New Assistant Coach - Michael Brennan

[turbohoya]

guhoyas.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/062409aaa.html

[SFHoya99]

Obviously, it's really hard to evaluate assistant coaches, but his experience seems like a good fit. He and Thompson know each other, he has experience with the Princeton and he's coached under an excellent coach in Jeff Jones away from Princeton.

[HoyaSinceBirth]

Sounds solid.

[calhoya]

I wonder how much recruiting he has done or if that will even be one of his primary duties.

[DanMcQ]

Solid choice who should be easily able to help teach the offense.

[prhoya]

Welcome! Nice CV... Sounds like a perfect fit.

[jgalt]

I though Georgetown didnt hire white assistants! (joke, obviously, and yes i am aware of matt henry)

[DanMcQ]

jgalt - two words: Bill Stein; two more words: Craig Esherick; two more words: Rob Burke. The 'joke' needs retiring.

Here is Brennan's AU bio (while it is still up) -prettymuch the same as the GU press release but a little bit extra:

www.aueagles.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/brennan_mike00.html

Mike Brennan begins his third season as an assistant coach at American University.

Brennan comes to American after spending seven seasons at Princeton University. A Princeton alumnus himself, Brennan was the first assistant coach for the Tigers and was responsible for all phases of program management, including recruiting, game and practice preparation, developing strategy and scheduling. While at Princeton, he helped lead the Tigers to two Ivy League titles (2001 and 2004) and subsequent NCAA Tournament appearances and a 2002 NIT appearance under the leadership of head coaches Bill Carmody, John Thompson III and Joe Scott.

Brennan also spent one year as a volunteer assistant coach at Columbia University in the 1995-96 season.

Brennan was a four-year starter at Princeton, leading his team to the Ivy League championship and the NCAA Tournament in 1991 and 1992. He was named Second Team All-Ivy League in 1994. After one season as the head freshman basketball coach at Elizabeth (N.J.) High School, where he compiled a 14-4 record, Brennan spent three seasons as a professional basketball player in the European Basketball League for teams in Germany, Belgium and Portugal.

Brennan earned his Bachelor of Arts in English from Princeton in 1994. He resides in Washington, D.C.

[hilltopper2000]

Certainly sounds solid, but I would still love to know what happened with Burke. That has to be one of the stangest departures ever.

[NCHoya]

I think this is a great fit based on his experience and ties to both Princeton and DC. Not expecting him to be a recruiter, although would love to be surprised. I see him more as a game strategy and player development coach to help the guys really understand the offense and their fit in it. Good hire, based on what is known about him right now.

[CO_Hoya]

Any relation to Tom Brennan (former UVT coach, current ESPN analyst)?

[AustinHoya03]

Jun 24, 2009 10:59:36 GMT -5 CO_Hoya said:

Any relation to Tom Brennan (former UVT coach, current ESPN analyst)?

Wikipedia says no:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Brennan#Family

Welcome to the Hoya family, Coach.

[Giannicolus Jones]

Liz Clarke article:
Thompson Turns to a Familiar Face

[JS]

Jun 24, 2009 10:56:59 GMT -5 NCHoya said:

I think this is a great fit based on his experience and ties to both Princeton and DC. Not expecting him to be a recruiter, although would love to be surprised. I see him more as a game strategy and player development coach to help the guys really understand the offense and their fit in it. Good hire, based on what is known about him right now.

I believe Brennan was considered for an assistant position at Georgetown when Coach Thompson was originally hired at Georgetown, so this is not a huge shock, though I am thrilled for Coach Brennan about this news.

Hopefully I can track him down for a quote or two later today.

JS

Ps. No relation to Tom Brennan.

[JohnJacquesLayup]

That was fast. Sounds like a great fit, and I'm not worried about his recruiting prowess. Seems like JTIII is out there for most of our recruiting anyway (which is why some of our top recruits signed in the first place, so I wouldn't want to mess with a working formula).

[DFW HOYA]

Jun 24, 2009 11:28:51 GMT -5 JohnJacquesLayup said:

That was fast. Sounds like a great fit, and I'm not worried about his recruiting prowess. Seems like JTIII is out there for most of our recruiting anyway (which is why some of our top recruits signed in the first place, so I wouldn't want to mess with a working formula).

A team absolutely needs a recruiter out there and cannot rely on a head coach to do the heavy lifting. Coach Thompson might close the deals but he can't be (or shouldn't) spending the 12-14 hours a day on the trail that an assistant can do. This year's class of Sanford and Benimon illustrates what can happen with an interruption in recruiting.

And did anyone find this quote in the Post article a little peculiar: "Brennan fills the vacancy created by the departure of Robert Burke, who was dismissed in the spring." Well, if so, why did it take so long to report on it?

[hoyarooter]

Jun 24, 2009 11:58:35 GMT -5 DFW HOYA said:

Jun 24, 2009 11:28:51 GMT -5 JohnJacquesLayup said:

That was fast. Sounds like a great fit, and I'm not worried about his recruiting prowess. Seems like JTIII is out there for most of our recruiting anyway (which is why some of our top recruits signed in the first place, so I wouldn't want to mess with a working formula).

A team absolutely needs a recruiter out there and cannot rely on a head coach to do the heavy lifting. Coach Thompson might close the deals but he can't be (or shouldn't) spending the 12-14 hours a day on the trail that an assistant can do. This year's class of Sanford and Benimon illustrates what can happen with an interruption in recruiting.

And did anyone find this quote in the Post article a little peculiar: "Brennan fills the vacancy created by the departure of Robert Burke, who was dismissed in the spring." Well, if so, why did it take so long to report on it?

Spring ended two days ago; dismissed in the spring doesn't mean he was fired in March or April. Yeah, that's the lawyer in me writing, but still...

Also, it's good to see that there is a high school named for Miss Elizabeth. ;D

[Filo]

So this hire shows that JTIII has no intention of departing from his offensive system. Maybe those who are always screaming that the system needs to be scrapped can think about this and save their breath in the future?

[jerseyhoya34]

Here's what the Daily Princetonian said about Brennan when the PU job opened up in 2007:

Mike Brennan '94

Brennan has just completed his seventh year of service on the Princeton bench. The first assistant coach, Brennan is the most likely choice for a promotion from within the system. Brennan carries with him a pedigree of success as one of the top point guards in university history, exhibiting both talent and leadership throughout his career. He played on two Ivy League championship teams during his tenure and served as captain during his junior and senior years. In his final season, Brennan was named to second-team All-Ivy. Having been part of the Princeton system for 10 years as both player and coach, Brennan obviously understands Princeton basketball as well as anybody in the race. Junior forward Noah Savage, for one, thinks highly of Brennan: "There's a ton of great people out there, and obviously Coach Brennan is one of the guys who is being considered, and that would be great — I love Coach Brennan," Savage said. "Coach Brennan has my support, but that's not to say somebody else doesn't have my support too."

Here's an interesting nugget from the Princeton Alumni Weekly when JT3 took over at PU (http://www.princeton.edu/~paw/archive_new/PAW00-01/05-1122/features2.html):

Of his new boss, Princeton assistant basketball coach Mike Brennan '94 says, "Every coach has his own way of communicating with players. Some are yellers and screamers. John's not, but he can get his point across with intensity."

[Filo]

LOL - did Junior forward Noah Savage head into a career in politics after leaving Princeton? Excellent way to say nothing while seemingly saying something.