Any alarm due to the lack of announcement of coach Robert Burke's staff is still largely unwarranted due to a couple factors both internal and external.
Internally it is OK because we know that Matt Henry and Sam Atupem are already here to help. Externally, I'd like to share information regarding other schools in our conference that underwent recent coaching changes.
First let us take a look at the situation at Wagner. Dan Hurley was announced as the school's new head coach on April 5. Eight days later he hired is brother, Bobby as an assistant. I'm sure that wasn't much of a search process. Seventeen days later he brought Bashir Mason on staff before rounding out his assistants by adding Luke Murray on May 3 - 28 days later. So Hurley, who already had his brother in his back pocket, took 28 days to fill out his staff.
Robert Morris's Mike Rice recently moved on as well as you may have heard (although you wouldn't know if you clicked this link listing RMU's coaches at the time of this post), opening the spot for Andrew Toole, who was announced for his new role May 11. As an already existing member of the staff, he was able to retain Robby Priedgen, who was not asked to follow Rice. It took 15 days - May 26 - for Toole to announce Matt Hahn as his first outside assistant. And as of right now, 25 days later, his final assistant has yet to be named.
As for Quinnipiac's Tom Moore and his staff acquisitions in 2007, the details are not as easy to find but still help prove my point. Moore was announced as the new head coach on March 29 of that year, and while two of his assistants - Sean Doherty (Moore's long lost twin) and Eric Eaton - apparently had been on staff for weeks, they were not announced until May 10 - 41 days later. The third member of his staff, Scott Burrell, was not announced until JULY, according to his bio. So assuming he was hired at the earliest possible date of July 1, that would mean a 92-day window between Moore's hiring and the rounding out of his staff. With an NEC title game appearance last season and coach of the year honors in the conference, I'd say Moore's plan worked out just fine. (Burrell and Doherty are still on staff while Eaton is not.)
Which brings us back to our situation at the Mount. Burke was announced as head coach on May 6. Although Atupem still hasn't been officially named to any position, he has been around the whole time and aided Burke since his first day on the job. Then there's Henry, who has been around the office for weeks and I believe - although I cannot say for sure - that I saw him in the ARCC after the press conference. If that was the case, then he has been around for the duration of Burke's tenure as well.
Burke did not have the luxury of keeping anyone from the old staff as they all followed Milan Brown to Holy Cross, but he was fortunate to have Atupem - a strong link to the program who has great familiarity with it as well - stick around. Then he wasted little time in bringing in Henry. While it would be nice to have an official announcement on these things, it seems that we may have to wait until the entire staff is in place. That means the announcement could come tomorrow, or if it goes anything like QU's process in 2007, July - we do not really know.
Multiple assistant coaching candidates report as recently as Wednesday that they still have not heard a yes or no in regards to their hiring. It has been 32 days since Burke was announced, but at this stage of the college basketball season cycle that is not as long as it sounds, as evidenced by recent staff searches in the rest of the NEC. We know the whole staff will have our support when its named, even if it may be a little longer before we know who exactly we are supporting.
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Shoutout to Kevin Kalis, Mount class of 1999, for the beer and round of Long Island Ice Teas at Ott's last night.
Showing posts with label Andrew Toole. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Andrew Toole. Show all posts
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Cajou says he never asked for release / Sam Atupem on staff? / Burrell update
Mount St. Mary’s rising senior guard Jean Cajou says he never formally asked for a release from his National Letter of Intent at Mount St. Mary’s.
“The way I went about it I was like ‘if I had to leave, what would happen?’ I don’t know if I was like ‘I’m gonna leave,’ I just wanted to see,” Cajou said.
A 2009 – 2010 collegeinsider.com Mid-Major All-American Defensive team selection, Cajou confirmed Monday that he did speak to director of compliance Jen Wivell about his options if he got a release. Cajou, however, says he stopped short of asking her for paperwork that would grant him leave from the school once he met new Mount coach Robert Burke.
“I wanted to keep the family aspect and I felt that if I had left that I’d be letting my team down – letting my family down,” Cajou said. “I figured that wasn’t the right thing to do for myself, for my family, for my team and honestly for coach [Milan] Brown.”
Cajou, whose loyalties to his former coach run deep, was disappointed that first assistant Brion Dunlap was not named head coach, but says his animosity over that decision was quelled once he heard about and met coach Burke.
Said Cajou: “[I will] try to do whatever [Burke] asks us to do because I’m definitely trying to go out with a bang. I’m trying to get another championship."
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ATUPEM MAY BE PART OF BURKE'S STAFF
Class of 2009 Mount graduate and a four-year member of the men's basketball team Sam Atupem may be in line to get a spot on coach Burke's staff. Atupem was seen at the press conference as well as speaking to Burke afterwards, which could mean that he is being considered to be part of Burke's staff.
Although there is a chance that Atupem could be named third assistant, he would likely find himself in a director of basketball operations or video coordinator position that covers his graduate classes and provides a modest stipend if he is hired. Atupem was unavailable for comment after the press conference.
A four-year starter for the men's basketball team, Atupem, alongside classmate Markus Mitchell, was a frontline stalwart of the Mount's most recent NEC championship team in 2008. In Atupem's first year away from playing for the Mount, he worked under former second assistant basketball coach Tyrone Perry as a graduate assistant in the Mount's Third Century Scholars program for minority students and was a volunteer assistant for the men's team.
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COMMITMENT UPDATE
Justin Burrell is still undecided as to whether he will come to the Mount next year. According to players who have spoken to Burrell, coach Burke talked to Burrell and remains optimistic that he will be able to retain the 5-foot-8 point guard who garnered Washington Post All-Metro second-team honors this season.
Jeff James from Bowie High School will honor his commitment to play at the Mount next season, while the third member of the original class of 2014 recruiting class, Donte Morales, has since signed with UNC-Wilmington.
Save for walk-on Mike Harvey, all of last year's eligible returning players will be back including David Golladay and Ja'Colby Wells. Wells was the last of this year's freshmen class who was up in the air after Raven Barber and Kristijan Krajina announced they were staying. Golladay redshirted this season and would have been free to transfer without having to sit out for a year. Harvey plans to play at Mary Washington, an NCAA Division III school in Fredericksburg, Va.
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ROBERT MORRIS TO HIRE TOOLE
The Colonials are expected to announce the promotion of assistant coach Andrew Toole to head coach tomorrow, filling the void left by departing coach Mike Rice. According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, this paves the way for NEC Rookie of the Year Karon Abraham to stay with the team.
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Check back tomorrow for details on the men's lacrosse's MAAC championship as well as more information on coach Burke.
“The way I went about it I was like ‘if I had to leave, what would happen?’ I don’t know if I was like ‘I’m gonna leave,’ I just wanted to see,” Cajou said.
A 2009 – 2010 collegeinsider.com Mid-Major All-American Defensive team selection, Cajou confirmed Monday that he did speak to director of compliance Jen Wivell about his options if he got a release. Cajou, however, says he stopped short of asking her for paperwork that would grant him leave from the school once he met new Mount coach Robert Burke.
“I wanted to keep the family aspect and I felt that if I had left that I’d be letting my team down – letting my family down,” Cajou said. “I figured that wasn’t the right thing to do for myself, for my family, for my team and honestly for coach [Milan] Brown.”
Cajou, whose loyalties to his former coach run deep, was disappointed that first assistant Brion Dunlap was not named head coach, but says his animosity over that decision was quelled once he heard about and met coach Burke.
Said Cajou: “[I will] try to do whatever [Burke] asks us to do because I’m definitely trying to go out with a bang. I’m trying to get another championship."
---
ATUPEM MAY BE PART OF BURKE'S STAFF
Class of 2009 Mount graduate and a four-year member of the men's basketball team Sam Atupem may be in line to get a spot on coach Burke's staff. Atupem was seen at the press conference as well as speaking to Burke afterwards, which could mean that he is being considered to be part of Burke's staff.
Although there is a chance that Atupem could be named third assistant, he would likely find himself in a director of basketball operations or video coordinator position that covers his graduate classes and provides a modest stipend if he is hired. Atupem was unavailable for comment after the press conference.
A four-year starter for the men's basketball team, Atupem, alongside classmate Markus Mitchell, was a frontline stalwart of the Mount's most recent NEC championship team in 2008. In Atupem's first year away from playing for the Mount, he worked under former second assistant basketball coach Tyrone Perry as a graduate assistant in the Mount's Third Century Scholars program for minority students and was a volunteer assistant for the men's team.
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COMMITMENT UPDATE
Justin Burrell is still undecided as to whether he will come to the Mount next year. According to players who have spoken to Burrell, coach Burke talked to Burrell and remains optimistic that he will be able to retain the 5-foot-8 point guard who garnered Washington Post All-Metro second-team honors this season.
Jeff James from Bowie High School will honor his commitment to play at the Mount next season, while the third member of the original class of 2014 recruiting class, Donte Morales, has since signed with UNC-Wilmington.
Save for walk-on Mike Harvey, all of last year's eligible returning players will be back including David Golladay and Ja'Colby Wells. Wells was the last of this year's freshmen class who was up in the air after Raven Barber and Kristijan Krajina announced they were staying. Golladay redshirted this season and would have been free to transfer without having to sit out for a year. Harvey plans to play at Mary Washington, an NCAA Division III school in Fredericksburg, Va.
---
ROBERT MORRIS TO HIRE TOOLE
The Colonials are expected to announce the promotion of assistant coach Andrew Toole to head coach tomorrow, filling the void left by departing coach Mike Rice. According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, this paves the way for NEC Rookie of the Year Karon Abraham to stay with the team.
---
Check back tomorrow for details on the men's lacrosse's MAAC championship as well as more information on coach Burke.
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