PennFan10
Postdoc
Posts: 3590
Reg: 02-15-15
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03-10-24 02:39 PM - Post#364972
In response to GoQuakersGo
PennFan, even if we accept that what you say about his respect from other coaches around the nation is true, are you saying he should get to stay on as head coach? If we break down the responsibilities of a head coach, I would argue that he is objectively a failure at all aspects:
1) Recruiting - By your own admission, Steve has been terrible at this
2) Player development - This has been a glaring problem for his program. Guys who are good as freshmen stay good (though arguably don't get much better). Other key players do not emerge over time. On this roster, see Eddie Holland, Cam Thrower and literally any big man as examples. This is simply not the case at the top Ivy programs. See guys like John Poulakidas at Yale or Matt Allocco at Princeton as examples.
3) Game strategy - You say that other coaches respect Steve's game strategy, but, to me, the last memory I have of his game strategy are 2nd half collapses. That speaks to other teams' ability to adjust better then him during games.
4) Program management - Above all, the head coach is the CEO of the program. No coach is amazing at all the elements of the job listed above. That is why you build a diverse staff with complementary skills. Perhaps my biggest criticism of Steve is that he largely kept his staff in place for years and we have seen similar results year-in and year-out. He could have recognized his flaws in recruiting and switched out a top assistant for a proven recruiter. He could have recognized his flaws defensively and adjusted his staff/philosophy to fix that. But instead he has kept everything the same and expected different results. If he is unable/unwilling to make changes, he deserves to go.
I am not defending Donahue with my posts. I also think the results speak themselves. I think Penn is a great place to coach and they should be a lot better than they are 8 years in. I believe this staff has not done a good job recruiting. And finding recruits and gettting them interested is the primary responsibility of the assistant coaches. Nat Graham has historically been a good recruited. I believe he recruited AJ and most of the other kids that came from the New England Prep schools. Ira Bowman was a very determined recruiter and he was responsible for the defense. We haven't been the same since he left.
I think all of the problems we have stem from recruiting. To take an exaggerated example, every Ivy that plays a D3 school beats them soundly. Those schools have good coaches. There are many that end up at D1 or pro jobs. They get beat because the D1 teams they play have much better players, not necessarily because those coaches suck. Better players win games. Amaker, arguably the best recruiter in league, has fallen off in getting top recruits. Harvard's dominance has seen a correlating decline.
Again, I am not defending the results and I would have no problem if the AD decided to make a change. I can tell you Steve would get a high level job in a D1 program if he ever wanted it.
By the way, 2nd half collapses happen to everyone and, as a stand alone criteria, aren't indicators of coaching prowess. Princeton lost a 17 point 2nd half lead to Yale last year at home and lost the game in OT. As mentioned Pitino lost several double digit leads this season (and for the record and for those who can read that's not comparing Donahue to Pitino).
Edited by PennFan10 on 03-10-24 02:54 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.
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