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Username Post: Musings        (Topic#17576)
AsiaSunset 
Postdoc
Posts: 4350

Reg: 11-21-04
02-24-15 10:17 AM - Post#183449    

In this yet another year of discontent, and in light of the fact that I’ve had my own heartaches this winter, I have had time to investigate some of the things that have transpired over the past years that have been part of the difficulties that have led to the current state of Penn basketball.

Let me state up front that the variety of sources I’ve reached out to are both knowledgeable and credible and without any particular agenda. But I will not disclose them. Also this post is not intended to be comprehensive – only to clarify a few misperceptions of many on this board over the years, including myself.

First let me deal with the departure of Fran Dunphy. It has been stated repeatedly by some that Fran was driven from Penn and that a deteriorating relationship between him and the AD was a big part of it. I can definitively state that this conclusion is about as far from the truth as one can get. When Fran was offered the LaSalle job, Penn countered with an extremely generous long term contract that the AD had to sell to President Gutmann for approval. Amy was fairly new as Penn President at that point in time. Thankfully she agreed, but she made it clear that she would not go further were he to be offered a sweeter deal in the future. Of course, a couple years later Fran was offered the Temple job at a substantially higher salary and Penn Athletics was not empowered to even try to compete with that offer. So he left. He was not driven out. In fact, Penn Athletics made every effort to keep him and he left with a bunch of years remaining on a very generous Penn contract that was renegotiated post the LaSalle offer. Amy simply was unwilling to chase a basketball coach with the type of money required to keep him from taking the Temple job.

Now let’s turn to the hiring of Glen Miller, a hiring our former AD has publically taken full responsibility for. Bilsky has stated publically that he had long admired Glen as a coach. It’s my understanding that Bilsky was also a strong admirer of Miller’s mentor, Jim Calhoun. Bilsky had in fact recommended Calhoun for the Penn Head coaching job back in the 80’s which Charles Harris ultimately gave to Craig Littlepage. What should be understood was that Keenan Jepperson was very much part of the Miller transaction and that Jeppersen had been vetted and admitted to Penn and, for those who go back in time and remember, was the only unanimous 1st time All Ivy selection that year along with Ibby Jaaber. Jeppersen was to be the cornerstone around which the Miller era early teams were going to be built around.

Amy ultimately veto’d Jeppersen under pressure from non Penn peers. That same spring she blocked the enrollment of an All American high school lacrosse player who had committed to Duke but wanted out because of problems with their program, the suspension of their season that spring and the overhanging rape allegations. This decision to not admit was once again made as a result of pressure applied by non Penn people. Suffice it to say the player ultimately did enroll at Duke where he earned 1st team All American honors as a collegiate.

The interference in individual athletic admissions matters by the school President was highly unusual and I’m told Amy, to her credit, has subsequently not involved herself similarly; nevertheless, had Keenan Jeppersen been allowed to attend Penn, there was a substantial chance Miller’s disastrous tenure could have turned out differently. This is not to suggest the AD should be absolved of responsibility for the ultimate end result; rather, to simply add that an unusual and unprecedented act by our President helped undermine part of the rationale behind the Miller hire. And – if we remember, Fran had on and off recruiting years and didn’t exactly leave Miller with a lot after the Danley class graduated.

Perhaps there were signs from Miller’s years at Brown that should have been warnings, but for every disgruntled Brown player he coached, there was one who loved Miller and was totally committed to him. Mike Martin is an obvious example. Keenan Jeppersen was another. And – tragically, Keenan Jeppersen never played another minute at Brown and ended up at some school in Canada. So the net result is that Amy and Ruth Simmons screwed both Penn basketball and the kid.

Last issue – the hiring of Jerome. I had represented several times in the past that the decision to fire Glen in Dec came from Amy. This is incorrect. She had fielded several complaints from players’ parents and it was their conclusion that they had initiated the ensuing chain of events. Not true. Bilsky made the decision and went to Amy to get permission to proceed. Unknown to most, including Amy and myself, Bilsky had already lined up a replacement who would succeed Jerome as head coach at the end of the season. A package was put in place, a verbal agreement was reached and everything seemed to be in order. When Bilsky ultimately approached Amy for signoff she killed it as being too expensive. Let me simply say that it was a big number, but not as big as the number Harvard put on the table for the Amakers.

Some of the theories I’ve seen on this board surrounding Jerome’s hiring are so off the wall as to be laughable. He was hired to be an interim and then to become the 1st Assistant to a coach all of us would have been ecstatic to have – end of story. And there was outreach to some of the names frequently mentioned on this board when Plan A was veto’d by Amy. Things just didn’t work out. It should be mentioned that Jerome was highly regarded by the players on the team, especially Zack Rosen, and that there was a strong desire to keep him at Penn. The feeling was he would be an excellent recruiter and a valuable 1st Asst to the new head coach they planned on bringing in. That’s why he was put in the Interim position when Miller was let go.

Clearly the Penn President has every right to control salaries and it was not unreasonable for her to conclude that a coach shouldn’t be making more than some renowned professors at Penn. Nevertheless, that decision is an indication of Gutmann’s total lack of understanding the realities of the marketplace, nor the importance of the Penn basketball program to the Penn community. If we are in job search mode again this spring, one can only hope she has seen the light. With the Amaker hiring and the recent increased focus on football funding at Columbia, one can only hope her thinking has evolved. I’m not optimistic though.

This post doesn’t change anything or absolve anyone of responsibility for the decisions made, but it is intended to provide context. Sometimes things that at the time seem reasonable turn sour for a number of reasons. We’ve had a string of those and we are paying the price. One can only hope Amy Gutmann has learned how important correcting the situation is and will not be an impediment to letting Grace Calhoun address and solve the problem. I have no feeling for whether or not this will be the case. But - I don't think Amy understands much about D1 athletics or even recognizes the problem that we all are hoping gets resolved. I think her biggest concern is that the Dept avoid any kind of incident that would embarrass her and the University. From her perspective she may well feel everything in the Athletic Department is just fine. I’m just not confident she is sensitive to the angst most feel who participate on this board, but we will have to see what unfolds. She is managing a huge institution with a six billion dollar budget. There are many things at Penn that have improved dramatically under her tenure. I just don’t think Penn basketball or even Penn athletics are top of mind for her. To fix something you have to first recognize it’s broken. I’m not sure she does or, if she does, thinks it’s a big deal.


Edited by AsiaSunset on 02-24-15 10:23 AM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

 
Jeff2sf 
Postdoc
Posts: 4466

Reg: 11-22-04
Musings
02-24-15 10:28 AM - Post#183450    
    In response to AsiaSunset

1. You have always tried to protect Bilsky. This isn't a judgment, it's just the context.

2. The idea that Glen Miller interviewed/sold himself as a package with a player at another DI, let alone conference school, is DISGUSTING pretty gross and should have gotten him thrown out the door.

3. Keenan Jeppessen was not going to move the needle on those turkeys of teams we had post Ibby graduation. If he was so good, he wouldn't have ended up at "some school in Canada".



 
AsiaSunset 
Postdoc
Posts: 4350

Reg: 11-21-04
Re: Musings
02-24-15 10:36 AM - Post#183451    
    In response to Jeff2sf

Well Jeff that's not what I wrote. I didn't say Miller sold himself as part of a package. In fact I said clearly that Bilsky liked Miller as a coach. I said it was part of the contemplated transaction and it was definitely consequential. Importantly - Jeppersen was a unanimous All Ivy pick that year. So his basketball skills were obvious to everyone who followed the league.

 
Jeff2sf 
Postdoc
Posts: 4466

Reg: 11-22-04
02-24-15 10:41 AM - Post#183452    
    In response to AsiaSunset

I didn't say he wasn't good. I said he wouldn't have mattered.

If KJ was "clearly part of the Miller transaction" than that damn well implies that at some point during the interview process Miller said he was delivering Keenan. So I can't parse what you wrote, you're just trying to save your boy Bilsky.

 
QuakerPTPer 
Sophomore
Posts: 184

Reg: 10-31-06
Re: Musings
02-24-15 10:51 AM - Post#183454    
    In response to AsiaSunset

You mention decisions of "non Penn people". Can you be more specific?

 
yoyo 
Senior
Posts: 354

Reg: 03-25-09
02-24-15 10:53 AM - Post#183455    
    In response to QuakerPTPer

That's the first I have heard that Dunphy didn't leave as a direct result of friction with Bilsky. I heard that was the main reason for his departure from some pretty reliable sources.

 
palestra38 
Professor
Posts: 32680

Reg: 11-21-04
Re: Musings
02-24-15 10:58 AM - Post#183456    
    In response to AsiaSunset

Your analysis of the Dunphy departure is in line from what I always believed it to be. Same with the hiring of Miller.

Where we veer is the hiring of Jerome as interim. You may believe the ideas of others to be "laughable" but what was "laughable" was making him HC over two far more qualified assistants EVEN IF the ultimate idea was to make him first assistant to a new coach. Leaving him as (now) 2nd assistant and allowing the more experienced assistants to run the team would have allowed Bilsky to clean house, but keep Jerome for the following year. But jumping him up made it impossible to hire any other head coach (other than the one you suggest had agreed to it) without allowing him to name his assistants. No coach can allow a Penn hero, now formerly the HC, to have his back. The minute things went south fans would be clamoring for Jerome. So by making him the assistant, Bilsky essentially made it a certainty that Jerome would be back---and as HC should the deal you discuss fall through. As you know, that's exactly what occurred and it simply makes no sense other than to quell the anger and angst which was directed (somewhat unfairly at the time--Miller was a legitimate hire) at him. And you leave out the discussion of the secret extension after the 2012 season. If Jerome deserved an extension, why not announce it as we do with everything else of that nature?

Everything that has transpired evidences the intent by Bilsky to ensure that there were certain "facts on the ground" after his departure. It has left Grace Calhoun in a difficult situation--which is reflected in comments on the DP board, where she is being blamed for the departure of Bagnoli. The incoming AD should have the absolute freedom to hire and fire within the ranks of the Athletic Dept. Bilsky appears to have intended to limit the ability of any incoming AD to make significant changes, and that is just not right.

I'd be interested in knowing Calhoun's feelings about the deals that she had to inherit.

 
AsiaSunset 
Postdoc
Posts: 4350

Reg: 11-21-04
02-24-15 11:00 AM - Post#183457    
    In response to Jeff2sf

That's your opinion that he wouldn't have mattered. But he would have sat out Ibby's last year and then joined the team the following year and I believe most who saw him play at Brown would think that he would have been an impact player in the league at Penn.

It's pretty well established that Keenan approached Miller and wanted to come with him if he was offered the job. He applied to Penn as a transfer and was admitted. It's a pretty common practice for a player to follow a departing coach.

And I'm not protecting anyone. Bilsky is accountable in the end for every decision made during that period, but I don't believe people have a real understanding of what a Penn AD is empowered to do and what a Penn AD is not empowered to do. This is significant since so many are looking for Grace Calhoun to save the day and I'm not convinced she'll be handed enough tools to do the job.

 
SteveDanley 
Sophomore
Posts: 101

Age: 39
Reg: 02-25-12
Re: Musings
02-24-15 11:05 AM - Post#183458    
    In response to AsiaSunset

My main question coming out of this is:

How many beers would I have to buy Asia to get him to divulge the name of the coach we had a handshake deal with?

I'm going to estimate it is 3X the number of beers it cost me to get him to refer to the Ibby/Zoller class as the "Danley class."

 
palestra38 
Professor
Posts: 32680

Reg: 11-21-04
02-24-15 11:07 AM - Post#183459    
    In response to AsiaSunset

Except that Grace Calhoun has been required to inherit both basketball and football coaches with 3 years of contract. Doesn't that make the question of whether she will be given the tools to do anything somewhat moot? I agree that Guttman will not allow her to both buy out Jerome's remaining two years AND bring in a big time equivalent of Amaker, at least on the tab of the University of Pennsylvania. So what Bilsky did is essentially make her completely dependent on what have been identified here as the "heavies" to pay for any change. And if Bilsky did anything well here, it was ingratiate himself to the "heavies". And for goodness sake, Bilsky is still in the building in the Big 5 office, making deals that affect Penn basketball. So when we talk about the tools that Grace Calhoun is given, it appears that Bilsky essentially nailed most of them to the wall---very high up on the wall.

 
AsiaSunset 
Postdoc
Posts: 4350

Reg: 11-21-04
Re: Musings
02-24-15 11:07 AM - Post#183460    
    In response to palestra38

Maybe - but you ignore the fact that the handshake deal with the potential coach and the other efforts that were made after Amy squashed that deal were with people that would have embraced Jerome. It also ignores the fact that Mike Martin was not going to be considered at that time because of his relationship with Miller and that Gallagher was not part of any ongoing staffing plan.

 
TheLine 
Professor
Posts: 5597

Age: 60
Reg: 07-07-09
Musings
02-24-15 11:12 AM - Post#183461    
    In response to AsiaSunset

Welcome back, Asia. You were missed.

While I thank you for your post I don't thank you for ruining my day. As we say in my old neighborhood, the fish rots from the head down. If half of what you post is true then Penn Athletics is doomed.

Contrast that with what is going on at my other dear school, Columbia. Athletics is not considered the be-all or end-all at Columbia, believe me on that. On the other hand it is seen as something worth investing in, as evidenced by the the hiring of Pilling and Bagnoli, and further evidenced in the not so distant past by the thorough job interviewing candidates for the basketball head coach, which led to a fantastic hire IMO.

In addition the average supporter/alumni is not treated like chattel. Before the season the basketball coach has a meet and greet where everyone is invited, can ask questions and get real answers. Contrast that to Penn, where we're lucky to find out the truth to what happened several years ago.

Sorry for being so blunt.


 
Jeff2sf 
Postdoc
Posts: 4466

Reg: 11-22-04
02-24-15 11:12 AM - Post#183462    
    In response to AsiaSunset

Brown finished 6-8 with Keenan being 1st team all ivy. Would not have mattered.

 
umbrellaman 
Masters Student
Posts: 469
umbrellaman
Reg: 11-21-04
02-24-15 11:15 AM - Post#183463    
    In response to AsiaSunset

A postscript - it appears, Jeppesen got his degree from Brown, perhaps by finishing up at the University of Western Ontario, then apparently using his final year of eligibility getting an MBA at McMaster, only to tear his MCL. It appears that he completed that degree and is employed consistent his training, so in the game of life, he seems to be ok.

 
AsiaSunset 
Postdoc
Posts: 4350

Reg: 11-21-04
02-24-15 11:16 AM - Post#183464    
    In response to palestra38

I don't believe the actual dollars and cents are the issue. Penn can cobble the money together. I just don't think Amy Gutmann will allow her to chase a new coach with dollars. Now - perhaps that will change in light of what's going on at Columbia, but I think Bollinger recognized that the football situation at Columbia had to be addressed. Amy has to reach a similar conclusion relative to Penn basketball.

Also - I think many know the circumstances surrounding Jerome's extension. I'm not going to discuss it on this board. But it was done for a reason and at the time didn't seem like the faux pas it does now.

 
AsiaSunset 
Postdoc
Posts: 4350

Reg: 11-21-04
02-24-15 11:20 AM - Post#183467    
    In response to Jeff2sf

Jeff - I think there are very few who would agree with your assessment of the potential impact Jeppersen would have had at Penn.

 
palestra38 
Professor
Posts: 32680

Reg: 11-21-04
02-24-15 11:22 AM - Post#183468    
    In response to TheLine

As another Penn/Columbia undergrad/grad alum, I can vouch for everything The Line just said. Too bad I identify for sports purposes only with Penn. Because Bollinger is aware that Columbia can do better in athletics and is also aware that it is not a waste of money to try and do so.

 
Jeff2sf 
Postdoc
Posts: 4466

Reg: 11-22-04
02-24-15 11:29 AM - Post#183469    
    In response to AsiaSunset

Whatever, Asia. Whatever. one all-ivy player does not a team make. for two years. They finished 6 games behind Cornell in what would have been Keenan's 1st year. They finished 8 games behind Cornell in the 2nd year.

 
AsiaSunset 
Postdoc
Posts: 4350

Reg: 11-21-04
02-24-15 11:38 AM - Post#183472    
    In response to palestra38

Bollinger was an impediment to change up until recently. There has clearly been a metamorphosis. Could this happen at Penn? I 'd say based on the past, probably not. But most Columbia people probably didn't see this coming either. So maybe.

 
umbrellaman 
Masters Student
Posts: 469
umbrellaman
Reg: 11-21-04
Musings
02-24-15 11:39 AM - Post#183473    
    In response to AsiaSunset

Asia - as a neutral observer to this - one can look to Shonn Miller as to a difference an all-Ivy player can make to a team, but if we imagine an IWAR (Ivy Wins over replacement) how many wins was he going to be worth over Andreas Schreiber?

And would he have gotten two years of eligibility?

And would winning more solved everything? I would tend to think the interpersonal issues would have surfaced one way or the other.

Edited by umbrellaman on 02-24-15 11:40 AM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

 
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