Buckets
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,656
|
Post by Buckets on Mar 3, 2022 16:57:18 GMT -5
I do not want to clog this thread with non "changes" related content, since there are other threads for that on which I have made my views known. But, given that this thread assumes Ewing is coming back (no sure thing, still, I think), are there any examples of programs in this situation (or close to it), who have made changes and succeeded? In other words, is there any precedent in any college basketball program in the past at this level where the same coach has turned things around? I am not aware of any. I have always used the example of Willard, but that's not even appropriate anymore. Willard's first five years were arguably better than Ewing's (and certainly nowhere nearly as bad as this year's debacle). And he's the closest I can come. The reason I ask is because, if there are any such programs, I would be interested to know what they did to change things around so drastically. But, I don't think there is any precedent for this to occur. DePaul kept Purnell for 5 years, and Leiato for 6 (second stint), and neither came close to turning things around during their tenures. I am just at a loss as to what changes can be made that would actually make a difference. Perhaps a secondary question, can anybody think of a head coach in basketball whose performance increased substantially only AFTER hiring new assistants? Hell I’d take any example anywhere. Like presumably our board members sit on other boards. How would they react if a CEO of a mightily struggling business walked in and proposed firing every one of his/her subordinates while keeping the CEO in place? Could they keep a straight face?
|
|
LCPolo18
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 4,406
|
Post by LCPolo18 on Mar 3, 2022 17:03:42 GMT -5
As you all saw from Lee Reed’s statement yesterday, the program is committed to making the “necessary changes” to help Coach Ewing succeed. Disregarding the conversation around whether we should be doing a hard reset of the program or not (since it seems like that isn’t happening any time soon), what are some of the things they can do to get us back on the right track? Who are some names for assistant coaches you would target, and what are other culture changes you would implement to bring the program into the 21st century? 1. Hire 2-3 new assistant coaches. I'm not as down on Orr as many people are. He's essentially in the Martelli role and he has what seems to be a strong relationship with the future coach of Oak Hill (the former high school coach for Wilson and Rice). Would I prefer if he was in a Special Advisor type of role? Maybe. But if Ewing decided to keep Orr and get two other assistants I wouldn't hate it. 2. Hire a young alum (preferable that was from DC) to be director of basketball operations. The DOBO can recruit on campus but not travel, so if they have connections to DC they can invite a recruit to campus easily. 3. Hire a director of recruiting. Penn State hired Brian Snow from 247Sports and CBS last year. Maybe there's a DMV recruiting analyst out there who currently has regular communications with high school and AAU coaches and players that could be interested in the role to analyze and identify talent and keep the staff organized around recruiting efforts. Xavier hired Jordan Brooks for the role, and we've already seen them benefit from hiring someone with ties to AAU. 4. Every once in a while, we get glimpses of good social media content. This fan outreach through social media needs to be way more consistent. 5. Student engagement. If PE Jr's comments were reflective of how the program sees student engagement, then the program needs to better partner with Hoya Blue. When was the last time there was a pep rally on campus? It seems like maybe the athletic department (or Hoya Blue on their own) tried to do some of this in the last couple weeks with some free t-shirt giveaways, free pizza, and new big head signs for the students at the games. But it was definitely all too little too late this season. The students wanted to support the team this season, but the program didn't do enough to support the students. 6. Fan engagement. Make sure the fans know they are appreciated, not an afterthought. I think after the 2020 season a survey went out to season ticket holders. I'm sure there were some good ideas in there to implement. Free t-shirts and bobbleheads always attract attention. I always felt like there was an opportunity for a loyalty program where you can earn seat upgrades or whatever based on your actual attendance. 7. Bring the chief of staff out of the shadows. It's hard to tell what Ronny does, so it's hard to know if he's good or bad at his job. Hiding him upsets me more than his presence in the program. So if the university is going to keep him, then they should acknowledge his position and give him a profile on the website. That way at least when he's on NBC announcing a game, they can mention that he works for Georgetown and we can get some free advertising. 8. Defense. The Hoyas were decent at defense in the 2020-2021 season after the COVID pause. Was that coaching? A change in scheme? The personnel? Whatever it was, bring in the right people (coaches, players, support staff) to figure that out again. 9. Pep Band. The pep band conductor left a couple years ago, and the pep band director is retiring this year. In addition, it's the 100th anniversary of the pep band this year. Bring in a new pep band director and give that person more say in selecting the music played during the games. 10. Hire a director of player development. For those that want Crouch to be promoted, here's a great title for him. Then that opens up the special assistant role for a young alum to be hired. 11. NIL. So many schools are doing so many creative things in the NIL space. The school and their NIL partners need to look at the landscape this spring and summer and facilitate more opportunities for the student athletes. Kentucky found a way for foreign players to do NIL. Tennessee has an NIL collective for fans and companies to contribute to. Duke is releasing NFT's. Georgetown did an unannounced bowling party. 12. Media relations. There have been some improvement here (first semester freshmen media availability this year, all of the media around the BET last year, some pre game media availabilities, player availability after a loss), but this is all bare minimum for most programs. Ewing no longer does a regular radio segment, the campus papers barely cover the team, and the national media barely remembers there's a team. Yesterday's statement supposedly wasn't even sent to Casual Hoya, Thompson's Towel, and Hilltop Hoops which still diligently cover the team.
|
|
EtomicB
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 14,962
|
Post by EtomicB on Mar 3, 2022 17:15:08 GMT -5
As you all saw from Lee Reed’s statement yesterday, the program is committed to making the “necessary changes” to help Coach Ewing succeed. Disregarding the conversation around whether we should be doing a hard reset of the program or not (since it seems like that isn’t happening any time soon), what are some of the things they can do to get us back on the right track? Who are some names for assistant coaches you would target, and what are other culture changes you would implement to bring the program into the 21st century? As I've posted on a continuous loop for months & months now the change that's most needed is at the top. Get an up & coming exec in the athletic department from Wisconsin or Stanford or Michigan to come in & modernize the program.. It'll be difficult for Gtown to ever have consistent success with the leadership it currently has in my opinion
|
|
hoya73
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,222
|
Post by hoya73 on Mar 3, 2022 17:45:16 GMT -5
I'm coming from a perspective as a reasonably faithful Ewing supporter, til this calendar year. My hope is that the vote of confidence is as valid as most such statements, and we get a new head coach for next year. I have no disdain for Ewing, and am sad that he didn't succeed, but... A few points from the thread:
I think having all the OOC at McDonough would be bad .For one, I suspect we get a break on what we pay alum Ted, and wash his hands in turn, by providing a tenant for those otherwise dark arena nights. I could see, if Ewing returns, a reason to add into the scheduling calculus how well an opponent travels, getting more butts paying full price tickets in Ted's seats. Even if they root against., they still buy beer, too.
I think a face-saving exit for Ewing would be not only to hire Mike Young (or another associate head coach) , but to hire him as an announced Ewing successor, at a certain date. This would allow continuity in recruiting, for one thing. I've floated this before.
|
|
|
Post by hoyasaxa2003 on Mar 3, 2022 18:06:59 GMT -5
I'm coming from a perspective as a reasonably faithful Ewing supporter, til this calendar year. My hope is that the vote of confidence is as valid as most such statements, and we get a new head coach for next year. I have no disdain for Ewing, and am sad that he didn't succeed, but... A few points from the thread: I think having all the OOC at McDonough would be bad. For one, I suspect we get a break on what we pay alum Ted, and wash his hands in turn, by providing a tenant for those otherwise dark arena nights. I could see, if Ewing returns, a reason to add into the scheduling calculus how well an opponent travels, getting more butts paying full price tickets in Ted's seats. Even if they root against., they still buy beer, too. I think a face-saving exit for Ewing would be not only to hire Mike Young (or another associate head coach) , but to hire him as an announced Ewing successor, at a certain date. This would allow continuity in recruiting, for one thing. I've floated this before. In the fantasy world where McDonough becomes a 7,000 capacity on-campus arena, I am all for having games at McDonough. However, in its current non-renovated state, that's simply untenable. It's not a Division I high major facility, and it is not a good look for the program. I wish we had something better, but we do not. While I think a McDonough renovation would be awesome, and if I was a billionaire, I'd happily donate the money, if the university is worrying about buy outs of its coach, there's simply no way a multi-million dollar renovation is going to happen. And, if we are sub-.500 in the Big East, or even worse, continue to win no games, there will be no institutional or alumni support for it anyway.
|
|
sweetness
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
Posts: 839
|
Post by sweetness on Mar 3, 2022 18:49:09 GMT -5
If Ronny is still there, this is all a moot point. Again, why does this guy still have any role or power in the program?
|
|
kbones17
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,186
|
Post by kbones17 on Mar 3, 2022 19:42:27 GMT -5
If Ronny is still there, this is all a moot point. Again, why does this guy still have any role or power in the program? Yup. The necessary change will be Orr retiring and hiring another “approved” assistant. Big changes!!
|
|
the_way
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
The Illest
Posts: 5,422
|
Post by the_way on Mar 3, 2022 19:53:53 GMT -5
Ewing’s teams that overachieved like the Allen led team and last year were based on the team playing solid m-to m defense, not great defense because his 3pt defense has always been deficient. His help defense was suspect at the beginning of the year but by the end of the year it was solid but 3pt defense has always been suspect. The lack of a center with any credible shot blocking prowess has severely hurt his defense this year. Add to that that none of his 3 big men are good rebounders, you are adding 2 and 3 shots to an opposing teams offense which also does not help your defense. He had printed himself into a corner with all 3 centers having another year of eligibility, therefore there is no hope of a big improvement next year regardless of assistant coaches changes. He has to hope the 3 bigs have a Henry Sims like change from junior to senior year. Prior to this year, a defensive fix would work. This year, with the whole in the middle, it has really exacerbated the problem. Teams can beat us inside and out now. We also haven't replaced Pickett and his defensive rebounds and length as a non-center.
|
|
hoyazeke
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 5,818
|
Post by hoyazeke on Mar 3, 2022 20:31:22 GMT -5
The Morko is big. Q and Bile are also missed. There are no replacements for any of the three. We replaced 3 excellent defenders with Tim, Kaiden/JBills and Aminu/Collin. And the board wonders why the D is so bad.
|
|
bamahoya11
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,831
|
Post by bamahoya11 on Mar 3, 2022 20:57:43 GMT -5
As you all saw from Lee Reed’s statement yesterday, the program is committed to making the “necessary changes” to help Coach Ewing succeed. Disregarding the conversation around whether we should be doing a hard reset of the program or not (since it seems like that isn’t happening any time soon), what are some of the things they can do to get us back on the right track? Who are some names for assistant coaches you would target, and what are other culture changes you would implement to bring the program into the 21st century? As I've posted on a continuous loop for months & months now the change that's most needed is at the top. Get an up & coming exec in the athletic department from Wisconsin or Stanford or Michigan to come in & modernize the program.. It'll be difficult for Gtown to ever have consistent success with the leadership it currently has in my opinion I think this is exactly right. Assuming Ewing ultimately stays, I don’t really have much optimism for improvement on the basketball side. Sure, maybe he changes some assistants around, but I don’t see it making much difference. We’ve seen who he is as a coach: he’s stubborn, quick to blame his players for failures, ineffective at teaching defense, and unable to prepare the players to win consistently. Plus, he isn’t able to build a roster. He can identify some talent, but there are always gaps. It’s a bleak assessment, I know, but one that seems supported by his record. If I were to recommend a change in terms of the coaching, I would suggest someone who has a good sense of how to use the transfer portal or someone who can build a roster. Unfortunately, most of these people would be head coaches, but I would suggest someone with that skill set. A lot of the changes in terms of new assistants and such would take several years to bear real fruit. You see this time and again — a good defensive assistance might make marginal improvements in year one, but the real gains would be in two or three. Even the best DMV recruiter will start making an impact in that area in subsequent years. That’s not a quick fix, and I’m not at all convinced that Ewing will empower his assistants. It’s hard to say, but I’m concerned he is more interested in people who will just do what he wants than people who will bring new ideas. Since I don’t think it’s possible to make wholesale changes to the on-court product without a change at the top, change the off-court product. Start bringing in new talent from other athletic departments who will bring in a fresh approach. Put them in positions where they can make their own hires and start to build staffs. That way, when Ewing does eventually leave, we have an infrastructure ready to hire and support the next coach.
|
|
hoyas212
Bulldog (over 250 posts)
Posts: 324
|
Post by hoyas212 on Mar 3, 2022 21:59:31 GMT -5
Kevin Broadus, now HC at Morgan State, is being mentioned as a candidate to return for a 3rd tour of duty at GU. He should’ve been the guy who remained from JT3’s final staff.
|
|
vv83
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,329
|
Post by vv83 on Mar 3, 2022 23:46:34 GMT -5
Leaving aside the Binghamton scandal -Broadus has always been a strong recruiter, especially in then DC area. But when "change" means bringing back a 58 year old assistant for his third run at Georgetown, and the reported return of Ronnie in his "chief of staff" role - come on, who are we kidding
This program descends further into farce every day. The thing I find most interesting - that the fan base sees this for the debacle it is very clearly, while nobody in the media (outside of alum driven media like Curran and Casual) seems to see it. Or if they do they are not willing to write/talk about it. Some media members may question whether it makes sense for Ewing to return. But nobody is ripping the program for its apparent complete capitulation to the Thompson family/legacy, and the extreme damage this is doing to the program. I know the media respects Big John and Ewing tremendously. But they are letting this respect completely blind them to the real story of what is going on here.
I am going to keep hoping that Hoyaboya is right, and this is all 3D chess smokescreen stuff institutional leadership is doing cover their butts in eventually firing Ewing in a week or two. But this far fetched scenario seems less likely with each passing day and new rumor, unfortunately. And I don't think any of us have any confidence in Georgetown leadership pulling off a nuanced media campaign to cover their cowardice in trying to simply fire a coach who went 0-19 in his conference. Which should be the most obvious, easiest, least controversial decision imaginable for a college hoops program. The whole thing is simply sad and pathetic.
|
|
hoyarooter
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 10,224
|
Post by hoyarooter on Mar 4, 2022 20:25:15 GMT -5
Do we appreciate how preposterous this conversation, which indulges the fantasy of the Lee Reed statement, sounds? Imagine a trial lawyer who had lost 18 judgments in a row. He wants to take your case next. He assures you that he's changing his paralegal team so everything will be different. Would you hire him? Or imagine a fast food restaurant which is rated as worst out of 11 in a particular region and failing in every measurable -- it's slow, dirty, the food is poorly prepared. Do you think replacing a line cook or adding a different janitor really matters, or is it more likely that the manager who earns 10 times their salaries is ultimately to blame? The vast, vast majority of the budget allocated to coaching the basketball team goes straight to Patrick Ewing. He runs the show and makes the dough. If you see a problem with the coaching of Georgetown's team, blame the $3.5M man. And if Georgetown lacks the financial flexibility to reset the program, you can blame the foolish contractual commitments authorized by Jack DeGioia, who has failed as a steward of the basketball program in recent years. Hey, wait a minute. Hamilton Burger didn't lose his job as Los Angeles County District Attorney just because he lost every case to Perry Mason.
|
|