≈ Saturday, April 15, 2006
Everybody likes Billy
Latest rumors/news from the coaching carousel:
Less than a week after identifying American's Jeff Jones as a candidate to replace Jeff Capel at Virginia Commonwealth, the has added Billy Taylor to the list.
Taylor's name seems to come up for almost every job that opens at a mid-major lately. Just who the Times-Dispatch's sources might be is an interesting question, since VCU has indicated it will wait until it hires a new athletic director to make a coaching hire and that process is not yet complete.
It would be likely that the new A.D. might come in with a list of candidates quite different from the list in the T-D newsroom.
ON THE PENN FRONT: Terry Toohey of the Delaware County Times has for the Penn job and either Toohey knows something nobody else knows, or he has not been paying attention. He still includes Siena's Fran McCaffery on his list, even though pretty much everyone else on the Penn beat has reported he has re-upped at Siena and has no escape clause in the new deal that would allow him to go to Penn. McCaffery himself has said in absolute terms he is staying at Siena and has been quoted supporting Taylor for the job.
Of course Toohey also is hyping former Lehigh coach Dave Duke, who has been an assistant at Penn since being forced out at Lehigh years ago for not winning, as the guy for the job. That alone makes his judgment questionable to folks who remember Duke's Lehigh teams.
The Philly Inquirer, in a while the school looks for a coach, talks about how Duke won 90 games in 8 seasons at Lehigh.
After two winning seasons in his first three years, with talent inherited from McCaffery, who once was Lehigh's coach, too, Duke who started digging the hole that Sal Mentesana couldn't climb out of, eventually bringing about the Taylor hiring. In Duke's last four years, all in the Patriot League, where theoretically he should have had an easier go than in the old East Coast Conference, Duke's Lehigh teams went 29-79.
An by the way, is that Penn-Lehigh relationship a little incestuous? Didn't Lehigh's new football coach come from Penn? Do the two schools have a working agreement like minor league teams have with major league teams?
The Inquirer also reports that former Penn assistant Gil Jackson, who is now at Howard, has pulled his name out of the hunt at Penn. The Inquirer, in a separate story, also of Mike Jarvis and former Penn State coach (and current West Virginia assistant) Jerry Dunn to the list of Penn candidates.
Let us be the first to say that Dunn would be a poor choice. Dunn is one of those guys who makes a tremendous assistant, but just doesn't translate into a good head coach.
Less than a week after identifying American's Jeff Jones as a candidate to replace Jeff Capel at Virginia Commonwealth, the has added Billy Taylor to the list.
Taylor's name seems to come up for almost every job that opens at a mid-major lately. Just who the Times-Dispatch's sources might be is an interesting question, since VCU has indicated it will wait until it hires a new athletic director to make a coaching hire and that process is not yet complete.
It would be likely that the new A.D. might come in with a list of candidates quite different from the list in the T-D newsroom.
ON THE PENN FRONT: Terry Toohey of the Delaware County Times has for the Penn job and either Toohey knows something nobody else knows, or he has not been paying attention. He still includes Siena's Fran McCaffery on his list, even though pretty much everyone else on the Penn beat has reported he has re-upped at Siena and has no escape clause in the new deal that would allow him to go to Penn. McCaffery himself has said in absolute terms he is staying at Siena and has been quoted supporting Taylor for the job.
Of course Toohey also is hyping former Lehigh coach Dave Duke, who has been an assistant at Penn since being forced out at Lehigh years ago for not winning, as the guy for the job. That alone makes his judgment questionable to folks who remember Duke's Lehigh teams.
The Philly Inquirer, in a while the school looks for a coach, talks about how Duke won 90 games in 8 seasons at Lehigh.
After two winning seasons in his first three years, with talent inherited from McCaffery, who once was Lehigh's coach, too, Duke who started digging the hole that Sal Mentesana couldn't climb out of, eventually bringing about the Taylor hiring. In Duke's last four years, all in the Patriot League, where theoretically he should have had an easier go than in the old East Coast Conference, Duke's Lehigh teams went 29-79.
An by the way, is that Penn-Lehigh relationship a little incestuous? Didn't Lehigh's new football coach come from Penn? Do the two schools have a working agreement like minor league teams have with major league teams?
The Inquirer also reports that former Penn assistant Gil Jackson, who is now at Howard, has pulled his name out of the hunt at Penn. The Inquirer, in a separate story, also of Mike Jarvis and former Penn State coach (and current West Virginia assistant) Jerry Dunn to the list of Penn candidates.
Let us be the first to say that Dunn would be a poor choice. Dunn is one of those guys who makes a tremendous assistant, but just doesn't translate into a good head coach.
Friday, April 14, 2006
Family ties
A quick note for the Holy Cross old-timers who remember a guy named Larry Westbrook, a three-time letter winner in the early 80s. Westbrook wasn't a big scorer, but he led the 'Saders in assists in 1983 and 1984 and in steals in '84.
His son, though, is reportedly a true scorer. As a senior at the Winchendon School in Mass., Larry Westbrook Jr. averaged 18 points per game. Before prepping at Winchendon, he was the nation's top prep scorer, averaging 40 points per game at Chandler H.S. in Arizona, where he scored over 40 points in 14 of 22 games, including a 57-point showing in one contest, en route to a state season scoring record.
There is no doubt about his athletic pedigree. His dad played D-1 ball, his cousin is Brian Westbrook, the Philadelphia Eagles running back.
The kid also has a 3.7 at Winchendon.
Before the Purple faithful get too excited, we should reveal where we found this information. It came from a about the kid signing with Minnesota.
From the sounds of things, he might not have exactly been a Holy Cross kind of kid.
The Pioneer Press story says there were "published reports that Westbrook had problems in Arizona" and he is also reportedly "wired for buckets", which hardly would make him a match for Ralph Willard's defensepfirst approach.
The fact that he originally committed to Memphis sort of signals that he might not be a Patriot League kid in ways other than just his "blue chip" athletic prowess. His 3.7 GPA came at a school that bills itself as being for students who "have good academic promise but may not have fully realized their potential."
That academic emphasis is so strong that kids there actually attend classes from 7:50 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. before knocking off for a mandatory two-hour athletics period, followed by what is called a "conference" period.
Interestingly, the kid's coach back in Arizona told the Pioneer Press Westbrook was "a hard worker" with "a good attitude."
Here's what Carlton wrote in a (scroll down):
Just us, or do others wonder about the coincidence of that GPA being the exact same number as the Pioneer Press says he has at Winchendon. At the very least it makes us wonder two things: 1) If he had a 3.7 in Arizona, why a remedial sort of prep school and 2) Just who was the Pioneer Press' source for his current GPA?
Here is a quote from Westbrook Jr. from the Arizona Republic story on his final game, when he secured his state single season scoring record with 43 points in a 79-68 loss:
You'll notice that record indicates Chandler player 25 games, while Westbrook's stats reflect 22. That discrepancy is apparently due to Westbrook having been after being thrown out of a game after two technicals for throwing elbows.
There is no doubt the kid is a player. And although he is a little undersized, there are those who think he could play in the NBA some day.
Patriot League schools don't get those kinds of kids unless their legal guardians .
Maybe that is not such a bad thing.
His son, though, is reportedly a true scorer. As a senior at the Winchendon School in Mass., Larry Westbrook Jr. averaged 18 points per game. Before prepping at Winchendon, he was the nation's top prep scorer, averaging 40 points per game at Chandler H.S. in Arizona, where he scored over 40 points in 14 of 22 games, including a 57-point showing in one contest, en route to a state season scoring record.
There is no doubt about his athletic pedigree. His dad played D-1 ball, his cousin is Brian Westbrook, the Philadelphia Eagles running back.
The kid also has a 3.7 at Winchendon.
Before the Purple faithful get too excited, we should reveal where we found this information. It came from a about the kid signing with Minnesota.
From the sounds of things, he might not have exactly been a Holy Cross kind of kid.
The Pioneer Press story says there were "published reports that Westbrook had problems in Arizona" and he is also reportedly "wired for buckets", which hardly would make him a match for Ralph Willard's defensepfirst approach.
The fact that he originally committed to Memphis sort of signals that he might not be a Patriot League kid in ways other than just his "blue chip" athletic prowess. His 3.7 GPA came at a school that bills itself as being for students who "have good academic promise but may not have fully realized their potential."
That academic emphasis is so strong that kids there actually attend classes from 7:50 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. before knocking off for a mandatory two-hour athletics period, followed by what is called a "conference" period.
Interestingly, the kid's coach back in Arizona told the Pioneer Press Westbrook was "a hard worker" with "a good attitude."
"I think his dad just wanted more national exposure," said Ellsworth, who coached Chandler to a 10-16 record during his first season with Westbrook in 2004-05. "We got along fine. He just had a lot of young kids on the team and he didn't have much confidence in them."Maybe absence really does make the heart grow fonder. Back when Westbrook was breaking all those scoring records, Albuquerque Tribune writer Jeff Carlton spoke to the coach about Westbrook, who was apparently on the New Mexico Lobos' recruiting radar at the time.
Here's what Carlton wrote in a (scroll down):
"No assists and no rebounds," Mike Ellsworth said. "All he does is shoot. So you'll have a ball hog on your hands."Carlton that Larry Westbrook Sr. told him the coach was wrong about those numbers. Dad said his son had 9.5 rebounds, six assists and three steals per game. Dad also said he had a 3.7 GPA.
Then I asked Ellsworth if Westbrook was a junior or a senior.
"He's a junior," Ellsworth said. "But you can have him this year."
Just us, or do others wonder about the coincidence of that GPA being the exact same number as the Pioneer Press says he has at Winchendon. At the very least it makes us wonder two things: 1) If he had a 3.7 in Arizona, why a remedial sort of prep school and 2) Just who was the Pioneer Press' source for his current GPA?
Here is a quote from Westbrook Jr. from the Arizona Republic story on his final game, when he secured his state single season scoring record with 43 points in a 79-68 loss:
"A lot of people didn't want to see me get this," he said. "I even had teachers tell other people that I'm a ball hog and I'm a selfish player. I dedicate it to all the students and all the teachers who hated me and didn't want to see me get it."By the way, Chandler was 10-15 that season. We don't know much about Arizona H.S. ball, but most places we have been, it is pretty unusual for a team to have a guy scoring 40 points per game and a losing record.
You'll notice that record indicates Chandler player 25 games, while Westbrook's stats reflect 22. That discrepancy is apparently due to Westbrook having been after being thrown out of a game after two technicals for throwing elbows.
There is no doubt the kid is a player. And although he is a little undersized, there are those who think he could play in the NBA some day.
Patriot League schools don't get those kinds of kids unless their legal guardians .
Maybe that is not such a bad thing.
O'Hanlon 99-percent sure
In today's Lafayette's Fran O'Hanlon tells Ed Laubach he is "at least 99 percent" certain he is staying at Lafayette.
"I'd like to help Penn, but I'm committed here. I want Penn to get a good coach. I love the place. It's a great spot in a great city," O'Hanlon said, adding that it is not about money.
Still, he continues to leave the door open, saying if Penn A.D. Steve Bilsky called he would probably at least listen to what Bilsky has to say.
Meanwhile, acorss the way in Bethlehem, Laubach reports that Lehigh coach Billy Taylor still won't return calls, but issed a statement through the school saying he has not applied for the Penn job and has not asked to be interviewed.
Given that his mentor Fran McCaffery is , Taylor does not have to make any calls on his own.
"I'd like to help Penn, but I'm committed here. I want Penn to get a good coach. I love the place. It's a great spot in a great city," O'Hanlon said, adding that it is not about money.
Still, he continues to leave the door open, saying if Penn A.D. Steve Bilsky called he would probably at least listen to what Bilsky has to say.
Meanwhile, acorss the way in Bethlehem, Laubach reports that Lehigh coach Billy Taylor still won't return calls, but issed a statement through the school saying he has not applied for the Penn job and has not asked to be interviewed.
Given that his mentor Fran McCaffery is , Taylor does not have to make any calls on his own.
Xavier to the PL?
Nah, but the Patriot League is going to Xavier, or at least two teams that should be among the PL's best next season. The Xavier will host both American and Bucknell next season. The story says Bucknell is a one-game deal with no return visit to Lewisburg.
No mention of the deal with American.
No mention of the deal with American.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
More Taylor to Penn talk
In today's Morning Call, writes about the possibility of Lehigh coach Billy Taylor being a candidate for the now-vacant Penn job.
According to Jones, Taylor's name seemed far down the list early in the week, but seems to gain some momentum. What makes Jones think so?
Anyhow, McCaffery tells Jones that he thinks Taylor will be talking to Penn A.D. Steve Bilsky about the job and calls Taylor "a perfect fit" for the job.
According to Jones, Taylor's name seemed far down the list early in the week, but seems to gain some momentum. What makes Jones think so?
The Daily Pennsylvanian, Penn's student newspaper, reported Wednesday that several "big supporters" of Quaker basketball are lobbying for Taylor. The paper said McCaffery is among the most vocal of those, and that he "has Bilsky's ear."Gordie . . . Pal . . . Buddy -- you could have written that column two weeks ago if you read Hoop Time.
Anyhow, McCaffery tells Jones that he thinks Taylor will be talking to Penn A.D. Steve Bilsky about the job and calls Taylor "a perfect fit" for the job.
Latest on VCU search
The Richmond Times-Dispatch updates its list of candidates for the Virginia Commonwealth job in today's edition, adding names to the list it speculated about yesterday.
Included in today's story, comment from American coach Jeff Jones, who certainly does not rule out leaving AU:
Included in today's story, comment from American coach Jeff Jones, who certainly does not rule out leaving AU:
"If there is some interest from VCU, I'd be willing to cross that bridge when the time comes," said Jones, who has been at American for six years.One of the names added to the Times-Dispatch's list is Randolph-Macon's Mike Rhoades, who was a Division 3 All-American point guard for current Bucknell head coach Pat Flannery at Lebanon Valley. Rhoades was the leader of Flannery's 1994 D3 National Championship team.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Jones on the move?
In today's American coach Jeff Jones is mentioned as a possible replacement for Jeff Capel at Virginia Commonwealth. Capel left the Colonial Athletic Conference school to replace Kelvin Sampson at Oklahoma after Sampson took the Indiana job.
Don't expect any hire for this job soon though. VCU is also looking for a new AD and will wait until they make that hire to allow the new AD hire the new hoops coach.
Don't expect any hire for this job soon though. VCU is also looking for a new AD and will wait until they make that hire to allow the new AD hire the new hoops coach.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
The Penn watch
With Temple finally making the hiring of now-former Penn coach Fran Dunphy to replace the retired John Chaney, folks in Philly and around the Ivy League are busy playing the "Who will replace Dunphy" game.
Among the names mentioned frequently are three with Patriot League ties; Lafayette's Fran O'Hanlon, Lehigh's Billy Taylor and former Lehigh head coach Dave Duke, who has been an assistant to Dunphy.
Duke had a 33-47 record in Patriot League games (62-104 overall) at Lehigh. Those numbers are for the years the then Engineers were in the Patriot League. Duke also coached Lehigh to an 18-12 record in his first season, 1989-90, before Lehigh joined the league. Duke followed that with a 19-10 record the first PL season, but that was his last winning season.
According to the , when asked if he would be joining Dunphy's staff at Temple, Duke replied, "I'd like to be a candidate for the job at Penn."
The says Duke, and Cornell head coach Steve Donahue, who was a Dunphy assistant for 10 years, have been promised interviews, though the Daily Pennsylvanian claims its sources say Duke is not a serious candidate.
O'Hanlon also was a Dunphy assistant and has been linked to the Penn job ever since Dunphy was courted by LaSalle two years ago. In today's , Dunphy tells Andre Williams, "I don't foresee myself going anywhere."
But he does not exactly slam the door closed on the possibility, adding, "If they call me, because of my respect for Penn, would I talk to them? I would not be arrogant enough, because it's Penn, that I would not listen to what they'd have to say. That doesn't mean I'd go down there, but it's more because Penn gave me an opportunity.
"But I can almost guarantee you that this is where I'm going to be."
In his story, Williams translates that into O'Hanlon is staying at Lafayette. Andre sees the Leopards' glass half-full.
O'Hanlon has the security of a 10-year deal at Lafayette that runs through 2014, and now the Leopards have scholarships. Had the trustees not voted to allow scholarships, it would be far more likely O'Hanlon would be headed back to Philly.
But here is the half-empty view, if for no other reason than to play devil's advocate. O'Hanlon's statements leave an opening wide enough to drive a moving van through. If he has no interest whatsoever in the job, it would be easy enough to say "I have tremendous respect for Penn, but I am not interested in the job." That would not be arrogant, just definite.
After all, nobody is calling Penn grad Fran McCaffery, another former Dunphy assistant who is now head coach at Siena, arrogant for , "I will be Siena's coach next year."
It could be O'Hanlon is leaving the door open as leverage for a better package at Lafayette. It could also be that he is downplaying the possibility of leaving because he is scrambling to sign his first scholarship recruiting class and does not want to hurt recruiting since even if he goes after the Penn job, he might not get it.
But as long s the door is left ajar, no matter how slightly, the possibility remains for a Godfather deal.
In some ways, O'Hanlon's comments remind us of a press conference a few weeks ago in Dallas. After losing to Texas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, then North Carolina State coach Herb Sendek was asked if he could definitely end speculation that he might be seeking other jobs.
Sendek downplayed it, saying, "I don't know the source of that speculation. I've never commented about any job speculation as long as I've been at N.C. State."
Some papers covering the Wolfpack interpreted that as Sendek was not going to leave.
Three weeks later Sendek was introduced as Arizona State's new coach.
We have discussed Taylor's connection to Penn before. Thus far the Philly media has mentioned him only in passing, listing Taylor among other names that have been mentioned, so it is tough to gauge how serious a candidate he might be.
For now, suffice to say after weeks of writing about the possibility of Dunphy taking the Temple job, Philly hoops writers like of the Daily News and the Inquirer's will now turn their attention to speculation about his replacement.
Among the names mentioned frequently are three with Patriot League ties; Lafayette's Fran O'Hanlon, Lehigh's Billy Taylor and former Lehigh head coach Dave Duke, who has been an assistant to Dunphy.
Duke had a 33-47 record in Patriot League games (62-104 overall) at Lehigh. Those numbers are for the years the then Engineers were in the Patriot League. Duke also coached Lehigh to an 18-12 record in his first season, 1989-90, before Lehigh joined the league. Duke followed that with a 19-10 record the first PL season, but that was his last winning season.
According to the , when asked if he would be joining Dunphy's staff at Temple, Duke replied, "I'd like to be a candidate for the job at Penn."
The says Duke, and Cornell head coach Steve Donahue, who was a Dunphy assistant for 10 years, have been promised interviews, though the Daily Pennsylvanian claims its sources say Duke is not a serious candidate.
O'Hanlon also was a Dunphy assistant and has been linked to the Penn job ever since Dunphy was courted by LaSalle two years ago. In today's , Dunphy tells Andre Williams, "I don't foresee myself going anywhere."
But he does not exactly slam the door closed on the possibility, adding, "If they call me, because of my respect for Penn, would I talk to them? I would not be arrogant enough, because it's Penn, that I would not listen to what they'd have to say. That doesn't mean I'd go down there, but it's more because Penn gave me an opportunity.
"But I can almost guarantee you that this is where I'm going to be."
In his story, Williams translates that into O'Hanlon is staying at Lafayette. Andre sees the Leopards' glass half-full.
O'Hanlon has the security of a 10-year deal at Lafayette that runs through 2014, and now the Leopards have scholarships. Had the trustees not voted to allow scholarships, it would be far more likely O'Hanlon would be headed back to Philly.
But here is the half-empty view, if for no other reason than to play devil's advocate. O'Hanlon's statements leave an opening wide enough to drive a moving van through. If he has no interest whatsoever in the job, it would be easy enough to say "I have tremendous respect for Penn, but I am not interested in the job." That would not be arrogant, just definite.
After all, nobody is calling Penn grad Fran McCaffery, another former Dunphy assistant who is now head coach at Siena, arrogant for , "I will be Siena's coach next year."
It could be O'Hanlon is leaving the door open as leverage for a better package at Lafayette. It could also be that he is downplaying the possibility of leaving because he is scrambling to sign his first scholarship recruiting class and does not want to hurt recruiting since even if he goes after the Penn job, he might not get it.
But as long s the door is left ajar, no matter how slightly, the possibility remains for a Godfather deal.
In some ways, O'Hanlon's comments remind us of a press conference a few weeks ago in Dallas. After losing to Texas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, then North Carolina State coach Herb Sendek was asked if he could definitely end speculation that he might be seeking other jobs.
Sendek downplayed it, saying, "I don't know the source of that speculation. I've never commented about any job speculation as long as I've been at N.C. State."
Some papers covering the Wolfpack interpreted that as Sendek was not going to leave.
Three weeks later Sendek was introduced as Arizona State's new coach.
We have discussed Taylor's connection to Penn before. Thus far the Philly media has mentioned him only in passing, listing Taylor among other names that have been mentioned, so it is tough to gauge how serious a candidate he might be.
For now, suffice to say after weeks of writing about the possibility of Dunphy taking the Temple job, Philly hoops writers like of the Daily News and the Inquirer's will now turn their attention to speculation about his replacement.
Monday, April 10, 2006
Bison hand out honors
As you might have expected, Charles Lee and Kevin Bettencourt headlined the list of award winners at Bucknell's banquet Sunday. The two seniors shared the team's MVP and leadership awards. Bettencourt's parents won the Backcourt Club Award given each year to a friend of the program.
for the full release and list of award winners.
for the full release and list of award winners.
Let the speculation begin
Temple has scheduled a 3 p.m. , during which the North Philadelphia school is expected to make official what everyone has been saying for weeks: Fran Dunphy will leave Penn to become the Owls new head coach.
In addition to the Philadelphia Inquirer link above, the Dunphy hiring is also being reported by the , and the , which reports Dunphy spoke in the past tense a lot during the Quakers' team banquet Sunday night.
Once Dunphy's departure becomes officials, expect a flurry of speculation on his successor. Among the names that have already been mentioned are Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon, a former Dunphy assistant, and Lehigh coach Billy Taylor, whose ties are less direct (he was an assistant at UNC-Greensboro to former Dunphy assistant Fran McCaffery, the head coach at Siena, and McCaffery reportedly is tight with Penn AD Steve Bilsky).
It will be interesting to see if Penn is able to lure a Patriot League head coach to take a non-scholarship Ivy League job now that the Patriot League has scholarships. On the surface, it would seem like a step backwards. But Penn's national profile, the lure of Philly's legendary Big Five, and Penn's rumored deep pockets might make the job awfully attractive, especially to O'Hanlon, who is a Philly guy born and bred.
A lucractive five-year contract could set O'Hanlon, who will be 58 in August, up for retirement. That was part of what lured former Bucknell coach Charlie Woollum from Lewisburg years ago when he took the job at his alma mater, William and Mary -- retirement security and a chance to go back home.
Stay tuned.
In addition to the Philadelphia Inquirer link above, the Dunphy hiring is also being reported by the , and the , which reports Dunphy spoke in the past tense a lot during the Quakers' team banquet Sunday night.
Once Dunphy's departure becomes officials, expect a flurry of speculation on his successor. Among the names that have already been mentioned are Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon, a former Dunphy assistant, and Lehigh coach Billy Taylor, whose ties are less direct (he was an assistant at UNC-Greensboro to former Dunphy assistant Fran McCaffery, the head coach at Siena, and McCaffery reportedly is tight with Penn AD Steve Bilsky).
It will be interesting to see if Penn is able to lure a Patriot League head coach to take a non-scholarship Ivy League job now that the Patriot League has scholarships. On the surface, it would seem like a step backwards. But Penn's national profile, the lure of Philly's legendary Big Five, and Penn's rumored deep pockets might make the job awfully attractive, especially to O'Hanlon, who is a Philly guy born and bred.
A lucractive five-year contract could set O'Hanlon, who will be 58 in August, up for retirement. That was part of what lured former Bucknell coach Charlie Woollum from Lewisburg years ago when he took the job at his alma mater, William and Mary -- retirement security and a chance to go back home.
Stay tuned.
From the mailbag
Our comments yesterday about Lehigh's awards banquet brought a torrent of e-mail from indignant Mountain Hawks fans.
We weren't surprised to get e-mails about that post. We did find it interesting that none of the e-mails defended Lehigh's handling of the Joe Knight situation.
Instead, they were full of righteous indignation about our comments on the Sixth Man Award being given to the guys who paint LEHIGH on their chests for every game.
Here's a quick sample:
Kind of reminds us of a joke we once heard: A guy is standing on the corner outside of a bar in Bethlehem cracking jokes about Lehigh. A couple of big dudes decked out in Yellow and Brown walk past just as he tells this one: "Why don't they teach drivers ed and sex ed on the same day at Lehigh? Because it is too much stress on the mules." Well that really makes them mad, so they huff up their chests and walk over to the guy to confront him. "Hey tough guy, we hear you are making Lehigh jokes. We're from Lehigh. Want to tell us some?" they ask. "No thanks buddy," the guy answers. "Why not? Ya chicken," they ask. "No comes the reply. I just don't feel like being here all night explaining the punchlines."
We weren't surprised to get e-mails about that post. We did find it interesting that none of the e-mails defended Lehigh's handling of the Joe Knight situation.
Instead, they were full of righteous indignation about our comments on the Sixth Man Award being given to the guys who paint LEHIGH on their chests for every game.
Here's a quick sample:
"lehigh 6th man award is given to a person outside of the team. a thirty second search of the lehigh website shows that past recipients include mike staggnita (sports info) and andrea legg (trainer)" Writes neverletthefactsgetinthewayofagoodstory@bucknell.edu, a courageous soul with a phony e-mail address who doesn't let a broken shift key get in his way.Forgive us for not searching the archives to see who else has won Lehigh's Sixth Man Award. Truth be told, we really didn't care who won in the past. Still don't. We just figured we'd take advantage of the opportunity to comment on Lehigh's lack of a quality bench and its lousy attendance numbers.
"Lehigh's 6th man of the year award never goes to a player. It recognizes someone not on the team, suchjas a trainer or media relations person, who have won the last 2 awards. But then again, you just interpret the information so you can take a shot at Lehigh." wrote a reader with what looks like a real lehigh.edu address
Kind of reminds us of a joke we once heard: A guy is standing on the corner outside of a bar in Bethlehem cracking jokes about Lehigh. A couple of big dudes decked out in Yellow and Brown walk past just as he tells this one: "Why don't they teach drivers ed and sex ed on the same day at Lehigh? Because it is too much stress on the mules." Well that really makes them mad, so they huff up their chests and walk over to the guy to confront him. "Hey tough guy, we hear you are making Lehigh jokes. We're from Lehigh. Want to tell us some?" they ask. "No thanks buddy," the guy answers. "Why not? Ya chicken," they ask. "No comes the reply. I just don't feel like being here all night explaining the punchlines."
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Eat, drink, get awards
One of the first stories we stumbled upon this morning was a , where Matt Fannin was the headliner. scooping up two of the top honors handed out by the Middies.
We were not going to bother linking to it, since team banquets and awards rarely interest us. But then we found the , and there was an award there that we could not pass mentioning, so we decided, this year, we will link to banquet releases when we stumble upon them.
What was it about Lehigh's banquet that we could not pass up? Was it Jose Olivero winning Athlete of the Year ahead of senior Joe Knight? Or maybe the Sixth Man award given to the LEHIGH guys, the six students who show up at almost every game sans shirt, spelling Lehigh with brown letters painted on their chest.
That one was interesting in that we did find it telling that the Mountain Hawks had no player worthy of the honor. Or at least not more worthy than the guys who most nights make up about half of the student attendance in Stabler (not counting cheerleaders and pep band).
No, here is the one that made us just have to link:
©2005 Hoop Time. All rights reserved.
We were not going to bother linking to it, since team banquets and awards rarely interest us. But then we found the , and there was an award there that we could not pass mentioning, so we decided, this year, we will link to banquet releases when we stumble upon them.
What was it about Lehigh's banquet that we could not pass up? Was it Jose Olivero winning Athlete of the Year ahead of senior Joe Knight? Or maybe the Sixth Man award given to the LEHIGH guys, the six students who show up at almost every game sans shirt, spelling Lehigh with brown letters painted on their chest.
That one was interesting in that we did find it telling that the Mountain Hawks had no player worthy of the honor. Or at least not more worthy than the guys who most nights make up about half of the student attendance in Stabler (not counting cheerleaders and pep band).
No, here is the one that made us just have to link:
Senior Joe Knight was named the Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The Scholar-Athlete award goes to the student-athlete who in the eyes of his/her teammates exemplifies the ideal of the scholar-athlete. Knight earned a 3.11 grade point average in the fall 2005 semester, while working through adversity on and off the court . . .We can almost see the T-shirt now: "My school's administrators screwed up and cost me half my senior season and all I got was this lousy trophy."
