mrjames
Professor
Posts: 6062
Loc: Montclair, NJ
Reg: 11-21-04
|
06-18-20 10:54 AM - Post#309200
In response to palestra38
To be clear, Harvard is winning every recruiting battle with Yale as well.
And Yale came in to the 2010s with actual success under Jones (consistent Top 4 finishes, about half the 2000s in the Top 200, a shared title). Harvard's best year in the 2000s under Sullivan was 218th.
Yale won 103 Ivy games from 2010-2020. Harvard won 117. That's a substantial, immediate flip.
But again, you miss what I mean by "unicorn," because you don't know what you are talking about. What I mean by "unicorn" is that Amaker has made huge efforts to become part of the Harvard community in a way that is not required of a basketball coach. Most people believed that Amaker would turn Harvard around and immediately head back to a high major. I remember telling people over and over again - no, you don't get it... he loves Harvard. Not being its basketball coach, but being part of the Harvard community. People scoffed. Basketball coaches don't love schools. They're free agents open to the highest bidder. People were wrong.
The "unicorn" piece is that it's hard to imagine ever finding someone who is as strong a program builder and recruiter as Amaker, who also, arguably, loves being part of the Harvard community more than being the Harvard basketball coach. The fit is what made him a unicorn. If you continue to make the unicorn point exclusively about basketball, you completely miss the point. Amaker can sell Harvard in a way no one else can, because he truly loves being at Harvard. It's that simple.
|
