My Take

[RF2044]

So you're saying - followed by a question mark at the end - usually means a question has been asked. Obv I'm looking for confirmation of what you're saying. Are you calling the ACC coach of the year a buffoon? Does that mean in your opinion that the 24 who voted for him were hoodwinked by a buffoon? Seems simple enough to answer with a yes or no. I'm assuming you're claiming him to be a buffoon this year as well as in past years. As long as I'm asking, what's your evidence?

First of all, here's what you actually said:

So you're saying that a highly mediocre buffoon who hasn't lived up to his hype (didn't know he came with hype) is the ACC coach of the year with 24 of the 53 votes cast, three times that of the second-place coach, and who coached the defensive player of the year.

Where was the question mark? It looked like you started to form a question, only to instead end your post with an incomplete statement that cut off in the middle. So there was no "oby" question to respond to.

Second, I don't need evidence--it is my opinion. If you want to base the full measure of you opinion only on this year, then be my guest. Mine is that he got labeled as a future stud coach after getting a very early start as an extremely young coach, dating back to when he was involved with AAU. He gained a [largely undeserved] reputation as a stud recruiter while at the University of Arizona, and was trumpeted by many as a coaching prodigy. In reality, I think that the reality is that he's a lot like Bob Diaco, who had the same reputation as a football AC at Notre Dame, but in reality couldn't recruit when he was at UConn instead of at a powerhouse elite school that sold itself, and had questionable [at best] coaching acumen.

My "evidence" in support of that belief is what occurred subsequent to when he was then hired by Memphis to replace Calipari. Memphis was hoping to catch lightning in a bottle with him and sustain the success, but he was a middling flop. He had an OK year at Georgia Tech, on a team that thrived on defense but failed [in all likelihood] to get into the NCAA tournament. So while I'm fine giving him a golf clap for earning ACC COY, it is important to keep in perspective that GT was generally mediocre, which fits my opinion of his coaching capabilities.

He reminds me a little of Lane Kiffin [although not at the same level in terms of obnoxiousness]. Off the court, he's smarmy [again, my opinion only]. On the court, he hasn't shown that he can win with any consistency. In fact, most people were surprised when he got hired by Georgia Tech. Maybe he'll prove to be a good hire, maybe he won't. Maybe he'll disprove my opinion about him being a mediocre coach, maybe he won't. But his career isn't entirely / solely defined by winning ACC COY.

 

[manleyzoo]

He hasn't only won COY in the ACC - he also won it in C-USA. He averaged 24 wins a year at Memphis. Not exactly a middling flop. Two COYs in eight years as a head coach in two different conferences is a pretty fair measure of coaching acumen in the opinions of his peers based on his results.

 

[Shark58]

more important than any buffoonism is that the National Anthem singer was indeed fantastic

 

[RF2044]

He hasn't only won COY in the ACC - he also won it in C-USA. He averaged 24 wins a year at Memphis. Not exactly a middling flop. Two COYs in eight years as a head coach in two different conferences is a pretty fair measure of coaching acumen in the opinions of his peers based on his results.

That cherry picks data. His tenure at Memphis could be divided into two significantly different halves. In his first three years, when he took over and inherited Calipari's players, he had three solid seasons, including a first place conference finish. However, in the next two [i.e., when the team was comprised of his recruits], his record nose-dived, he was significantly on the hot seat, and ran out of town with one step ahead of the lynch mob.

C-USA is the epitome of a middling conference, BTW. If JB played that conference schedule, I'd fully expect him to win 30+ games every season. The AAC was only marginally better, and once there Pastner nosedived. He's an average coach.

 

[tbonezone]

too bad we didn't get to see mike hopkins coach for 3-5 years in a middling conference. at least you 'd know what you were getting.