I know a guy… You’re looking for a basketball coach… right now… You play in the A10…

My guy coached in the A10 from 1996 to 2001… His record in the A10 was 52-28… His last year, he was 11-5 in the A10 and his Athletic Director turned down an NIT Invitation. Overall, my guy won 65% of his A10 games.

 

From there, my guy went to the CAA… There he won 56% of his games… One year, his team beat St. Joseph’s, Temple, Villanova, Syracuse and Creighton ALL on the road…

Four times, he was CAA Coach of the Year…

For his career, he’s won 331 college basketball games and lost 289 (53.4%).

Please note that my guy has graduated 100% of his four year players and one of his players, Damion Lee, is in the NBA.

My guy is currently an assistant in one of the top 6-7 programs in college basketball… (Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, Villanova, Indiana, Michigan St.)

Based of this resume, my guy would be, arguably,  the most qualified alum ever to apply for the basketball coach position at St. Joseph’s…

Jimmy Lynam was 93-90 at Fairfield and American when their alma mater hired him. Jim Boyle took over after Lynam.

Boyle was a St. Joseph’s player, assistant coach and head coach. Boyle had a connection with all of the SJU coaches over the past five, Boyle played for Hall of Famer Dr. Jack Ramsay and served as an assistant coach on the staffs of Jack McKinney, Harry Booth and Jim Lynam. Boyle also worked with John Griffin, when they were assistants to Lynam. Then during his tenure as head coach, Boyle hired Phil Martelli as an assistant coach.

Boyle also recruited my guy… My guy played for Boyle…

My guy would seem like a worthy candidate… His Hawk bonafides are in order…

But, one has to wonder how the National Search Firm weighs Hawk bonafides when ranking candidates? Indeed, one has to question if they matter at all… I don’t think they are part of the equation anymore…

The St. Joseph’s AD is from Notre Dame… Not Drexel Hill…

There was a distinct Hawk way of doing things… Local relationships mattered… Status as alum mattered… If you were gonna terminate the employment of a loyal, highly respected 35 year employee you would put significant thought into exactly how you would carry it out…

Increasingly, basketball at all levels has become a business first and foremost… This is especially the case at the NCAA Division 1 level. Administrators, presidents and athletic directors, have tough decisions to make. The other day St. Joseph’s AD made such a tough decision when she decided to move on from legendary Coach Martelli.

How the AD and the President carried out the decision raises the question is there still “a way of doing things”?

Phil Martelli deserved a far more dignified and respectful separation from the University. More forethought could have been applied. Just doesn’t look right… Maybe that doesn’t matter anymore…

The Hawk community at St. Joseph’s has always been like a family. Clearly, decisions have been made to take a “National” approach to the business of college basketball. I’m sure many are all too happy to discard what they consider “Mom and Pop” approaches.

But… Keep in mind… Ramsay, Lynam, Boyle and Martelli would NOT have made the national search firm short list at the time of their hiring. My guy’s resume is stronger than all of theirs at the time of their hiring and he probably won’t be considered.

Oh well…

All I ask is that you give him full and fair consideration… Don’t act like you can’t see that Hawk standing right there looking all “experienced and qualified.”

Come on with the bullshit… Treat him right during this “process.”