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Thursday, June 3, 2010

Tom Thumbs Down: Part II of II

Read Part I of Tom Thumbs Down from yesterday.

All this talk about the interview process and you’re probably wondering who exactly had a chance at this job. Well these were the six finalists who were brought to campus for interviews:

Robert Burke, Brion Dunlap, Jamion Christian, Martin Inglesby, Pete Strickland and Gary Nottingham, who was the head coach at Glenville State College in West Virginia during the time that Powell served as GSC’s president.

Those who doubted my belief that Powell has more confidence in Burke now than he ever did in Milan Brown, that Burke would be given more to work with, and that Brown was set up to fail has never been more evident than it is now.

Consider that Burke’s salary will be approximately 125 percent of what Brown made in his seventh season at the Mount. That’s right; Brown clawed his way to a six-figure salary needing a conference championship and the school's first-ever NCAA tournament victory just to “earn” a five-year contract extension.

Now all Burke had to do upon his selection was walk in the door and sign the papers and he was granted thousands upon thousands more in salary to go with his initial five-year contract.

(I’d like to see someone who works in the school anonymously comment on that.)

This undoubtedly will mean higher salaries for the three assistants on his staff (in the neighborhood of $50,000 each) when it is named.

And when it is named, an additional paid position akin to a graduate assistant thats existence was never granted for Brown will be occupied by Sam Atupem.

In summary, Powell is giving Burke more money, more positions, and in turn, a bigger vote of confidence. I have no problem with most of this – I wish he could give Burke more than he already is.

My problem is that Brown was never given any of these benefits.

Was it because he’s not Catholic? I don’t know I’m just asking based on Powell’s comments in the press release:

“Coach Burke was selected for his strong leadership and coaching skills, devotion to Catholicism and commitment to the academic success of his student-athletes.”

Brown certainly displayed the strongest of leadership, great coaching skills and made the graduation of his players a priority in his tenure – but while he is a devout Christian, he is not Catholic.

(For the record the Mount’s president is the only position on campus that requires its occupant to be Catholic, as Powell once informed me. I’m sure that wasn’t counting anyone involved with the church such as the Rev. Brian Nolan.)

I do know that since Burke has not officially announced the hiring of anyone for his staff yet, there are only two minorities in the Mount athletic department. They are both assistant coaches for women’s basketball, which means that head coach Brian Whitten chose them and Powell simply signed off on the decisions.

But as we learned from the press conference, as well as from my interview about his sister-in-law (from this story; definitely read it), Powell makes all the hiring decisions:

Nobody gets offered a job at Mount St. Mary's until they get a letter from the president offering a job. There's only one person who's allowed to offer people jobs and that's me,” Powell said in January 2008.

So then we should give him credit for all the black professors he employs. Let’s count them:

Susan Samples…

(Crickets.)

That’s it. Scroll down to the “D” section of this page and click on each department, then click on faculty, and she is the only black professor you will find. (I don’t know who J. Michael Harpe is in the education department, but I’ve never heard anyone refer to him as a professor, let alone seen him on campus.)

The funny thing about Samples is that she was hired before Powell, which logically means that he could not have hired her.

Gasp!

My concern beyond basketball is the legitimate problem with diversity at Mount St. Mary’s. 

We have two black coaches and one black professor – neither of which was chosen by Powell – and we’re about to give a white, Catholic coach significantly more money and resources than we gave a black, non-Catholic coach?

As a white, Catholic alumni of the Mount, I’m offended. I am embarrassed to be associated with a school that gave me so much opportunity and so many memories, but is run so exclusively.

That which I can do in the meantime is limited; I can wait for Powell’s contract to expire on June 30, 2012 and I can refrain from donating any money to the Mount. When I’m older, less poor and the school is no longer run by Powell I plan on donating.

I’ll donate to the men’s golf program (if it still exists), to the men’s basketball program, which will hopefully still be run by a successful coach Burke, to the communications department and to other aspects of campus that shaped my career.

But to arrogance and selfishness? The only thing I will give to those causes is my vehement disapproval. 



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Please be sure to vote in the new poll on the top of the page on whether Powell should resign.

---

Multiple attempts were made to contact Powell via telephone (where he was not reached as I later learned he was in New York for business) and via e-mail. He accepted an e-mail request one week ago, May 26, for an interview regarding the contents of this piece but did not subsequently make himself available.

UPDATE:




An excerpt of an e-mail I received from an employee in the Mount's communications department at 2:16 p.m. this afternoon:


"...would you stop by my office so we can talk about a few things?"

I wish I had the time.

At 3:03 p.m., literally seconds before I was about to post this, I received another e-mail from one of Powell's assistants regarding the scheduling of our interview for which he would not soon be available. I politely responded that I no longer needed to speak to Powell since our schedules were not able to align in time.

54 comments:

BC said...

I always just had a major concern about Coach Brown's salary. Several former players were talking about it on our road trip to Robert Morris this year for the NEC tournament. I am glad they are paying Coach Burke more but this def comes across real shady. Great job Brad. I haven't donated since I graduated and prob won't until Powell is gone. I was a student at the Mount when Powell first got the job and the big concern I had was that the last school he was at he led them to bankruptcy.

Anonymous said...

Great post BG. I never was a fan of Powell because of what happened at his last school. The Mount could be in trouble with someone like him in charge. I think the Mount will start seeing more of these types of issues in the near future.

Anonymous said...

Fact #1 - President Powell (and his wife Irene) deeply cared for Milan Brown, wanted him to stay at the Mount and he alone was responsible for the increase in pay and length of Milan's last contract. Furthermore, even though it was to mean hardship for the Mount, when Milan asked for permission to talk with HC, Dr. Powell and Lynne conferred and not only allowed him to talk but allowed him to get out of his contract with no adverse effects (financially or in reputation). So, given these occurrences, I see a different character than you are describing.

Anonymous said...

Fact #2 - Milan was happy at the Mount. From speaking to him both when he was in E'burg AND since he moved to W'chester, he felt nothing but support for himself, his program and his family. Most of us who know Dr. Powell and Coach Brown well will attest that your characterization of the President is flat out wrong.

Anonymous said...

I guess since Jim Phelan's salary was so little, Father Sheridan hated him?

BC said...

WHY DID MILAN BROWN LEAVE THE MOUNT THEN???????? This isn't rocket science. Third lowest paid Coach in the NEC. WHY ALL THE SUDDEN IS COACH BURKE MAKING SO MUCH MONEY????? You can have you own opinion on it but come on now.

Anonymous said...

Milan left the Mount because he had an opportunity in a higher profile league and he felt the Holy Cross situation would allow him to attempt to succeed and then go higher.

Milan, remember, is not yet 40 years old. The HC salary is higher. Milan's record at the Mount did not demand a Big East consideration.

Coach Burke is "making so much money" for the same reason Coach Brown got the large increase when he last signed at MSM - because the President listened to those of us who care about Mount basketball, give money to the institution and really want the best for the school and the coaches.

You with little knowledge or experience (such as the writer of the Mount U. blog) can only scream and yell profanities but the rest of us see through your posts as the emotional outcries of the young and ignorant!

Anonymous said...

BG - The problem I have with your stories about the situations is simple - you are being destructively critical and spreading negative gossip about what you profess to love.

Anonymous said...

haha..BG why don't you just ask Coach Brown himself why he left, and post it here. If he was so happy then why did he leave? For a higher profile league? You can't be serious with that. Last year patriot league was a 16 seed while NEC was a 15, the two leagues are comparable at best.

Kevin J. said...

Brad,

I don't know what President Powell ever did to you in your 4 plus years on Campus, but the grudge that you hold shows your age & maturity. Couple that with the fact that you are throwing out the race card really discredits your argument.

I learned of your blog through reading The Fan Blog during this Mount Hoops season. I thought you would show some unbiased insight into the inner workings around the Campus that I love. Unfortunately, it seems that you are no more than a rabble-rousing Rhetoric/Communications student whose Mountain Echo career is over & you need an outlet to drum up some controversy.

No one at Mount Saint Mary's breaks the bank in terms of salary, they do it for the love of the school & the connection they feel to the Mount. Maybe you should re-evaluate your stance as an alumnus of Mount Saint Mary's. I'm sure you'll look back in the years to come and realize just how immature you sound at this time in your life.

Coach Brown did what he had to do to support his loving wife & two beautiful daughters. You can't blame the man for pursuing a higher salary and a better life for his family. The same rings true for Coach Burke & for anyone else in the business world. In time, you'll soon realize this when you are employed.

In conclusion, I'll be on campus for Reunion this weekend. Come by Ott's on Friday night & I'll introduce myself & buy you a beer if you're in town.

Regards,

Kevin J. Kalis
Class of 1999

Anonymous said...

Just thought you might like to get some facts straight: the following is a newspaper headline from 2002 - Thomas Powell SAVED Glenville.

"Glenville State president takes Md. job: Thomas Powell turned around a campus in disarray"
Charleston Gazette | December 11, 2002

Anonymous said...

I found this interesting tidbit describing something Thomas Powell did when at his last job - sure doesn't sound like the Powell BG is criticizing.

"COURAGE in public life has become a rare commodity. Self- sacrifice is even more rare, a behavior befitting only the naive, say the sophisticated among us. Unfortunately, the recent record reveals too many "leaders" who have taken all they could get while in office. So it is newsworthy when a public college president tells his bosses he would prefer a decrease in salary because his institution has fallen on hard times.

President Tom Powell of Glenville State College has done just that, and his gesture deserves more than a paragraph in this and other papers.

Anonymous said...

BG....keep up the good work man

and whoever believes that the patriot league (not the Big East) is better than the NEC is high off their ass. And if Pres. Powell really "listened" for the best of the program he would have not thrown away the letter that i and the team wrote and signed in favor of coach dunlap.

Do work Brad

-X

Anonymous said...

Communications has done a nice job on commentating on this article.

Anonymous said...

*commenting

Anonymous said...

Agreed, were it not for the comments I would have thought the original post might have had some merit. I looked into the newspaper accounts of Powell in West Virginia and they are all very positive, as mentioned by someone earlier.

I have today spoken with four alums about their dealings with Brown and Powell. Everyone says the same thing - two nicer men you cannot meet.

Anonymous said...

Sorry that your fantasized love affair with Milan Brown didn’t work out.

This is a terrible post because it is full of speculation and inconsistencies.

How about this for your next story: I’ve heard that Susan Samples, who makes $100,000,000 a year, and President Powell, who makes $6.50 an hour; co founded a book club together. There must be a corrupt conspiracy theory behind this story too. Is this true? Of course not, but it contains as many facts as this post.

By the way, President Powell is the PRESIDENT of the University. I am not overly surprised that he was slow to respond to a former student trying to interview him for a blog post. You should appreciate the fact that he was willing to meet with you at all, even though your schedules never allowed it. I am certain that he will be devastated once he realizes that the school is missing out on the $5 donation that you were probably not going to make anyway.

Anonymous said...

I'm pretty sure Powell doesn't make 6.50 an hour. That's below Maryland's minimum wage. Just look at the BMW he drives and you'll realize that's not true.

Anonymous said...

Brad..Keep blogging!

Mr. Mount, C'07 said...

Brad isn't saying anything on his blog(s) that most graduates & students, especially minorities, haven't already said. If you weren't there for the hiring of TP's sister-in-law then please stop questioning Brad's maturity, age. Blogging, for better or for worse, is a new form of journalism and Brad is doing what journalists do - taking a story, reporting/writing on it and giving you some of his opinion.

Milan Brown got the short end of the stick and he literally made chicken salad out of (you know the rest) - not talking about his players, but the resources or lack thereof that he was given. The Mount has used certain minorities when it was convenient and when they need a person of color to save facem, Paullette comes to mind. The Intercultural Development Office saw in a span of less than 2 years, 2 different directors who literally were fed up with the resistance to change at that school - trust me I know - and saw itself merged into the Third Century Scholars program. And the fact that Dr. Samples is the only Black professor is deplorable, at best.

Brad keep doing what you're doing. You've got a supporter in me.

- Mr. Mount

Anonymous said...

Journalism of any ilk is good when intelligence and objectivity are functioning, incorporating investigational techniques and producing a product that readers might find informative and interesting.

The chicken s*** that your childish buddy is 'writing' fulfills none of the criteria and would be better published on toilet paper.

Please note there are no persons of maturity agreeing with any of the points raised.

I personally think this whole critique of the university and its President is completely unjustified and further I predict Brad and a few of his friends will one day read their own words and cringe.

Sam said...

If Brad could get a company to put his blogs on their toilet paper he would be a rich man. Then all of us would be drinking for free at Ott's tonight! I hope someone besides Kevin Kalas has the courage so say some of these things to his face or at least some other way with identification. None of "us" are hiding behind "Anonymous" labels.

Anonymous said...

Great Article BG....
I agree with you and X.First off I want to go ahead and agree with X on Powell throwing away the letter. People took time to actually write that to make an effort to keep coach bri. I am certainly not saying that Burke isnt a good fit because I believe he will do a good job but why disregard something that people wrote its wrong. As far as people saying that the Patriot League is better well we shall see this year when the mount comes and makes an impact on the teams we play. This season will be a great one theres no doubting that. Keep on writing BG

DBB

Anonymous said...

DBB -

Dr. Powell, who makes it a point to be available and supportive to all the students at the Mount, receives a letter from a student and it is signed by the team players. The letter is in support of Coach Dunlap, a nice guy and a good assistant coach.

Realistically, do you really think this would have been sufficient reason to simply hire Bri as the Head Coach? Or possibly, would a search (as was done; I personally spoke with several Division I coaches and representatives who called to recommend candidates) still not be appropriate?

I have NO relationship to the university; I am a fan. I just happen to know some people and they were looking for an introduction for their candidates, so I was able to pass along their information.

Now the process has concluded. The guy you knew did not get the job. Accept it. Nothing sinister happened.

The President rightfully is involved in these matters.

Icepack

Anonymous said...

Love it how people who anonymously write things call into question the maturity of others. You can question others when you're afraid to put your name or at least an alias. Nevertheless, Brad had plenty of contact with the coaching staff when he was at the Mount, primarily because of his time spent as the manager of the team. We're not sure or even privy to the information that he may have received - some of the things he might have heard - so for the clown who posted at 11:24, if you aren't an alum or someone associated with the university, keep your mouth shut.

As an alum who held positions at The Mount I can assure you that the things I heard and witnessed would make you cringe. But isn't it funny, Brad writes about the salary disparity between Coach Brown and Coach Burke and the issue(s) of minority professors and none of the haters seem to want to address that. And the need to be Catholic is somehow a prerequisite to being the right person for the job. Please, come up with something better than that. Way to be selective in your faux-outrage about his blog.

Keep writing Brad. Wish I could be there for Reunion Weekend, but ministry/preaching calls.

Bryce Jones, C'07

MTPMiller said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
BC said...

Whoever just posted that you have no understanding of Mount Basketball and what Milan went through his first couple years. Why do you think Holy Cross hired him? He turned a program from disarray to top of the NEC. I was there I witnessed it. You were not at the Mount in 2001 when we lost 5 scholarship players and went 3-24. It really shows your understanding of basketball from what you said. You cannot turn a program like the Mount around over night. Mychal Kearse was Coach Brown's first true recruiting class. I suggest you watch Milan Brown's press conference at Holy Cross. Cost of living that is the biggest joke i have ever heard in my life. Your stating facts that you don't understand brother. You can defend President Powell all you want brother and I respect that but don't talk about something you have no understanding of.

Anonymous said...

When I read blogs like this one and the comments that are in support, I think:

The Inmates are Running the Asylum.

BC said...

Cost of living:
A salary of $100,000 in Frederick, Maryland could decrease to $76,874 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
So by your account Coach Brown should have been making more money than the Robert Morris head coach by a lot.

BC said...

I love how someone turn this blog into a dis of Coach Brown. MOUNT WHAT?

Anonymous said...

Fact check

Milan Brown's MSM coaching record:

2003-04 10-19
2004-05 7-20
2005-06 13-17
2006-07 11-20
2007-08 19-15
2008-09 19-14
2009-10 16-15

res ipse loquitor

BC said...

YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND COLLEGE BASKETBALL PERIOD. You ever hear of SOS. Stregnth of schedule.

BC said...

I would listen to you guys if you were at High Point(NC) for Myke Kearse's freshman year. You would understand where I am coming from.

Anonymous said...

BC - Your conclusion about salaries is erroneous.

The Miller post was correct when discussing the 'cost of living' factor. Milan's hypothetical $100K would be worth about $145K in NY.

Icepack

BC said...

Anonymous,
So Cost of Living only applies to NYC not any other city in America. There are 3 schools in the NEC from NYC. Not one of those school had the highest paying coach in the NEC last year. Nice try.

Anonymous said...

Holy Cross endowment = >$600M
Mount St. Mary's endowment = <$40M

Milan left because Holy Cross paid him a lot to do so (and I commend him for doing so).

The Mount (and Tom Powell) has done a heck of a job of doing more with less. While not as well funded as we would all like, the athletic programs have better facilities and are better funded than they have ever been. The campus improvements have been terrific - new dorm, refurbished Terrace, Patriot Hall, etc.

While tuition/room/board is just enough for the Mount to break even, it is an endowment that is the lifeblood of a university and unfortunately throughout the Mount's history, its low endowment has handcuffed its advancement efforts.


Could the Mount benefit from a more diverse faculty? Absolutely, and I'm sure that the entire administration would agree with that. With that being said, to play the race card in a selfish effort to further paint a negative image of someone that you hold a grudge against is a terrible thing to do, not only to the person that you are unfairly characterizing but to the minority community that you are using for your own selfish motives.

You ought to be ashamed of yourself as a Mount grad. You are certainly welcome to your opinion but you have let your personal feelings get in the way of fact/reason. Your immature and irresponsible comments not only bring undeserved harm to Dr. Powell and his family but also to to the institution that so many of us love.

I have a feeling that you are going to look back at your entries in the years to come and be very embarrassed.

Anonymous said...

Looking at this realistically, any current or former players or team managers are just to close to the former regime to look at this situation rationally. I can certainly understand why those who knew Coach Brown and Coach Dunlop on a personal level are sad to see them go. I can understand to an even greater degree why these individuals are so upset that Coach Dunlop wasn’t hired. Of course the current players supported his hiring. They knew him, I’m guessing liked him and most importantly, he knew them! Bringing in an outsider as the next head coach means a nerve-racking transition for each one of the players as they now have to essentially re-prove their worth. With that, President Powell did the right thing by taking this signed letter for what it was worth. It’s a nice gesture by the players and those close to Coach Dunlop, but in no way should it have been more than a slight factor in the coaching search.

This applies even more to former team managers. Their resentment to the new staff is impossible not to notice. Why wouldn’t it be? The only connection these guys had to the program is now essentially gone. They’re back to being fans just like the rest of us. I doubt Coach Burke is going to make it a high priority to establish relationships with past team managers. I think his time can be better spent elsewhere. Although I do hope he reaches out to former players, which is important for recruiting and other aspects of the program.

As for President Powell, I think it’s pretty risky to start accusing him of being racist in his hiring practices. The professor statistic is pretty alarming, but if you consider the area where the Mount is located, it becomes a little less surprising. I’d be interested to know how many qualified minorities actually apply for academic positions. Maybe you can dig this up? As for his involvement in the coaching search, who are we to criticize? He has earned the right to do what he pleases. Do I agree? Not necessarily. I think there are probably more qualified individuals at the Mount to make this decision, but it is within his right to be heavily involved with the process. The basketball program is the most visible program at the University and hiring a coach that represents the school in a positive light is essential. If Powell thought the only way to be sure of this was to pick the next coach himself, than so be it. I’m sure if Burke doesn’t succeed he’ll be hearing about it and will be facing pressure to not repeat the same mistake.

Now, I think this should be the end of the fuss over the hiring process and the move away from the old coaching regime. Obviously the idiots who check this blog and the fan blog (myself included) are the biggest Mount Fans around. Can we start talking about some more positive things? Can we start supporting the new coaching staff?

Anonymous said...

Wish I had said that.

Mount grad, 1962

BC said...

This got blown way out of proportion. We are supporting the New Staff? Brad did go overboard on asking for the resignation on President Powell. I understand that. He was trying to get your attention and he obviously did. I just hope this opens peoples eyes. Running the Mount program away from Coach Phelan is a disgrace. Did Lynne Robinson even speak at Coach Burke's press conference? This is over I understand but next time let the Athletic Department playing a bigger role in the hiring process. I am all for Coach Burke. Sam Atupem has all my support. Next time lets do what every other successful college or university does in America and let our Athletic Director head up the search for a new coach not the President. President Powell but should be allowed to play a role in it but he should have other more pertinent things around campus to worry about. SALARY will always be an issue at the Mount. It is what it is but look what NEC champion did and hired their top assistant. All I ask is let the Athletic Department handle Athletics. Honestly after this blog I don't want President Powell to resign but we as part of the Mount Community we need to watch him closely. All i can hope is that Coach Burke will still embrace the rich history that Coach Phelan created for us. If not for Coach Phelan we would not be having this discussion and I hope and pray we never go back to D2 or D3.

BC said...

"This applies even more to former team managers. Their resentment to the new staff is impossible not to notice. Why wouldn’t it be? The only connection these guys had to the program is now essentially gone. They’re back to being fans just like the rest of us."
I guess we know why your so Anonymous. ASSUME much? Not even close to what is going on here. I REPEAT. I HOPE YOU CAN READ. There is no resentment to the new staff. The resentment is towards President Powell and after all this I really don't resent him I just hope next time he lets Lynne Robinson do her job.

BC said...

Brad,
You did a great job getting such a heavy response from this issue. People that make fun of you for not having a job yet when you just graduated aren't true members of the Mount Community. This should be a great learning experience for you. You might have killed any future chances of employment with the Mount but you have proven that whoever hires you is getting a passionate employee.

Anonymous said...

Can we lock this post already?

BC said...

Can you?

BC said...

I am just playing. It seems like its over.Good talk.

Anonymous said...

Don't want a PASSIONATE employee unless he is honest, thoughtful, caring and respectful (as well as smart, punctual, socially aware, shall I continue?

BC said...

Sounds like BG to me. Thanks for the help. Post your name and you shall continue.

Anonymous said...

I would hire Brad if I wanted someone who doesn't tell both sides of the story, doesn't look into facts, speculates, assumes as much as the rest of these clowns who post on this thread, and likes to trash the President of a school who offered his valuable time to answer all of Brad's questions only for him to turn him down because he's being a child.

Don't throw out the race card unless you know the whole story. Based on your posts on the speculation of who was being considered for the job and subsequently how far off you really were, have that meeting with Powell and find out who the pool of candidates was and then who really was best for the job. I bet you Burke will then come out and be the top of the coaching class.

And because President Powell showed such a great interest in one of the top priorities for the school as a whole doesn't mean he kept Lynne out of the loop or in the hiring process. He would not have left her out and would definitely have given her a say in the decision. If Lynne was against hiring Burke, he would not have hired him and gone over her like that.

Brad, get off your high horse. Then go get a low level D-I athlete some water.

As for this BC character, who is obviously Brad's best friend, Cost of Living applies to EVERY PART OF THE COUNTRY.

The cost of living in Monmouth County is 126.9.

The cost of living in Staten Island is 151.5.

The cost of living in Hamden, CT is 136.5.

The cost of living in Teaneck, NJ is 122.3.

The cost of living in Emmitsburg is 112.3.

If you want any of us to explain it to you better, that means $112,300 in Emmistburg is the same as 136,500 at Quinnipiac, the same as 151,500 at Wagner, is the same as 122,300 at FDU. Get the picture? Cost of living has everything to do with where a coach looks for a new job. If I'm making 100K in Emmitsburg, it's going to go a lot farther than it is if I'm in CT or NY or NJ which is where the majority of the schools are in the NEC.

The only one that I could find that is lower cost of living than the Mount is if you were out in Loretto, PA with the Red Flash.

BC said...

How is Quinnipiac Coach making 250k???? Nice Try.

BC said...

I don't know where Coach Burke is moving to but I can almost promise you he is probably not going to be living in Emmitsburg. You arguing something that means .001% in the decision of where a Coach goes. Nice try. There are a lot of more things that factor in to a coaching decision.

BC said...

One last thing. I hope you have no ties to the Mount because what you just said is disrespectful for the Mount. You sound like your from Loyola.

Richard said...

Brad Gerick I love you!!!! I have a strong premonition that down the road you will catapult to the position of 'Mr. President', somewhere. You rock Gerick!!!!!!! I hope so much that you are running things in some capacity at the Mount.

On the other hand, I surely hope that the players coming back will put in their best effort, even though they are mad that their daddy is gone. Knowing that the players sent a letter supporting Brion and seeing how they are not happy with Powell either, worries me about what their performance could be next year. Whatever happens, I will be watching...... and analyzing. it's still The Game-players, so do not go out like that, please.

Sam said...

Hey Mike Miller class of 07. I noticed you deleted your post by accident so I wanted to put it back for you. I would not want people to miss out on the entertainment of your naive statements lol.

By the way, how was Milan only 54-44 in seven seasons? And where did Brad say he won seven titles? Hahaha great stuff Miller, you really did it for yourself.

"Since Brad is allergic to getting facts, lets lay some on the line here:

Milan did not win 7 Northeast Conference titles like you would believe he had with the way Brad writes about him. He won 1.

Milan was only 54-44 during his stint at the Mount. Not a very inspiring record.

Milan may have been the third lowest paid coach in the NEC, but if you factor in cost of living for the schools in NYC, he is probably on par with many other coaches.

Milan's start as a had coach was DISMAL. Do not say they didn't give him a chance at the Mount when they went from legend Jim Phelan to unproven Milan Brown. Do not say they didn't give him a chance when, after his first three seasons, he boasted a 30-56 overall record.

It took him till his 5th season to post a winning record. Most programs will not wait around that long with a losing team and if they do, it's because the coach was brought in from the outside and they are giving you the benefit of the doubt to get all your own guys in. On Milan's first year he had no excuses. These were always his recruits.

Milan did take the Mount to the NCAA Tournament and the Mount, for once, tasted what it feels like to be the best in the conference. Powell knew that if he wanted to find a replacement for Milan, it was going to cost some money to get the right guy in. Milan made his choice to leave the Mount to further enhance his career and he made the right choice.

Any school in the NEC is not a destination. You use it to either springboard your career or you've done so bad it's one of the last options. Mike Rice did it after leading to Robert Morris to the NCAA tournament twice. Milan did it by going to the NCAA Tournament once and staying at the top of the pack. His stock would never have been higher. He did not leave because simply they Mount wasn't paying him enough.

In another one of your blogs, you said something along the lines that this going to be the pinicle of Burke's career. You better hope this statement is not true. The best case scenario is that Burke is no longer here in 5 years, not because the mighty words of Brad Gerrick forced a change, but because he did so great as a head coach that he got picked up by a bigger school, ala the path of Mike Rice.

Brad, instead of speculating on a great number of things, why don't you actually take the time out of your busy, unemployed life and take that time with President Powell and ask him some questions and get some answers instead of making things up in your head. Then maybe you can consider yourself a reporter or journalist or whatever you'd like to call yourself.

Mount Alumni Class of 07

Richard said...

I Love Mount St. Mary's Basketball!!!!

Laughable said...

So, we just lost to Savannah State 45-41, dropping us to 1-10. We are currently 338 of 345 in the Sagarin Rankings, with 5 teams who haven't won yet still above us, how are the Stepfords enjoying the Robert Burke era?

Is Brad still immature?