Thursday, July 02, 2009
Offseason Posting, Part VII
Greetings from Killarney, Ireland. Longtime Brey assistant Sean Kearney has been hired as the new head coach at Holy Cross (the D1 school, not the one across the street). Congrats to him and it's been a long time coming. Jay Bilas talked a lot about his credentials during the Maui Inivite and how he might be getting a nod soon. A good time for the Irish to shake up the coaching staff as well and hopefully bring in a top-notch assistant to lead the staff.
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8 comments:
Too late. Martin Inglesby has been promoted to a full-time assistant. He's a great ND guy, but I would have liked to see him cut his teeth somewhere else and give the Irish a chance to bring in somebody with real credentials.
Wow.........a little rough on Inglesby aren't you? The guy paid his dues and deserves his shot. I like the fact that Brey shows loyalty to guys that put the work in. Interesting that Brey commented that Inglesby's spot will go to a former player or manager.
I do like Inglesby, but I was kind of hoping for a little new blood to shake-up the staff.
As far as the former player or manager, two names pop up right away: Harold Swanagan and Chris Thomas. Swanny works in the Athletic Association right now and used to coach a high school girls team in the area. Good guy, hard worker, would be a nice fit. Chris Thomas put his name in the hat last year, which was pretty laughable, but the fact that Coach Brey even acknowledged him makes me very worried.
whats wrong with chris thomas?
Hopefully he has matured a bit since graduating. His playing style (supported by Coach Brey, one of his bigger mistakes) was incredibly ineffective. His offensive efficiency was Tory Jackson-esque, yet he used more possessions than anyone else.
For 2004-05, he brashly predicted 30 wins and a Final Four berth. That season ended with an NIT home loss to Holy Cross at home, perhaps the most embarrassing event in Coach Brey's tenure. The following year with some real leadership and less talent, the squad actually showed a little heart (eight of 14 losses were decided in the final possession, including four in overtime).
It's also no coincidence that much less talented players Chris Quinn and Rob Kurz have found a niche in the NBA, while one-time Indiana Mr. Basketball Thomas has had to learn Spanish. I know he hasn't been the same player since getting injured, but it's clear that his makeup isn't even in the same league (pun intended) as those two much less heralded players.
Then on a personal level, I've heard a couple bad stories about the guy from his time at ND, nothing too serious, just enough to give you extra pause.
Update: Swanny got the gig. Good choice by Brey if he was looking for a young former player to bring in. He's a good guy, already settled in the area, with a little coaching experience (albeit high school girls) to boot.
Drago commits.
Not a ton of info on the guy, but he's a two-star recruit who seems to be a bit of a tall Colin Falls. Very good shooter, pretty limited defensively. We'll see how he is rated at the end of next season, but for now he's looking like a decent role player who may see playing time as a third option scorer, but hopefully not be depended on more than that.
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