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Username Post: Mike Martin? Seriously?
Full Bear
Pre-Frosh
Posts 4
06-01-12 11:58 PM - Post#129649    

Unlike most of Mike Martin's supporters here I don't know him personally and didn't play with him. I am sure he is a great guy and he was a decent player, but I am an older alum who sees this as another dark day for our beloved Bears.

Jack Hayes had an opportunity to change the culture of this program and he failed miserably. Unfortunately our new AD was bullied by the alumni into hiring a 30 year old coach who has never even been the head coach for a CYO team. Look around the country and see successful programs. They hire quality coaches not alumni with friends on the committee.

Martin's experience is limited at best. He sat on Miller's bench and then survived to stay with Allen. Because he recruited one player (Z. Rosen) to Penn with talent we are supposed to think he can load up our roster. He has been an asst. for a mediocre program, and has never had to lead a program, deal with the media or be the final say in any decision. There is no easier job in life than an asst. coach.

We had a list of possible coaches that had success as HEAD coaches and/or more experience as higher level assts. Stewart (Pac 10), Young, Walsh (Big East), Anderson. We apparently didn't even interview Maker from Williams. Not sure if he was interested. Regardless, these guys have all sat in the big chair and performed. They have been held accountable. They have won conferences. They have taken teams to the NCAA tournament albeit at a lower level. They have called a play in a huddle down one with 5 seconds to go and needing a bucket. Walsh was coaching in the Big East and the NCAA tournament when Martin was in HS. What has Martin done? How is he different than TJ? And do you think because TJ played AAU with him, he's going to be excited to be his sidekick?

Last time I checked this was a Division One job. How many other D1 programs would make a hire like this? I am shocked that no other posts have focused on what a terrible choice this is. Harvard hired Tommy Amaker and we hire a guy who has never been involved in a NCAA game outside of the Ivies. We needed a coach and Jack Hayes let alumni politics assure another decade of mediocrity at best.

Way to go Jack. Hoped you had a spine...guess we got the answer.
AsiaSunset
Postdoc
Posts 4350
06-02-12 07:19 AM - Post#129650    

The examples of Ivy assistants who have gone on to be successful both in and out of the league are numerous. There have been a couple failures but the names that come instantly to mind are Dunphy, Thompson 111, Johnson, Donaghue, Robinson and Carmody. I think Jerome Allen will ultimately join this group in time and he was elevated from the unpaid asst position at Penn and had far less coaching experience than Mike Martin.

Brown's bb head coach likely earns near the bottom of the pay scale for D1 programs and the facility is unimpressive even for the league. Mike has his work cut for him. It's a challenge.

I think you're pretty lucky to get a quality person and coach like Mike Martin. I know we will miss him at Penn.
pennhoops
Postdoc
Posts 2470
06-02-12 11:42 AM - Post#129653    

This is obviously a Penn perspective but I think you're way off.

  • Full Bear Said:
Because he recruited one player (Z. Rosen) to Penn with talent



Here you're just flat out wrong.

  • Quote:
has never had to lead a program, deal with the media or be the final say in any decision. There is no easier job in life than an asst. coach.



Okay, that's a little weird to say, but whatever.

  • Quote:
or more experience as higher level assts. Stewart (Pac 10), Young, Walsh (Big East), Anderson. We apparently didn't even interview Maker from Williams. Not sure if he was interested. Regardless, these guys have all sat in the big chair and performed. They have been held accountable.



Wait, I thought assistants were puppets and worthless.

  • Quote:
What has Martin done?



He was an integral part in taking a six win team to a 20 win team in two seasons.

  • Quote:
Last time I checked this was a Division One job.



Allegedly.

  • Quote:
How many other D1 programs would make a hire like this?



Robert Morris, for one, and they're doing fine.

  • Quote:
Harvard hired Tommy Amaker and we hire a guy who has never been involved in a NCAA game outside of the Ivies.



So if Brown's wealthy and powerful alums want to band together, drum up the cash and the institutional support to hire Ben Howland when he's pushed out at UCLA, go for it. That's what Harvard did. Harvard decided it wanted to have a winning program after a million blah years and essentially bought a foundation and have done a pretty good job so far of building that up. There is nothing to suggest there's that kind of desire and influence from Brown's junta.



Jeff2sf
Postdoc
Posts 4466
06-02-12 03:02 PM - Post#129656    

Understanding that I'm happy for Mike and think he did a good job for Penn, could we please stop bringing up the 6 games to 20 games thing? Because under that logic don't we blame him for getting us from 20 wins down to 6 in the first place? Yes, I know, I know. Miller sucks. But if Mike gets credit for the rise, seems he should get dinged for the fall.
Full Bear
Pre-Frosh
Posts 4
06-02-12 04:19 PM - Post#129657    

1) Andy Toole was hired from within after a very successful tenure under Rice at Robert Morris. They went to the NCAA tournament. Has Martin been part of that?

2) Stewart, Walsh, Maker, Young and Anderson have all been HEAD coaches. That was my point. Some had additional high major asst. experience.

3) Martin was part of a resurgence under Allen, so he must have also been part of the collapse with his mentor Miller.

4) The biggest question was left unanswered...has Mike Martin ever been a head coach at any level? Are we prepared for otj training.

5) I am sure he is a great guy. How does that qualify him to be our head coach when we interviewed more qualified candidates.
Old Bear
Postdoc
Posts 3988
06-02-12 04:38 PM - Post#129658    

Certainly FB (Full-of-it Bear?) is entitled to his opinion, but I,for one, believe Martin as well qualified a candidate as any of those FB mentioned and I am both comfortable and pleased with his selection.
pennhoops
Postdoc
Posts 2470
06-02-12 04:59 PM - Post#129659    

  • Full Bear Said:
1) Andy Toole was hired from within after a very successful tenure under Rice at Robert Morris. They went to the NCAA tournament. Has Martin been part of that?



Seriously? Having been to the tournament or not is what qualifies /an assistant/ to be a good coach? Okay then.

  • Quote:
2) Stewart, Walsh, Maker, Young and Anderson have all been HEAD coaches. That was my point. Some had additional high major asst. experience.



Seriously? Casper College? Williams? Maybe Martin coached a CYO summer team. That's about on par with those.

  • Quote:
3) Martin was part of a resurgence under Allen, so he must have also been part of the collapse with his mentor Miller.



Jeff, you of all people ought to know that the kind of damage Miller wrought was special and singular and anything that had the taint of him after he was gone would have continued to infect the program. Therefore, I'm willing to give Martin a pass on that one.

  • Quote:
4) The biggest question was left unanswered...has Mike Martin ever been a head coach at any level? Are we prepared for otj training.



Okay, off the top of my head and I don't want to waste a lot of time with this because it could go on forever, Tom Crean, Ben Howland, Bill Carmody (he may have been an HC one season at the JUCO level; I'm not sure), Craig Robinson (U of C Lab School just doesn't count) - none of them had head coaching experience. I'm not sure why you think only being a high major assistant matters so much, unless you've got some kind of BCS hangup (it would jibe with the one you've got for the Tournament, I suppose). This is very middle major stuff. A guy coming from a Big East/Pac 12 environment with no Ivy experience could well find the transition to Ivy recruitment to be very tough.

  • Quote:
5) I am sure he is a great guy. How does that qualify him to be our head coach when we interviewed more qualified candidates.



Seeing as I was present for the interview process I can tell you with all certitude that... well. Nah, I'm going to keep the reasons to myself. They're too cool to share.
Old Bear
Postdoc
Posts 3988
06-02-12 06:18 PM - Post#129661    

Was Donahue a head coach before Cornell?
Howard Gensler
Postdoc
Posts 4141
06-02-12 06:58 PM - Post#129663    

To paraphrase (or maybe it's a direct quote) the great screenwriter William Goldman: "Nobody knows anything."

As Paul Chrystie and I have remarked often, two of the most logical hires in Penn coaching history were Craig Littlepage (alum, assistant at Virginia) and Tom Schneider (assistant at Penn, head coach of Patriot-winning Lehigh). Neither worked out so well. Fran Dunphy was an odd hire (a lifelong assistant who'd spent one year as an assistant at Penn for a bad team). That worked out very well.

Mike Martin is a good guy, a Brown alum and a VERY hard worker. He's VERY competitive. He could do an amazing job Brown and still not win the League but if he doesn't have success at Brown I suspect it will have less to to with his own abilities than with the difficulty of having success at Brown.
Howard Gensler
Postdoc
Posts 4141
06-02-12 07:00 PM - Post#129664    

  • Old Bear Said:
Was Donahue a head coach before Cornell?



Yes. He was head coach of the Springfield HS junior varsity.
Brown50
Junior
Posts 268
06-02-12 09:37 PM - Post#129666    

It's a done deal so let's move on and choose another topic such as recruiting.
Jeff2sf
Postdoc
Posts 4466
06-02-12 10:18 PM - Post#129667    

I feel like you're Susan and everyone else is George. The topic will end of its own volition.

Pennhoops, I'm mostly fine with assigning all blame to Miller. I'll find a way to pin the recession on him if I'm given a little more time. But I still think if we're going to hand out a lot of praise for the resurrection he must take some of the blame for the abomination that our program became (more credit than blame though, obviously)
Bruno
PhD Student
Posts 1414
06-02-12 10:18 PM - Post#129668    

Well, I for one am on record as not being too happy about Mike being chosen over the other nine finalists. But I'm happy for him and will root hard for him, and hope he will have success that goes beyond this season. I just want what's best for Brown.

I don't know if this decision was our new AD chickening out by choosing someone he thought everyone would like, or if this was Hayes having backbone and going against the grain by choosing a 29 year old who has never run a team. Maybe it's some of both?

I have to believe that the search committee saw something in Mike that some of us don't know about. I knew it when they made a horrendous decision with Agel - I knew it. So, clearly they don't always get it right. But, my hope is that if you have the balls to make this hire, then it's on the basis of something you see that is unique or winning or impossible to ignore or whatever - and that it's something that those of us who haven't watched him closely in the past few years (as I haven't) wouldn't see.

Listen, given the tenor of this decision, Mike needs to be good, needs to have success. And no blaming the facility or the Brown Alum support for the lack of Brown's success; that's absolute crap - two of our last three coaches were able to have very good success. As Hayes' first act, and as Mike's first HC job, there's pressure on both of them. I believe the leash will be short.

So, go win, Mike Martin. You've got a strong returning class. Win some next year and some beyond that. Use that energy and work ethic and ability to connect with recruits. If you leave us in a few years for a better job due to your success, I'll be the first to tip my cap.
LET'S go BRU-no (duh. nuh. nuh-nuh-nuh)

pchrystie
Masters Student
Posts 673
06-03-12 07:52 AM - Post#129671    

Not sure I understand the obsession w/previous HC experience. The two worst coaches in Penn, and perhaps Division I, history both had HC experience and yet proceeded to drive the program to depths unthought of.

At the same time, one can come up with any number of coaches who had significant success in their first HC jobs (Pat Riley, Andy Reid). I'm not saying that Mike is those guys, but you won't know until you hire him.

And (and I don't mean this with my usual Penn disdain), Brown is not Kansas. So if Kansas can hire someone (Roy Williams) without HC experience and it can turn out OK, perhaps Brown can too.

Others have covered the hard work, turnaround, designing plays, blah, blah blah. My kudos is that Mike is not the same coach as he was when he came to Penn, and that's a good thing. He's shown an ability to grow and learn and improve (something that his "mentor" was not able to do).

Finally, while I think Mike is a great hire for Brown, keep your expectations realistic. You might not like the facilities as an excuse, but neither of your "great successes" at HC won a title (and this was when Harvard was a non-factor and one or both Ps were non-factors), and one left with an overall losing record at Brown (including his last two years, so you can't blame the record on the bad team he inherited). I do think that Mike will be a good coach, but turning water into wine might be above his pay grade.
Bruno
PhD Student
Posts 1414
06-03-12 09:10 AM - Post#129672    

Paul, I think we define wine - and probably water, for that matter - differently. Nobody's asking Mike to win a championship next year; we'd be asking him to compete for one in the coming years, and winning enough games to be in the mix for it. As a Brown fan, I've never been happier than the two times we finished 2nd and hit the postseason.

So, if you're saying that we shouldn't expect Mike to do that, then how you can you suggest Mike looks like a good choice for Brown? I expect that if he's been hired, the search committee feels he'll be able to do that - and I hope he can. He needs to if he wants to keep his job beyond a few years. You can't say "great hire" and "don't expect that he'll be able to win there" in the same breath.

I do like your point about not being obsessed with previous HC experience - you're right about that of course. But this is not just about previous HC experience; obviously, Mike's age and presence and management skills further exacerbate the issues around this hiring. Now, might he have the right presence and skillset? Of course - I have to believe (hope?) Hayes wouldn't have hired him without them. But I hire 29 year olds all the time, out of impressive b-schools or law schools, and with good job experience - and very few of them have the stuff to run things when they're hired. Is it possible that it can work? Of course. And I know you can give me the examples you can think of to show it can - but when you start to stack up the odds associated with the different elements at play here (they don't teach stats at Penn?), it gets less likely. So, the hiring of Mike Martin is not quite analogous to Roy Williams, I don't think.
LET'S go BRU-no (duh. nuh. nuh-nuh-nuh)

pchrystie
Masters Student
Posts 673
06-03-12 09:57 AM - Post#129673    

Bruno -

I think if you were to rank the 8 teams according to building blocks to win (facilities, fin aid, tradition, schedule, interest, etc.), Brown would rank 7th. Based on that, and that the gap between 1/2/3 and 7 is so large, I think a third place finish in the current environment would be the equivalent of a 2nd place finish in the Miller/Robinson years. And given that last year 4 teams had the opportunity to go to the postseason, a 9-5 league finish with maybe 18-10 overall probably gets you into postseason a bunch of the time.

Do I think Mike can do that? Yes.

Do I think Mike (or Roy Williams, for that matter) can win the league at Brown? No, especially now that you need two teams (at least) to go off the rails instead of one.

So if your expectation/hope is that Mike can consistently duke it out for 3rd/4th, I think that's a realistic expectation and one Mike can deliver on.

As for the hiring analogy, I get your point, but I'm also guessing that the 29 year-olds you hire aren't coming from a 3-person office where they have virtually the same responsibilities as the head guy. While the HC is ultimately responsible for the final decisions, the ACs have to make the exact same judgments re: ability to play, have to sell recruits on the HC and the school and the program, have to understand the admissions and fin aid parameters, have to schmooze the alums. No 29 year-old lawyer is going to have the same responsibilities as the managing partner, so I don't think the two scenarios are comparable.
magic3db
Masters Student
Posts 454
06-03-12 06:31 PM - Post#129675    

In case you missed it, young D1 assistants with no head coaching experience have demonstrated they can get the job done.

http://uncgspartans.com/sports/mbkb/2011-12/r eleas...

Full Bear
Pre-Frosh
Posts 4
06-03-12 07:25 PM - Post#129677    

Wes Miller played for UNC. He also happened into the job bc his head coach was let go mid-season and UNCG had no choice. Not even remotely apples to apples.

As many examples people want to provide with assts. who have been successful I can respond with more instances where they have crashed and burned. And many of those failures had much more valuable experience than Mike Martin's. Mo Cassara of Hofstra (Jack Hayes's last brilliant decision) is a good start. But that gets us nowhere.

All I was saying was, in my opinion, we could have and should have done better. Who had a better resume as an asst., Walsh at PC or Martin at UPenn, and Walsh has had phenomenal success at RIC and knows RI very well. What about Brown makes us think that only someone who went to Brown can understand what it takes? And I am sorry, why can't we think we can do better than 3rd or 4th? Is mediocrity really our goal.

Lastly, how is Martin all that different than TJ? If we were going to hire an unproven commodity, why not the one we already had who is supported by the players. And if we are going to point to TJ being part of a losing program, so too has Martin. TJ is an impressive young man and a local as well.

All that being said, I will continue to root for the Bears and hope that I am wrong. If I am I will gladly smear egg on my face. It's been interesting to see how much of the vocal support for Martin has come from Quaker fans.
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3634
06-03-12 10:51 PM - Post#129683    

I'm inclined to agree with Full Bear.

Brown does not have the tradition of Penn or Princeton. They are not Harvard -- the current Team To Beat. They did not have Cornell's Sweet 16 run. The Bears really could have used a Big Splash Hire (relatively speaking) to excite recruits, students and alums.

And considering Brown is primed for a big leap forward based on returning talent alone (not to mention graduation losses to other teams), this was a real golden opportunity to do that. But Hayes either failed or neglected to take advantage. Instead he ended up with a coach he could have gotten even in less-than-ideal circumstances.

If Hayes thinks Martin is a genius, a wunderkind, a future star coach...then it's a great choice. Otherwise I'd want to see a more experienced or higher-profile candidate get the nod.
Bruno
PhD Student
Posts 1414
06-04-12 08:16 AM - Post#129689    

These last two posts synopsize my feelings on the hire, pretty much. I am hoping that the search committee saw something that suggests Mike may be a wunderkind, rather than thinking that his graduating from Brown or his age/experience blend made him the right choice over these other choices.

We'll see. Go Brown, Go Mike!
LET'S go BRU-no (duh. nuh. nuh-nuh-nuh)

mrjames
Professor
Posts 6062
06-04-12 09:28 AM - Post#129692    

FWIW, I think it was an excellent hire.
TheLine
Professor
Posts 5597
06-04-12 09:50 AM - Post#129693    

  • gokinsmen Said:
The Bears really could have used a Big Splash Hire (relatively speaking) to excite recruits, students and alums.


And who might that have been? Yes, I understand you are hedging with that "relatively speaking" parenthetical but who on Brown's list was going to be a big splash? Brown's search felt a lot like the recent ones that Cornell and Columbia just went through. Neither Cornell nor Columbia were able to hire a big splash though I bet both wanted one. I can think of one big splash hire in the entire league the past 30 years - Tommy Amaker. I'm not sure any team other than Harvard could have hired a coach of Amaker's stature. I could be wrong but don't think so.

  • gokinsmen Said:
And considering Brown is primed for a big leap forward based on returning talent alone (not to mention graduation losses to other teams), this was a real golden opportunity to do that.


How do you define big leap? Harvard returns a deep and talented roster. Princeton has the best player in the league and a pretty good supporting cast. Columbia's returning talent is better than Brown's (I may be biased saying that but don't think so).

  • gokinsmen Said:
But Hayes either failed or neglected to take advantage. Instead he ended up with a coach he could have gotten even in less-than-ideal circumstances.

If Hayes thinks Martin is a genius, a wunderkind, a future star coach...then it's a great choice. Otherwise I'd want to see a more experienced or higher-profile candidate get the nod.


I think Hayes looked over his choices after the interview process and felt Martin had the greatest upside. My opinion based on real life experience is that more mistakes are made by settling on the safer, more experienced candidate than selecting a talented but less experienced candidate who can be a star.

That isn't to say Martin was the best candidate. I don't know, I wasn't in the room. I am saying that Martin might have been a reasonable decision if he had a very strong interview and was able to articulate a vision for the program that was better than anyone else's.

gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3634
06-04-12 07:50 PM - Post#129713    

1. Al Skinner (big name/redemption). Mike Maker (experience/acclaim). Skinner was reportedly in the mix. Maker wasn't explicitly mentioned, but I imagine he's interested (interviewed for Princeton).

2. 4-win improvement. Brown went 2-12 without its 2nd best player (Halpern) in the most competitive Ivy League on record (13th in RPI). Next year Halpern comes back with Maia finally eligible and Albrecht a year more experienced. On balance, the league should be no better (and quite possibly weaker) than last year.

3. Just as Ivies are not like other D-I programs, Brown is not like other Ivies (as I explained before). Penn and Princeton can play it safe...Brown should have swung for the fences.

"But what if, say, Al Skinner decided he didn't want the job?" Then you MAKE him want the job. You sell him on the opportunity, pulling out all the stops. Using Tommy Amaker as a shining example. Any AD can pick a name off a list. A good one "gets his man."
jst4245
Freshman
Posts 63
06-05-12 10:42 AM - Post#129734    

I was tempted to start a post - "Al Skinner? Seriously?. What in the world makes you think Al Skinner would be a good hire at BROWN? Is it his Flex Offense of posting guards? Or maybe it was his impeccable work ethic at BC his last few years that revolved around a 4 hour work day? I am truly amazed that anyone would think Skinner would have been a good hire at Brown. The guy obviously had some success at BC, but that pairing - square peg, round hole.
section110
Masters Student
Posts 847
06-05-12 01:47 PM - Post#129742    

How does Brown do anything but pop out or strike out if it swings for the fences. It can't match what H/Y/P are doing with financial aid. It has no significant recent success or any substantial tradition.

Brown's best shot at success is to find a young gem in the making and get some success before a major grabs him.

I agree that with the big men who will join the roster next year an opportunity is there for potentially dramatic improvement.

I also agree that Al Skinner may be a swing for the fences; but he's an infield pop up.
Old Bear
Postdoc
Posts 3988
06-05-12 08:01 PM - Post#129753    

While I love the fact that Brown is getting some ink on these boards, I starting to get tired of this thread. It's over, Martin is the coach. It's my own view that Skinner would have been a disaster. Who thinks that Skinner (or Bob Walsh, for that matter) have a clue about what it takes to recruit in the Ivy League?
I'm pleased that so many of the cognoscenti here believe Brown will be a second div. team next year. I will do my best to refrain from "I told you so's, but I don't think I will be able to control myself.

Brown50
Junior
Posts 268
06-05-12 08:19 PM - Post#129754    

Amen , Old Bear. Let's get on with a new subject and stop beating a dead horse!
TheLine
Professor
Posts 5597
06-06-12 06:25 AM - Post#129765    

OB, Agel just spent the past few years Millering your program and you expect the new guy to compete for the title in Year 1? You sure have tough standards.

Full Bear
Pre-Frosh
Posts 4
06-06-12 07:12 AM - Post#129767    

Agreed Old Bear.

My last word on this is that Skinner would have been retread looking for a payday, but Walsh would have been a home run. He can flat out coach. I saw him work camps when he was at PC and have followed his career at RIC, and the guy could take us to a whole new level. He made RIC relevant! Unfortunately, we won't get the chance to see it happen. We will still be Brown, 2nd tier Ivy. What precludes someone who has coached at other levels from succeeding in our league. Only Martin can get a kid to go to Brown?

BTW, how much influence did Martin's boys on the committee and the big money alumni have on this selection? Cordischi hit on that when he released the initial 9 names, and said Martin had a guy on the committee. Surprised nobody on that committee stepped up for TJ.

I too am done with this thread. And I too will refrain from the "I told you so" when we are looking for a new coach in two-three years.
Redfish
Masters Student
Posts 767
Redfish
07-05-12 12:19 AM - Post#130461    

By that time Gary Williams would have been away from the game too long.
Bearswin
Freshman
Posts 61
02-18-17 01:00 AM - Post#222244    

Brown fans - How are you feeling about this choice right now.
I think the original poster was right on - and that was 5 years ago.

Only team that gets worse each year as the season progresses.
Has some infatuation with small line ups. IT IS NOT WORKING. You have 6'7, 6'8' 6'9 and 6'11 on the bench. Why are they not improving? Worst defensive team I have ever seen. Can't guard inside, can't guard on the perimeter. Relatively unknown players continue to go off for career highs. No one values the basketball - multiple turnovers are accepted without any repercussion.
Strong players transfer or flat out quit the team.

When does lacrosse start?






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