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Username Post: Jermaine Truax's Email to the Bucknell Basketball Community        (Topic#26270)
Bison137 
Professor
Posts: 16147
Bison137
Reg: 01-23-06
05-01-22 12:46 PM - Post#340937    

I thought this subject might deserve its own thread. Here is what Truax's email said:

For those who didn't get his email, here is what it said:


Bison Men’s Basketball Supporters,

As we reflect on the state of our men’s basketball program, it is clear that the on-court results have not met the high expectations of our storied program. Coach Davis and I share in this disappointment, and we have spent the past several weeks together discussing the path forward and evaluating every aspect of the program. This review included both on- and off-the-court deficiencies and Coach Davis has been tasked with making necessary changes to build toward success next season.

Initial steps coming out of our discussion to enhance the program:

- Set to hire a new strength & conditioning coach exclusively for basketball;

- The coaching staff is being reorganized and duties will be adjusted to better address on- and off-the-court areas needing improvement, including recruiting, communications, player development and community engagement;

- Facility renovations that include the basketball locker room, adding a dedicated film room, Normatec recovery stations, a student-athlete relaxation space, and an enhanced nutrition and refueling station;

- A commitment to addressing the potential for incoming transfers and the evolving landscape of the Division I Men’s Basketball Transfer Portal; and,

- Reallocation of program resources to prioritize a full summer training and academic offering for student-athletes.

We have made these improvements with the expectation to compete for and win future Patriot League championships. Our assessment will be ongoing, and we will continue to make enhancements where necessary as we chart our championship path.

We recognize this work is not easy and it takes everyone, just as it did while winning previous championships. Despite our recent challenges, it was extremely encouraging that so many Bison alumni, donors, and fans continued to positively support our players and prove why The Bison Way is unmatched in the Patriot League. One thing is for certain: we will not be able to achieve our goals without the continued belief of our Bison Family.

It has been two full seasons since we have permitted supporters in Sojka without restrictions. Two years ago, we prohibited fans altogether and this past year we had reduced capacity requirements among other restrictions. We cannot wait to see you in Sojka Pavilion in November as you all provide us with one of the best competitive advantages in the Patriot League!

Thank you for your continued support, passion, and commitment.







 
Bison137 
Professor
Posts: 16147
Bison137
Reg: 01-23-06
05-01-22 12:47 PM - Post#340938    
    In response to Bison137

I was not at all impressed by this email. Most of the items he lists are not really relevant to why the team has been so bad. I think/hope he is trying to buy time until after next year when the buyout will be small enough to fire ND. One thing that could help is if they make it easier to attract transfers. But Bucknell's facilities are already better than most everyone in the PL and most other northeastern mid-majors. And women's basketball, which has been very successful, deals with all of the same issues - without being affected. Matt Langel at Colgate has much worse facilities and shares a strength coach with multiple sports.

To help Jermaine Truax, I talked to a sports consultant, who came up with a list of the top ten reasons for Bucknell basketball being at its lowest point in at least 50 years. Here they are:

1 Incompetent coaching staff
2 Incompetent coaching staff
3 Incompetent coaching staff
4 Incompetent coaching staff
5 Incompetent coaching staff
6 Incompetent coaching staff
7 Incompetent coaching staff
8 Incompetent coaching staff
9 Incompetent coaching staff
10 Incompetent coaching staff

It doesn't appear he understands this, so for a consulting fee I will happily provide a fix for all ten of these problems.






 
Bison137 
Professor
Posts: 16147
Bison137
Reg: 01-23-06
05-01-22 12:48 PM - Post#340939    
    In response to Bison137

Response of Bison54 and then Mr. Phillie:

Yes...they will reorganize the coaching staff and have a dedicated strength and conditioning coach. Not clear whether this is an added position, or part of the reassignment.

A couple a facilities improvements to one of the better facilities. And address the possibility of incoming transfers, and addressing the changing landscape of the transfer portal.

In other words, we are looking at adapting to change, but there are no immediate plans.

Reminds of the story of the new CEO consulting with his fired predecessor. The old CEO gave the new three envelopes, marked to open in order when rough times occurred. So after a year or so, it got rough. Envelope 1 said "Blame your predecessor." That worked for a while, but sure enough, Envelope 2 needed to be opened. It said simply "Reorganize.". That too worked, but eventually, the third envelope was needed. Upon opening, it said "Make up three envelopes."

I fear that we have just opened envelope 2.

- - - - -

Yeah I saw that. Not sure how many of those steps affect change to Davis’ personality, coaching acumen, use of players, make players want to stay and play, etc…




 
Bison137 
Professor
Posts: 16147
Bison137
Reg: 01-23-06
05-01-22 12:52 PM - Post#340940    
    In response to Bison137

Here is what the various PL schools spend on men's basketball:

American University . . $1,658,774
Boston University . . $2,266,211
Bucknell University . . $2,008,060
Colgate University . . $1,975,715
College of the Holy Cross . . $2,114,511
Lafayette College . . $1,664,211
Lehigh University . . $1,420,686
Loyola University Maryland . . $1,644,513


And here is what they spend after subtracting travel expenses (room, board, transportation, etc) plus officials' fees:

American University . . $1,560,048
Boston University . . $2,094,378
Bucknell University . . $1,873,183
Colgate University . . $1,792,732
College of the Holy Cross . . $1,869,058
Lafayette College . . $1,559,893
Lehigh University . . $1,354,724
Loyola University Maryland . . $1,545,013



It is clear that financial support is not the issue. After adjusting for cost of living, Bucknell likely spends more than any PL competitor. Men's basketball is one of the few sports where that is true. In most other sports, the teams/coaches have to deal with an unlevel playing field.




 
Bison137 
Professor
Posts: 16147
Bison137
Reg: 01-23-06
05-01-22 01:04 PM - Post#340941    
    In response to Bison137

For those who are curious as to how much ND is paid to produce such awful results, here are the numbers form Bucknell's 2020-21 Form 990:

Base Pay: $308,893

Retirement/Deferred Comp: $28,000

Nontaxable Benefits: $29,892

Misc: $4168

TOTAL COMPENSATION: . $370,953


As of this report date, ND is neck-and-neck for 3rd place in overall compensation from Bucknell, well behind Bravman and Scott Rosevear and close to the Deans of the College of Engineering and the College of Management.




 
MrPhillie 
Postdoc
Posts: 2757
MrPhillie
Loc: NE PA
Reg: 07-14-08
05-01-22 09:01 PM - Post#340954    
    In response to Bison137

Which is why we are stuck with Davis and staff.

 
Jim 
Freshman
Posts: 9

Age: 71
Reg: 11-28-18
Re: Jermaine Truax's Email to the Bucknell Basketball Community
05-01-22 10:02 PM - Post#340955    
    In response to Bison137

That email seems to indicate that Davis is blaming the state of the program on anything and everyone but himself. Absolutely infuriating. And Truax buys this garbage. I am going to be ill.

 
Bison54 
PhD Student
Posts: 1800
Bison54
Reg: 11-18-09
Re: Jermaine Truax's Email to the Bucknell Basketball Community
05-01-22 10:15 PM - Post#340956    
    In response to Jim

Which is why we just opened envelope #2. Reorganize. Circle the wagons.

Likely result: already predicted. Without Malachi Rhodes and Brock Newton we are looking even worse. But it does mean 2 schollys, which might help if used for experienced transfers.


 
Bison89 
Professor
Posts: 5370
Bison89
Loc: Philadelphia
Reg: 11-14-07
Re: Jermaine Truax's Email to the Bucknell Basketball Community
05-03-22 08:34 AM - Post#341011    
    In response to Bison137

  • Bison137 Said:
I thought this subject might deserve its own thread. Here is what Truax's email said:

For those who didn't get his email, here is what it said:


Bison Men’s Basketball Supporters,

As we reflect on the state of our men’s basketball program, it is clear that the on-court results have not met the high expectations of our storied program. Coach Davis and I share in this disappointment, and we have spent the past several weeks together discussing the path forward and evaluating every aspect of the program. This review included both on- and off-the-court deficiencies and Coach Davis has been tasked with making necessary changes to build toward success next season.

Initial steps coming out of our discussion to enhance the program:

- Set to hire a new strength & conditioning coach exclusively for basketball;

- The coaching staff is being reorganized and duties will be adjusted to better address on- and off-the-court areas needing improvement, including recruiting, communications, player development and community engagement;

- Facility renovations that include the basketball locker room, adding a dedicated film room, Normatec recovery stations, a student-athlete relaxation space, and an enhanced nutrition and refueling station;

- A commitment to addressing the potential for incoming transfers and the evolving landscape of the Division I Men’s Basketball Transfer Portal; and,

- Reallocation of program resources to prioritize a full summer training and academic offering for student-athletes.

We have made these improvements with the expectation to compete for and win future Patriot League championships. Our assessment will be ongoing, and we will continue to make enhancements where necessary as we chart our championship path.

We recognize this work is not easy and it takes everyone, just as it did while winning previous championships. Despite our recent challenges, it was extremely encouraging that so many Bison alumni, donors, and fans continued to positively support our players and prove why The Bison Way is unmatched in the Patriot League. One thing is for certain: we will not be able to achieve our goals without the continued belief of our Bison Family.

It has been two full seasons since we have permitted supporters in Sojka without restrictions. Two years ago, we prohibited fans altogether and this past year we had reduced capacity requirements among other restrictions. We cannot wait to see you in Sojka Pavilion in November as you all provide us with one of the best competitive advantages in the Patriot League!

Thank you for your continued support, passion, and commitment.







I cannot stress how disappointed I am in this email. At Bucknell, we expect better. There is no reason not to be competitive EVERY season.
New season, new team, new dream . . .


 
HoleinOne 
Masters Student
Posts: 596

Loc: Bluffton, SC
Reg: 02-15-09
05-04-22 08:02 PM - Post#341128    
    In response to Bison89

While these comments may be influenced by age, I grew up in the Phila, Big 5 basketball era where LaSalle, St. Joe, etc. played in high school style gyms but were often in the top 10-20 due to great coaching. While I don't expect the Bison to recruit with Villanova, Bucknell is a great school that consistently places its alums in high performance, high paying jobs and should be able to do better in recruiting. Have traveled the US to see Bison play against some of the best of the best. Sad to see the current level of performance.

 
Scotty-14 
Sophomore
Posts: 156

Age: 31
Reg: 10-10-18
05-09-22 11:50 PM - Post#341244    
    In response to HoleinOne

Those Locker Room upgrades are great, but they have nothing to do with addressing recent issues. They have been in the works for 3-5 years.

 
Bison137 
Professor
Posts: 16147
Bison137
Reg: 01-23-06
Re: Jermaine Truax's Email to the Bucknell Basketball Community
05-13-22 01:46 PM - Post#341407    
    In response to Bison137

  • Bison137 Said:


- The coaching staff is being reorganized and duties will be adjusted to better address on- and off-the-court areas needing improvement, including recruiting, communications, player development and community engagement;






Some reorganization of the coaching staff. Lamont More has been promoted from MOBO to Assistant Coach. Jonathan Brown has been moved down to a newly-titled position of Director of Program Development. I imagine that is simply a new title for the MOBO job - with maybe a couple of new responsibilities - but I have no info.




 
MrPhillie 
Postdoc
Posts: 2757
MrPhillie
Loc: NE PA
Reg: 07-14-08
05-13-22 08:48 PM - Post#341428    
    In response to Bison137

So Jonathan is the scapegoat. Really the entire staff is responsible starting foremost obviously with ND.

 
HuskyColonial 
PhD Student
Posts: 1976

Age: 50
Reg: 02-17-12
05-15-22 03:10 PM - Post#341469    
    In response to MrPhillie

He eats Moose Flakes.

 
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