Iup basketball

[IUPbigINDIANS]

It’s nuanced and too involved to tease out here, and failure is your word, not mine. The next year is critical for both sports, which happen to be the two the community invests in around here. It’s easy to lead from in front and really easy to have overly friendly relationships with the coaches when things are going well. Things aren’t so wonderful all the sudden so now it’s a different job. As I mentioned, it’s something to keep an eye on.

Correct me if I'm wrong but the current AD didn't actually hire (promote) Tort, correct? Obviously he didn't hire Joe.

I will say the Carey hiring was one of the oddest things I've seen. He's been mostly pretty good but that whole situation was very strange.


You are correct. The disaster of 2023-24 will be chalked up as a fluke. Next year, however, will not.

[ironmaniup]

Correct me if I'm wrong but the current AD didn't actually hire (promote) Tort, correct? Obviously he didn't hire Joe.

I will say the Carey hiring was one of the oddest things I've seen. He's been mostly pretty good but that whole situation was very strange.


You are correct. The disaster of 2023-24 will be chalked up as a fluke. Next year, however, will not.

hiring since 2020 was hard because of the budget crisis at IUP and Covid. Tort was easy, since they didn't spend on a major search. Carey was odd because of that, along with the sudden need for a coach. Carey seems better than anyone expected, and I think his quirks will grow on people if he's successful. Taking down Gannon was a marquis win for him. Let's see how the post season plays out.

[IUPalum]

Correct me if I'm wrong but the current AD didn't actually hire (promote) Tort, correct? Obviously he didn't hire Joe.

I will say the Carey hiring was one of the oddest things I've seen. He's been mostly pretty good but that whole situation was very strange.


You are correct. The disaster of 2023-24 will be chalked up as a fluke. Next year, however, will not.

The Carey hire was very off. Tom resigned late and then Carey given the intern tag 1 month before the season. They never interviewed and then just hand him the job this year. Very disturbing,,, kind of like a inside job. How can a higher profile D2 job like IUP not go through the full interview process??? Kind of shady to me.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

The Carey hire was very off. Tom resigned late and then Carey given the intern tag 1 month before the season. They never interviewed and then just hand him the job this year. Very disturbing,,, kind of like a inside job. How can a higher profile D2 job like IUP not go through the full interview process??? Kind of shady to me.

When they did give him the full-time job there wasn't even a big introduction or anything.

Like I said, he's done pretty well and he's recruited very well.

Weaver and Henderson were gigantic portal lands.

The only thing that screwed him this year was those four bailing after the start of the season. They were all Tom recruits and likely would've just been deep bench options, but, well, now they have no deep bench options.

I do like his creativity. He's not afraid to add mid-year transfers or add from the student-body if need be.

He doesn't say much but in reality Lombardi and Tort don't, either. They are both professionals of answering a question with a 2-minute diatribe totally off-topic. It usually sounds good but rarely has any substance lol.

Carey's glaring weakness is he needs to get better at working officials. That will come with time. He basically just gets ignored.

But, hey, he's 20-5 and going dancing. He's smoked both Joe and Tort this year.

If they get Preston back (even in a small capacity) they have a legit shot in the Regional.

[boatcapt]

It’s nuanced and too involved to tease out here, and failure is your word, not mine. The next year is critical for both sports, which happen to be the two the community invests in around here. It’s easy to lead from in front and really easy to have overly friendly relationships with the coaches when things are going well. Things aren’t so wonderful all the sudden so now it’s a different job. As I mentioned, it’s something to keep an eye on.

I think both sports could be at a tipping point right now and I wouldn’t bet on either going one direction or another. As IUPbigIndians said, football SHOULD be way better next year, but if it’s not, then what? Men’s basketball is in the middle of a rebuild now, but the problem is they didn’t really build this year and many of the building blocks coming in to the year will probably be gone next. That means it’s a significant reload for 2024-25 or they can expect similar results, and that’s easier said than done.

Interesting times.

Failure was a term I used based on the posts of a number of IUP faithful on this board. As with WLU basketball (NOT WLU football!), IUP football and basketball are graded on a different curve than a "regular" DII team. I would classify any of the three teams not making the NCAA playoffs as a failure but if you want to call them something else that is less severe, OK.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

hiring since 2020 was hard because of the budget crisis at IUP and Covid. Tort was easy, since they didn't spend on a major search. Carey was odd because of that, along with the sudden need for a coach. Carey seems better than anyone expected, and I think his quirks will grow on people if he's successful. Taking down Gannon was a marquis win for him. Let's see how the post season plays out.

Most seem to be about 50-50 on Lombardi returning - and, that's some people fairly close to things.

I don't personally think it's even a question he will be back for 2-3 more years. He's not that old. The job pays way too much (he's making about $200k in salary). He's also a small-town celebrity, which I think he enjoys.

That said, I think this was a wake-up call. He needs to do much better recruiting. For years he just had more talent than 98 percent of the PSAC. I'm not sure how much 'coaching' he's actually done in the past 4-5 years, and I think they got lazy on the recruiting trail.

That said, he's not at catastrophe level. He is right now, obviously, but this season is almost over (and shot).

He's got 5 good guards coming back next year (two on the elite level). A couple bigs and they bounce back quick. Several of the good teams in the PSAC are losing a lot when this season ends. This could turn out to just be a blip.

[ironmaniup]

Most seem to be about 50-50 on Lombardi returning


That said, he's not at catastrophe level. He is right now, obviously, but this season is almost over (and shot).

He's got 5 good guards coming back next year (two on the elite level). A couple bigs and they bounce back quick. Several of the good teams in the PSAC are losing a lot when this season ends. This could turn out to just be a blip.

It’s easy to spin this season as a series of unfortunate circumstances. But one thing not really mentioned is the difference in support - like assistant coaches. This year just one guy from the hs ranks. Before there were at least 2 up and comers looking to impress- like Fite and some guys that could actually practice with the players. Less raining support and probably less manage/secretary support as well. And big changes at the foundation . That makes a big difference. Question is how does he feel about the decrease in support?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

It’s easy to spin this season as a series of unfortunate circumstances. But one thing not really mentioned is the difference in support - like assistant coaches. This year just one guy from the hs ranks. Before there were at least 2 up and comers looking to impress- like Fite and some guys that could actually practice with the players. Less raining support and probably less manage/secretary support as well. And big changes at the foundation . That makes a big difference. Question is how does he feel about the decrease in support?

Joe had 15 years of having ace recruiters to find all these guys.

He hasn't since Fudala left a couple years ago.


The current product is not a coincidence. Put it that way.

[Fightingscot82]

I think the IUP AD has done a fine job. Every athletic department regardless of success is full of strong characters and politics - and that's on top of the regular job. He hasn't seen a max exodus of coaches or a massive decline in win/loss performance or fundraising. There are ADs in this conference who have overseen that.

The AD hire must be strong because they are non-teaching faculty on the professor contract and eligible for tenure. Meaning they can't be terminated without a process that probably gets fought all the way to to the state labor relations board and even then probably followed by a civil suit. Its a little absurd because with such a critical job you'd want them to be at-will so you can make a necessary move. But alas, this is Pennsylvania government.

[IUPalum]

Joe had 15 years of having ace recruiters to find all these guys.

He hasn't since Fudala left a couple years ago.


The current product is not a coincidence. Put it that way.

When is the last time Joe actually recruited? Armoni brought brought David and Shawndale there.
Fudala did most of the other recruiting. Now he's gone and all the players that came with him and Armoni.

Time for Joe to get back after it. I wouldn't rely on Stevie P.

[ironmaniup]

Time for Joe to get back after it. I wouldn't rely on Stevie P.

So recent history for IUP is to hire from within, without much effort given to the search. Hopefully Joe stays a few more years until the budget crisis eases a bit more.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

So recent history for IUP is to hire from within, without much effort given to the search. Hopefully Joe stays a few more years until the budget crisis eases a bit more.

Luckily, I'd assume Joe's job will be one of the more-coveted in the D2 ranks.

They have a Top 5 facility, big school (for D2), nice following, history, etc.

[IUP1423]

Do you guys realize AD came in and immediately terminated an assistant position from both mens and women's hoops. Ask Coach McConnell about this situation.....

[ironmaniup]

Do you guys realize AD came in and immediately terminated an assistant position from both mens and women's hoops. Ask Coach McConnell about this situation.....

Yeah but not by choice, the entire university had to take significant cuts.

[ironmaniup]

Luckily, I'd assume Joe's job will be one of the more-coveted in the D2 ranks.

They have a Top 5 facility, big school (for D2), nice following, history, etc.

True, would have said the same about the women’s program a couple years ago. I’d hope they’d do a full search, but I’m still not sure since the bloodbath a few years ago, administration hasn’t been the same.