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Works for Roanoke Times, does some play by play stuff, and writes for Gobbler Country I believe. He did broadcasting stuff when he was a student at Tech as well.
Yup. That about sums it up.
Yes, but Lonergan is a D.C. guy that played at Catholic University. He obviously has strong ties to the area.
I wanted us to part ways with JJ, but this sounds like my old high school bball practices so i don't understand are people becoming soft?
TL;DR
Basically, Seth's relationship with the athletic department and, supposedly, his staff and players had soured. This was, as I understand it, one of the reasons JJ left and went to Clemson. Weaver saw this and the fact that in his last 3 seasons we went from top 4 of the ACC to close to the basement. In the 09-10 season we were 24-8 (10-6) good for 4th in the ACC regular season, in 10-11 we were 22-12 (9-7) finishing 6th in the ACC, and in his last season we were 16-17 (4-12) finishing 9th overall and tied for last in terms of ACC play. Weaver saw a downward trend and made a decision. Maybe it wasn't the right one; maybe if Seth had stayed Dodo, Harrell, and Green could have lit it up and helped us win it all. But, instead, he was fired, Dodo transferred to UF and Harrell decommited and went to U of L. Despite all the what-ifs and the fallout, I honestly think firing him was the right decision. He had developed a reputation of a coach who floundered in big moments. I'm pretty sure his record in close games was something like 53-55 but I can't remember where I read that. He got us into the NCAA Tourney just once in his nine years, admittedly being snubbed a few seasons. He just couldn't push us over the edge.
This was all done waaaaaaaay to late in the off-season and many of the coaches we would have looked at were already elsewhere so Weaver turned to JJ in an attempt to try and prevent a mass exodus. Now here we are 2 years later at the absolute basement of the ACC due to a number of factors. Our new AD decided that a change needed to be made and we can only hope that Whit hires the right man for the job.
We still have a couple things going for us. We've got some really promising freshman on our team and, God willing, some good scorers coming in. We're still in one of the best, if not THE best, basketball conference in the nation. And we've got some of the best fans.
We need someone who can generate success with a unit that is not what you would call talent rich, someone who can energize not only the players but the fans as well (a lot of the energizing the fans needs to be addressed by the athletic and marketing departments as a whole). There are a number of candidates that have worked with much less talent than we currently have and generated much more success than we've had in a while. The question is whether or not Whit will be willing to open up the purse strings a little and actually hire someone worth the money.
Sorry for the long post, I'll leave this here to make everyone happy
interesting point...I'd wager that the difference between their bball program and ours isn't as vast as it is for football
I mean, it's not like it's been 10 years since we've beaten them..heck, didn't we sweep them a few times in the last decade?
I might be wrong but I could see him doing that.
We are still an ACC team. That will attract some good coaches. Hopefully.
Then it would have to be someone not currently in the NCAA tournament. Is that someone you would really want?
All recruits for next year have signed LOIs, I believe. There's time to do this properly.
OK, I'll bite, who is Ty Hodges?
I haven't researched this myself but I heard the odds of getting a perfect bracket are something like 9 quentillion to 1
I don't think there are that many TKP'ers
Some of the injuries sustained by Virginia Tech's players this year were due to J.J.'s practice intensity and length. #Hokies— Ty Hodges (@STH_Hokie) March 17, 2014
But also how he executed drills. Many instances of players diving into walls for out of bounds balls b/c J.J. wouldn't blow drill dead.— Ty Hodges (@STH_Hokie) March 17, 2014
Johnson routinely held 2-hour, intense practices the day before games. Clearly not aware/didn't care about conditioning effects #Hokies— Ty Hodges (@STH_Hokie) March 17, 2014
For ex., one player almost went through an air vent in Cassell during a drill. You can't make this stuff up. The dent is still there #Hokies— Ty Hodges (@STH_Hokie) March 17, 2014
Over the course of this season, three players walked out on J.J. in practice and quit team. Two requested to rejoin team after the fact.— Ty Hodges (@STH_Hokie) March 17, 2014
Right. I think everyone knows how good Izzo iz as a tourney coach, though. He's like Pitino in that regard.
I wonder if JJ would have kept his job if our friends up the road hadn't won the ACC and gotten a #1 seed. I'm sure Whit had to do something to keep the growing distance between us and them from getting any larger.
I would think it's pretty standard for coaches to say that for wherever they're currently coaching or interviewing to coach
for the billion dollar brackets we should all make a different bracket and offer to share the $...I mean frankly I don't think I could spend a billion dollars if I tried
Honestly, I'd make that same offer back to him if I were Whit.
He's a HOT commodity in the region right now and would immediately turn around the program. We'd make that money back and then some with merchandising deals and rejuvenation of the fan base.
Could definitely see that.
@GWM85 Off court and day-to-day stuff— Ty Hodges (@STH_Hokie) March 17, 2014
I am hoping Whit already has somebody in mind, and can announce quickly.
Better to sacrifice a year and get the right guy than rush quickly and sacrifice the next 3-5 years under the wrong guy.
FWIW, Lonergan claims that GW is his "dream job".
Without giving this too much thought, my list is:
1. Mick Cronin (because why the hell not)
2. Mike Lonergan
3. Steve Pikiell
Dark Horse: WoJo. Yeah, similar lack of experience as JJ, but he's f*&#ing WoJo and every Dookie would crap their pants if he was in O&M. Plus, he was quoted in an article around Christmas that although he had turned down numerous HC jobs before, he feels as though the time is coming to move on from Durham.
Hell, I'd even extend the offer to $2.5M.
Yes, its pricey, but that money will be made up and then some in the future. Shaka Smart in the ACC would be bad news for everyone else. We make that hire, and it'll be that little bug in the back of UVa's ear, even after this season.
Whit, if you want to know how to show the VT donor base that you're serious about making us a contender across the board, THIS is the kind of hire you go after. I'm tired of the bargain basement hires. Do something flashy and open the checkbook. Even if it doesn't work out, just show us you're committed to greatness and I'll consider it a win.