonnies were on the rise & playing post-season basketball. After KD's year 4, DU was going down, had no chance at playing post-season basketball, & 8 of the 13 scholarship players left. In Schmidt's year 5, the Bonnies went dancing & had an NBA first round draft pick. After KD's year 5 the team finished dead last in the league, had an overall record of 6-24, & 8 of the 13 scholarship players left.
Let's not forget that KD got a sparkly new arena & very nice player, facility, & staffing updates in years 4 & 5 while Schmidt continues to have positive results in the 50+ years old Reilly Center while having to convince teenagers that Olean is a great place to spend 4 years. Finally, when KD was hired at DU, his annual salary was just short of DOUBLE Schmidt's year 10 salary at SBU.
Also, for the 100th time, in 18 years as a head coach RE never coached an NCAA tournament game. He had 3 teams qualify for the NIT & lost all 3 games. He was 1-2 in CBI games. His career winning percentage in the A-10 was .479 & .511 overall. After year 6 his roster was decimated after finishing 9th in the A-10. I really liked him. He gave us some nice moments. The program was worse off after 6 seasons than it was after 3 or 4 with a coach that had no track record of getting a program over the NCAA bid hump. HE HAS NEVER BEEN A HEAD COACH AGAIN!
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Re: Who's the next coach? Dambrot never got to NIT/NCAA in his 6 Years!
Bilgy wrote:
Vicimus Atlanticum decem
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Re: Who's the next coach? Dambrot never got to NIT/NCAA in his 6 Years!
Hire a really good, lower level coach. Pay him $200K (double or triple his low level salary). Take the rest of the $2 million that you are probably going to have to pay a the next coach at Duquesne (if from the outside) and creatively funnel that money into the NIL fund. Then go and buy the best players that $1.8 million annually could buy.
Hmmmm….
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Re: Who's the next coach? Dambrot never got to NIT/NCAA in his 6 Years!
My first post was in response to a post about tradition. Overall record and postseason play, since DU’s last NCAA bid, Bona has been better. 8 coaches since 1974, 3 with losing records. That includes Solomon who was HC after the welder scandal. During the same time, DU has had 10, with 3 having winning records, including KD.
Schmidt took over Bona went it was still reeling from the scandal. No one at DU had to deal with something like that. Solomon couldn’t get them out of that. Schmidt did. He deserves credit for that.
But IMO, many on this board, and the DU admin, give too much credit to and place too much blame on the HC. Case in point it’s the HC’s fault attendance is bad. Sure winning would help with that. But call tradition, call the program, call it institutional, there has had to be problems at DU that has caused every coach since Red “to fail.” It is impossible that every hire has been a bad one.
I’m still not sure what measure people use for success. Apparently not W/L percentage, not postseason bids. Maybe NCAA bids. That, for me is the ultimate goal. Schmidt has delivered those and no on at DU has. Again, credit to him.
But now the number of transfers is a measure, too? It seems it whatever supports “fire the coach” is the measure. I don’t like the number of transfers. But unless the NCAA changes the rules, roster turnover is just going to be the norm. Bona had 10 guys transfer out before this season. And again, I’ll credit Schmidt that he seems to be able to use the portal well. Based on last year, KD not so well. This year, looks much better.
