Crutch

[Sportsnut]

I was wondering who he lost to in the D2 tournament. I was surprised to see it was St. Anselm, a northeast conference team. Checked his roster and he appears to be recruiting bigger athletes now down at NOVA. A couple of 6' 1" guys on the team and the rest are around 6' 5"or taller. Scores are a little lower now than at WL, especially the end of the season. Wonder if he is changes his coaching philosophy?

[Columbuseer]

Re: Crutch

I was wondering who he lost to in the D2 tournament. I was surprised to see it was St. Anselm, a northeast conference team. Checked his roster and he appears to be recruiting bigger athletes now down at NOVA. A couple of 6' 1" guys on the team and the rest are around 6' 5"or taller. Scores are a little lower now than at WL, especially the end of the season. Wonder if he is changes his coaching philosophy?

Here are my 2 cents.
Imho they lost because of below average shooting. Also one of their top players Connor z. Did not play due to injury.
All those tall guys are same type players as he had at west lib but just taller and stronger. three or four euro players and 4 ex d1 I think.

Imho he has not changed but probably has some recruiting advantages now to get those rare tall guys who can play his style.

If west lib could develop pipeline in Europe we might be able to find similar players. Not too confident of finding them here ( voorhes with more endurance)

[boatcapt]

Re: Crutch

Nova doesn't seem to be quite as deep as WLU which probably impacted their ability to score a bit. Former WLU player Dennis started the season on fire but cooled off tremendously as the season went on and he ended averaging 15 PPG. Former WLU commit Smith has a bit of a sophomore slump going from 13 to 8 PPG. But hey, nearly 97 PPG is still pretty good!!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: Crutch

You guys are tough. LOL.

It's his second year and he made the Elite 8 -- at a program that was near terrible before he arrived.

This is just the start. He has recruiting advantages there that few D2 (and many D1) schools in the country can match.

He gets kids on campus for a visit ... done deal.

[PSAC76]

Re: Crutch

One of the best D2 jobs in the country. Does not even compare to WLU, sorry

[Columbuseer]

Re: Crutch

One of the best D2 jobs in the country. Does not even compare to WLU, sorry

Depends on nature of comparison but I would agree with you in general in areas such as weather, campus and facilities, which are far above any other d2 school in Atlantic and Midwest heartland.

Thankfully for all of us folks in wv pa and oh, he can only take 10 guys. Lol
I want him to be successful for it will validate the style and set more players free to use their judgment and play the game with joy rather than being leashed in by overcontrolling coaches.

He lost his top player in Connor z. With two broken hands, else he might have gone beyond elite 8.

They may become a fixture in elite 8 in the future.

[PSAC76]

Re: Crutch

Depends on nature of comparison but I would agree with you in general in areas such as weather, campus and facilities, which are far above any other d2 school in Atlantic and Midwest heartland.

Thankfully for all of us folks in wv pa and oh, he can only take 10 guys. Lol
I want him to be successful for it will validate the style and set more players free to use their judgment and play the game with joy rather than being leashed in by overcontrolling coaches.

He lost his top player in Connor z. With two broken hands, else he might have gone beyond elite 8.

They may become a fixture in elite 8 in the future.

Completely agree with all of your points

[boatcapt]

Re: Crutch

You guys are tough. LOL.

It's his second year and he made the Elite 8 -- at a program that was near terrible before he arrived.

This is just the start. He has recruiting advantages there that few D2 (and many D1) schools in the country can match.

He gets kids on campus for a visit ... done deal.

Not knocking Crutch at all, just ID'ing "what happened" this year. The changes he has made in two short years at Nova (a forever doormat program) is fenominal. Just shows that our cannonazation of Saint Crutch while he was at WLU was well founded! He used two WLU players (actually one player and one WLU recruit) to jump start Nova which really propelled the transformation. It will be interesting to see, as it is with any program< how he fairs now that his lead dog (Dennis) is gone. As he did every year at WLU when they lost an All American, I suspect he has a plan in place to do that and will be back just as strong next year.

What Crutch has done at Nova (and WLU before that) and what Ben has done in the face of a bunch of high quality transfers and recruit defections over his two year tenure at WLU, should serve as validation for the WLU/Crutch "system" and I would think that down trodden programs looking for a quick and sustainable turn around would be wise to take serious looks at hiring one of the WLU or Nova assistants to their HC vacancies. Yea, they are young, but if they are capable of doing even half of what Crutch and now Ben are doing, they would be much improved and QUICKLY!!

I've unilaterally decided that Saint Crutch has now been "promoted" to "Pope Crutch!!"

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: Crutch

Depends on nature of comparison but I would agree with you in general in areas such as weather, campus and facilities, which are far above any other d2 school in Atlantic and Midwest heartland.

Thankfully for all of us folks in wv pa and oh, he can only take 10 guys. Lol
I want him to be successful for it will validate the style and set more players free to use their judgment and play the game with joy rather than being leashed in by overcontrolling coaches.

He lost his top player in Connor z. With two broken hands, else he might have gone beyond elite 8.

They may become a fixture in elite 8 in the future.

Weather, campus and facilities, sure, but don't forget a real important other factor: the ladies. Lol. Whole new ballgame down there.

[Columbuseer]

Re: Crutch

Not knocking Crutch at all, just ID'ing "what happened" this year. The changes he has made in two short years at Nova (a forever doormat program) is fenominal. Just shows that our cannonazation of Saint Crutch while he was at WLU was well founded! He used two WLU players (actually one player and one WLU recruit) to jump start Nova which really propelled the transformation. It will be interesting to see, as it is with any program< how he fairs now that his lead dog (Dennis) is gone. As he did every year at WLU when they lost an All American, I suspect he has a plan in place to do that and will be back just as strong next year.

What Crutch has done at Nova (and WLU before that) and what Ben has done in the face of a bunch of high quality transfers and recruit defections over his two year tenure at WLU, should serve as validation for the WLU/Crutch "system" and I would think that down trodden programs looking for a quick and sustainable turn around would be wise to take serious looks at hiring one of the WLU or Nova assistants to their HC vacancies. Yea, they are young, but if they are capable of doing even half of what Crutch and now Ben are doing, they would be much improved and QUICKLY!!

I've unilaterally decided that Saint Crutch has now been "promoted" to "Pope Crutch!!"

Lol. Good one!
Maybe cardinal Howlett?

[PSAC76]

Re: Crutch

Lol. Good one!
Maybe cardinal Howlett?

I'm not catholic, but let's not be sacreligious here

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: Crutch

Not knocking Crutch at all, just ID'ing "what happened" this year. The changes he has made in two short years at Nova (a forever doormat program) is fenominal. Just shows that our cannonazation of Saint Crutch while he was at WLU was well founded! He used two WLU players (actually one player and one WLU recruit) to jump start Nova which really propelled the transformation. It will be interesting to see, as it is with any program< how he fairs now that his lead dog (Dennis) is gone. As he did every year at WLU when they lost an All American, I suspect he has a plan in place to do that and will be back just as strong next year.

What Crutch has done at Nova (and WLU before that) and what Ben has done in the face of a bunch of high quality transfers and recruit defections over his two year tenure at WLU, should serve as validation for the WLU/Crutch "system" and I would think that down trodden programs looking for a quick and sustainable turn around would be wise to take serious looks at hiring one of the WLU or Nova assistants to their HC vacancies. Yea, they are young, but if they are capable of doing even half of what Crutch and now Ben are doing, they would be much improved and QUICKLY!!

I've unilaterally decided that Saint Crutch has now been "promoted" to "Pope Crutch!!"

A guy with ties to the Atlantic I think would be a good candidate is Le Moyne assistant Brett Ervin. He's young but has a lot of potential.

I assume you could mean Mike Lamberti. He's had two grad assistant years and one year on the WL bench as top assistant. His experience is lacking but he could be an interesting hire. The lack of bench experience makes him a roll of the dice for an AD but sometimes you have to roll those dice. He looks the part, is well-spoken and played for Crutch. He could be an interesting hire for a team looking for a young coach who will certainly bring excitement on the floor. He's also from Western PA (South Fayette).

If I'm Gannon ... my eyes are deadlocked on Notre Dame (OH) coach Tim Koenig. He's the first call. Or, perhaps Chris Fite. He may be tough to pry out of Shippensburg but money always talks.

[Columbuseer]

Re: Crutch

A guy with ties to the Atlantic I think would be a good candidate is Le Moyne assistant Brett Ervin. He's young but has a lot of potential.

I assume you could mean Mike Lamberti. He's had two grad assistant years and one year on the WL bench as top assistant. His experience is lacking but he could be an interesting hire. The lack of bench experience makes him a roll of the dice for an AD but sometimes you have to roll those dice. He looks the part, is well-spoken and played for Crutch. He could be an interesting hire for a team looking for a young coach who will certainly bring excitement on the floor. He's also from Western PA (South Fayette).

If I'm Gannon ... my eyes are deadlocked on Notre Dame (OH) coach Tim Koenig. He's the first call. Or, perhaps Chris Fite. He may be tough to pry out of Shippensburg but money always talks.

All good choices. Sometimes ADs look at self-preservation first such as " If I take a young assistant with no HC experience and things don't work out, could I lose my job?". That may work against Lamberti and Ervin and even perhaps Jordan Fee of Nova SE.

Koenig has done a good job at Notre Dame relative to their history and the facilities are very modest (probably worst gym in MEC).
I think his success recently has been accentuated by Will Voorhees.
From a coaching perspective, I never could figure out why he had Voorhees handling the ball against the WLU press. It wore him out in the game at Notre Dame, given that he plays heavy minutes and you have good guards. But overall he seems to be a good coach.

[boatcapt]

Re: Crutch

The Crutch coaching tree:

Crutch, HC Nova Southeastern University - Assistants at Nova and WLU - Jordan Fee, Devin Hoehn, Aaron Huffman*, Eric Bovaird (HC at Chaminade), Ben Howlett (HC at WLU)

Eric Bovaird, HC Chaminade University - Assistants at Chaminade - Darrel Mattsui, Kawika Villa, Arthur King (HC for Chaminade Women's team), Tim Bross, Kyle Milligan, Dantley Walker

Ben Howlett, HC WLU - Assistants at WLU - Aaron Huffman, Bret Evans, Mike Lamberti

Arthur King, Head Women's Coach Chaminade University - Assistants at Chaminade - Derric Braziel, Woodrow Moore

*Huffman is the former HC at D3 Bethany College were he amassed a 112-53 record with three PAC crowns and three trips to the NCAA D3 Tourney.

So the "Crutch Coaching Tree" currently includes four Head Coaches (Three current HC's and one former HC) and there are 11 current or former assistants in the "Tree."

[boatcapt]

Re: Crutch

All good choices. Sometimes ADs look at self-preservation first such as " If I take a young assistant with no HC experience and things don't work out, could I lose my job?". That may work against Lamberti and Ervin and even perhaps Jordan Fee of Nova SE.

Koenig has done a good job at Notre Dame relative to their history and the facilities are very modest (probably worst gym in MEC).
I think his success recently has been accentuated by Will Voorhees.
From a coaching perspective, I never could figure out why he had Voorhees handling the ball against the WLU press. It wore him out in the game at Notre Dame, given that he plays heavy minutes and you have good guards. But overall he seems to be a good coach.

Got to ask yourself with these "hot" coaches, did they catch lightning in a bottle with one (or maybe two) transcendent players? What is their record without that player? Do they show that they can put up consistent winners or did they just ride a great player to a really good record and are now cashing in?

Yea, Evans, Lamberti and to a lesser extent Fee are young coaches with not HC experience. Probably cause all AD's to shy away from hiring them.