In case you missed it, the Big Ten officially welcomed Nebraska into the fold on July 1, ushering in a new era of football with fancy triple-options and play-action passing. Having just gotten the hang of the 31 Dive, I’m not sure if we’re ready for all that, so we might as well hand them eleven consecutive conference crowns, right?
Just before their induction into our super secret club, the good fellas at Big Red Network asked some of the Big Ten bloggers to share a few words with them, welcoming them as we’re so prone to do: with snark and veiled insults about corn and meth. Well, now it’s their turn to return the favor.
Today we’re joined by Steve and Darren from Big Red Network. Their solid writing and great analysis means that we don’t have to do either of those things. I’m beginning to like these guys…
Linebacker-U: Big Ten fans aren’t as familiar with Nebraska as they should be, given your recent addition to the conference. Give us a quick update as to how things are going in Lincoln – How are the Pelini Boys working out? What’s the general atmosphere/feeling towards Nebraska football?
Big Red Network: There’s a lot of excitement both with the new conference and the progress made under Bo Pelini. His defensive acumen is undeniable. Ultimately, he’ll be judged on how well he can get the offense to play. Husker fans went nearly 3 decades without experiencing four losses in a season. Now it’s happened in seven straight years. Pelini’s got to take things to the next level soon (11 wins or a Big Ten title) or people may begin to turn on him. The tirades and penalties are getting old.
LBU: How has recruiting been going for the Cornhuskers? In case you hadn’t noticed, we play a different style of football up in the north, where a three-yard, I-formation led rush is the standard call for three downs before a puntkick. Have you guys been recruiting these kinds of players?
PHOTO: Rivals.com
BRN: Nebraska has been recruiting dual-threat quarterbacks, so the rushing game will be a point of emphasis. Probably not as much as in the triple option days, but certainly more than you see in a West Coast offense (as run under Bill Callahan). The linemen continue to be taller than we saw in the option days, as pass protection continues to be valued even in the post-West Coast era. Defensively, Pelini continues to place a premium on speed and versatility over size. This was also the blueprint for some of the great defenses of the 1990’s for Nebraska. You definitely wonder whether a team like Wisconsin might exploit that, but Pelini gets the benefit of the doubt when it comes to building defenses.
LBU: Who are you targeting and at what positions in the Class of 2012? I don’t believe that Penn State and Nebraska are competing for any targets, so who should we watch until February?
BRN: It’s probably good news for Nebraska that they will bring in a smallish class. There are not many departing scholarship seniors so there might be room for only fifteen or so recruits (and five have already committed). The Huskers need linebackers. In addition to the commit they have, they probably need two more. Like Penn State, NU’s offered New Jersey’s Quanzell Lambert but his dance card appears awfully full. They continue to seek linemen on both sides of the ball. Offensive tackle Kyle Kalis of Ohio is on the wish list (and has been offered by PSU), likewise with d-tackles Tommy Schutt and Vincent Valentine of Illinois (also Nittany Lion targets). The Huskers are after a number of wide receivers and defensive backs as well. Running back DJ Foster of Arizona is worth mentioning too, only because he had offers from both Penn State and the Big Red.
LBU: What are the normal recruiting grounds for Nebraska? Since you’re the only game in town, I imagine you have the state to yourself, but then as the only major Division 1 team in Pennsylvania, Penn State hasn’t done the greatest in recent past. Also, will the Big Ten be able to infiltrate your recruiting grounds?
BRN: There are usually just a few in-state players worthy of scholarships and Nebraska usually gets their pick of them plus ten to twenty walk-ons. Sometimes they let a good player get away and in particular Iowa and Iowa State have sought Nebraska’s leftovers. The larger footprint has been the Big 12 North. The Huskers have had a lot of success in Colorado and Missouri and that appears likely to continue. Beyond that, Nebraska’s always mined California and despite all the talk about things cooling in Texas, there will continue to be players coming from the Lone Star State. Arizona’s become a good place to recruit as well. Lately, there’s been an uptick in Illinois and Ohio. I’d expect that to continue.
LBU: Finally, what about the hardcourt? We’ve got a new coach, but our outlook isn’t necessarily Final Four or Bust…yet. What can you tell us about the basketball program at Nebraska, including any recruiting success you might be seeing.
BRN: Nebraska has had real trouble establishing their basketball program. It might be that it’s more than a five year project and so few coaches have gotten six or more years. Tom Osborne has appeared to lean toward a more patient approach and is sticking with Doc Sadler. That may be just what the doctor ordered. New investment in facilities could improve recruiting and being able to recruit in the Big Ten footprint could really help as well. Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan produce a lot of good players and it only takes one or two good finds to make a team competitive. Still, expectations are fairly modest.
Props to Mike for playing the role of serviceable backup quarterback during the previous ITBUUS. I’m healthy enough to return to the field though, and just in time to finish out the October portion of the football schedule with George Kutsunis of the popular Illinois blog Hail To The Orange. Surely, you know the drill by now, let’s get to it:
LBU: In the wake of Jim Tressel’s resignation from Ohio State, Ron Zook is now the 3rd most actively tenured coach in the Big Ten. This seemed rather improbable not too long ago, and it leads me to believe he’s the Ed DeChellis of Big Ten football coaches (i.e. lasting longer than he probably should have). Your thoughts?
HTTO: Ron Zook has clearly benefited from the fact that his AD Ron Guenther had a great deal of faith, (and money) wrapped up in him and did not want to go through the process of finding a new coach so close to his retirement. With Guenther’s exit, Zook probably has less job security than ever, given that AD’s view the football job as the definitive hire of their careers. Keep in mind also though that while Zook himself hasn’t been consistent in Urbana, the University of Illinois hasn’t exactly been the standard for consistency over the decades, with lowered expectations by some and just enough success for others Zook has managed to survive…for seven seasons now.
Ron Zook has defied the odds to become the Big Ten's longest-tenured coach after Joe Paterno and Kirk Ferentz. Yes, a double EFF YOU indeed.
LBU: Corey Liuget and Mikel LeShoure are both gone and leave some big holes to fill in their respective spots. Who do you see stepping up for them?
HTTO: On defense we all have great hopes for Ian Thomas, who will likely step back into the role of middle linebacker this season, to carry forward on a defense that made massive strides over the course of last season, even given their collapse against Michigan. With another full off season with Vic Koenning in charge of the defense, I can only think overall the defense will be better. On offense the passing game under Nathan Scheelhaase, which showed flashes last year will need to take the step forward this year that everyone expects Receiver wise the there seems to be no end to guys with tons of potential, but just a little actual on field demonstration of it. A.J. Jenkins is the best threat, by far, but sophomores Ryan Lankford and Darius Millines will be important as well.
LBU: Is Nathan Scheelhaase already on the verge of making Juice Williams an afterthought? I mean, the guy also can THROW the ball, in addition to being a scrambler.
HTTO: We need to knock on wood about this, but yes, so far Scheelhaase seems to be developing at a much faster and steadier rate than Juice did. I have a lot of conflicted feelings about our old buddy Isaiah “Juice” Williams. For as much as he brought to the program excitement wise, he may also have detracted a great deal due to his own struggles. With Scheelhaase, clearly also a great potential, the coaching staff have not made the same mistakes. Where Juice was forced into the starting role halfway through a terrible season, with out much coaching high school or college to season him, Scheelhaase has been allowed to red shirt for a year, fight for his spot in the preseason, and have the benefit of an NFL caliber running back to take the pressure off of him. If only Juice had the same opportunity.
LBU: What is the Illini fan base’s expectations with regards to placing in the Leaders division? Do you feel they would have it easier in the Legends division?
HTTO: This year, Illini fans have got to be getting a little greedy. With the exception of Wisconsin, the Illinois schedule looks pretty tantalizing. Who knows what Ohio State will be without Terrelle Pryor in the short term and without Jim Tressel in the long term? And after the trip to Happy Valley last year, every Illini fan knows winning at PSU isn’t impossible anymore. Throw in the fact that from now on, Illinois has guaranteed games, every year against Northwestern, Indiana and Purdue. And if you can’t beat those three teams, you don’t belong in a bowl.
LBU: Talor Battle may be gone, but PSU has replaced DeChellis with somebody who has lots of ATTITUDE in Pat Chambers. How is your relief over Battle being gone balanced out by the hiring of Chambers?
HTTO: No. Coaches don’t scare me, players don’t scare me, only Talor Battle ever truly scared me. Were it not for the fact that Illinois was on the receiving end of so much of his heroics, I would consider Battle the greatest player in college over the past three seasons. Maybe its because of seeing those heroics up close that I think that. His statistics were great but that wasn’t what made him good, it was his cajones. The shots that man took, the players he drove on, and the wins that managed to pull out of nowhere will always make him a rarity in college athletics. Chambers may build on what Battle did at PSU, but it was that one player that gave everyone pause in the Big Ten, and I don’t see him coming around again any time soon.
WORD ASSOCIATION:
Lou Tepper – The guy who killed Illinois football before Ron Turner did.
Lou Henson – The guy who probably won’t ever get enough credit for what he did as coach in Champaign
Simeon Rice – Professional FACE BREAKER
Deron Williams – Formerly the best loved man in Champaign Illinois, Salt Lake City, New Jersey, and soon apparently Istanbul.
Kurt Kittner - Brian Barnhardt’s best friend and hero of my childhood.
Talor Battle – Proof of the appeal of college basketball
LBU: Okay, now I’m going to show you a few videos. Tell me what you see in each of the following:
HTTO: My first thought is: Kerry Collins was playing in 1994? How old is that guy? I was only 8 then, and I don’t have a lot of clear memories. The fact that we lost on the road in Happy Valley though, isn’t really a surprise.
HTTO: Yes this is when we shamefully lost the Big Ten championship to Penn State. Yes, more specifically, this is when the real decline of Illinois basketball actually began. They made a point of mentioning in that video that it was where Penn State could turn its basketball fortunes around…How many tournaments have you guys made this decade exactly? [TIM'S NOTE: As many as Illinois, actually (1)]
HTTO: Possibly the angriest I’ve ever been at a television, until it happened again the next year.
We thank George for taking time out of his busy Talor Battle-hating life to talk about all things Illinois with us. We also look forward to some sweet, sweet, revenge come October 29th.
Photo taken from Purdue Pete's online dating profile. Nicely done, Pete.
ITBUUS rolls on to Purdue, with none other than Ryan from Boiled Sports, who was kind enough to offer his two cents. I’m pretty sure you know the drill by now, and if you don’t…well, you’ll figure it out:
LBU: Injuries derailed Purdue’s football season last year. Surely, it can’t get any worse than last year..right? What’s the outlook for the 2011 slate?
BS: Some Purdue fans blamed the cursed football season and other athletic injuries last year on the potential change to Purdue Pete. Well, a ground swell of Purdue fans turned that around, and since then, no one’s blown out an ACL. But at BS, we’re not as superstitious as some of our fellow Boilers. Injuries happen to everyone. We were more bothered by the lack of preparation in many of the games. If that doesn’t get changed, it doesn’t matter who Purdue puts on the field, a winning record is nothing but a pipe dream.
All that said, we think a .500 season would be a pretty large accomplishment for a team that had no offensive identity and seemed to fail in catastrophic fashion week after week.
LBU: [New Indiana Football Coach]Kevin Wilson: A viable threat, or another Cam Cameron/Gerry DiNardo/Bill Lynch type of flame-out?
BS: Wilson had a mustache a few years ago, and chose to get rid of that. We don’t take kindly to the mis-treatment of upper lip hair in West Lafayette…so he’s got one strike against him. That said, you can’t argue with the guy’s resume and the players he’s helped produce. But, not all coordinators turn into great coaches and some of the rumors we hear from Bloomington about Wilson’s behavior are less than glowing.
Hoeppner started to turn IU around and was the right type of guy to do it…and Wilson is no Hep. Based on what IU students are saying, I’d have to say that Cam Cameron is a pretty good analogy- they’ll do some creative things, will score some points…but won’t get over the hump. In spite of losing some firepower on offense, they should still be 4-0 heading into conference…but I don’t know if they can get two more wins during the BT season, honestly. We’ve seen this a few times in Bloomington.
LBU: In case you didn’t notice, Penn State hired a new basketball coach in Pat Chambers and he has already infused the program with some ATTITUDE. Do you see Tom Crean finally having a worthy competitor when it comes to clapping?
BS: Tom Crean has no equal when it comes to clapping…let’s be clear about that.
But, who’s to say PSU can’t get back to where they were under Dunn in the early oughts? That said, big losses in the Valley would’ve made it difficult on whomever took the con next season…and Matt Glover is no Talor Battle. So I think it’ll be a few seasons before you can fairly judge Chambers.
LBU: As for Purdue basketball: Robbie Hummel is back. JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore however, are not. How much of a chance do you give this year’s Purdue team to surpass the success of last year’s?
BS: Not much…at least for the regular season. 26 wins and multiple wins versus the top-10 is a pretty good season. But the way the season ended was a slow train wreck for our alma mater. No one outside the locker room really knows what happened in the closing weeks of the season, but when the dust settled, Purdue lost its sixth man to suspension and was a shell of its former self, especially on defense.
We think next year’s team will get better and better as the season progresses. They might drop a few early as everyone figures out their new roles and a few new guys get worked into the rotation, but Painter’s defensive system isn’t going anywhere…and Purdue will be good again because of that.
Can they get past their first game in the B1G tourney second round of the NCAA tournament? With Lewis Jackson, Ryne Smith and Rob Hummel as the Senior leaders, I wouldn’t bet against them in March. These three are tough as nails and won’t want their season to end prematurely.
WORD ASSOCIATION:
Mike Alstott- Unstoppable
Jim Coletto- Whining
Drew Brees- Winning/Handsome
Gene Keady- Godfather
Bob Knight- Angry
Thomas The Tank Engine- Wuss
Drums- Nick Cannon
LBU: And finally, make a case for or against Matt Painter growing a mustache.
BS: As much as I’d like to, I can’t do it. Mustaches belong on campus in the football offices. Plus, if anything, Matty needs facial hair on his chin, not his upper lip. Like me, no matter how in shape Coach Painter is, he seems to always have an extra half chin. The best thing to do in that case is hide it.
We thank Ryan for his participation and wish our Leaders division neighbors the best of luck, October 15th notwithstanding.
Herky Hawkeye pictured here in happier times during the wedding reception of his third wife.
ITBUUS continues to roll into the October portion of the football schedule with Ross (aka “RossWB”) of the popular Iowa blog Black Heart Gold Pants being so gracious enough as to answer several nagging questions that all Penn State fans want to know about the Hawkeyes…and by “all Penn State fans” I mean, myself..mostly.
Linebacker-U: Without a doubt, BHGP is one of my favorite non-PSU blogs out there, and is one that I read on a frequent basis. What is it in the Iowa water that gives their fans such a snarky sense of humor?
BHGP: The sensible answer would be to say that it’s some sort of residual bleed-over effect from spending so long in Iowa City and being so near a famed den of creativity and linguistic excellence like the Writer’s Workshop, but most of those folks were far too poncey to associate with a band of reprobates and drunkards like the BHGP braintrust. So it’s probably just the meth.
LBU: So, America’s Hero (Ricky Stanzi) is gone, all running backs not named Marcus Coker are gone, and man-child/punter swallower Adrian Clayborn is gone. I know there’s several others leaving as well, but that’s quite a core that will need replacing. How big of a step back do you see Iowa taking this year?
BHGP: Despite losing all those fine footballers, I’ve actually been projecting Iowa to have a better regular season record in ’11 (8-4) than they had in ’10 (7-5). That’s not to take anything away from the quality of the fellows who are no longer here, nor is it a suggestion that their replacements will be far better than they were (although Marcus Coker has a real chance to be Iowa’s finest running back since Shonn Greene ran roughshod over the Big Ten).
Mainly, it’s an acknowledgment of the fact that Iowa has a very favorable schedule — they avoid three of the four likely best teams in the East division (Wisconsin, Ohio State, Illinois) and get three of the four likely best teams in the West division (Michigan, Michigan State, and just Northwestern) at home — and some very promising players looking to step up next fall. I also refuse to believe Iowa will shit all over themselves against Minnesota again.
LBU: Looks like Iowa and Nebraska is about to become a Black Friday tradition for years to come. How excited is the Iowa fan base about this? If you could invent a trophy for this newfound rivalry, what would it be?
BHGP: I would say Iowa fans are 100% excited to be playing Nebraska every year and the overwhelming majority of them are happy the game is replacing the Minnesota game in the season finale rival spot (mainly because Minnesota’s general buffonery and incompetence under Glen Mason and Tim Brewster had drained most of the drama and intrigue from the series in recent years). The opinion on the game being played on Black Friday is a little more mixed, mainly due to logistical hang-ups (travel, work schedules, etc.), but most fans are enthusiastic about the increased exposure the game will bring (it’s nice being the only Big Ten game going on that day) and I think it’s something that Iowa fans will get accustomed to — and embrace — after a few years.
I’ve long been in favor of a nice bronze meth pipe as a traveling trophy for this soon-to-be epic rivalry, but for some reason Gary Barta and Tom Osborne haven’t been returning my calls. It’s like meth has a bad image or something. Crazy, right? Alternatively, I’ve been suggesting ditching the hideous Cy-Hawk Trophy (only a step or two behind the Land Grant Trophy on the eye blight scale) in favor of a bronze tractor or some other agricultural implement that better reflects Iowa’s agrarian nature; that idea could be imported to the Iowa-Nebraska rivalry just as easily.
A bronzed meth pipe trophy for Iowa-Nebraska? Definitely more aesthetically pleasing than the Land Grant Trophy.
LBU: In case you didn’t notice, Penn State hired a new basketball coach in Pat Chambers. Do you have any concerns about fan safety the next time PSU and Iowa meet? I feel like the dichotomy of Chambers’ ATTITUDE and Fran McCaffrey’s RAGE will produce a ‘crossing of the steams’ type of effect a la Ghostbusters.
BHGP: It depends — if ATTITUDE and RAGE cross paths at the Bryce Jordan Center, no one will be hurt, since attendance there makes Ryan Field look like Beaver Stadium [TIM'S NOTE: Touche, Ross]. To be fair, that would also have been largely true if the streams had been crossed at Carver-Hawkeye a few years ago, but the presence of Fran (and more aesthetically pleasing hoopyball) has Iowa fans cautiously, but steadily, returning to CHA in greater numbers. After a decade of being treated like a Lifetime wife and being battered and neglected, Iowa fans are swiftly being won over by McCaffery’s passion — and predilection for getting his team to punch above its weight, as indicated by their season-ending upset of Purdue and a handful of other almost got ‘em games. I confess, I was mostly befeuddled by the Penn State basketball tomfoolery, since the idea of a Big Ten coach skittering off to take over a Patriot League team in mid-May was so damn weird. But Penn State fans seem a little excited about this Chambers guy, so bully for that.
LBU: But seriously, what can we expect in Year 2 of McCaffrey’s extreme makeover of Iowa hoops?
BHGP: More wins, first and foremost. In part that will be a function of an almost embarrassingly soft non-conference slate (Iowa isn’t leaving the state borders until conference play and the toughest teams on the slate appear to be Creighton, Clemson, Iowa State, and Northern Iowa) and in part that will be a function of a Big Ten that should take a step back next year with the loss of so many talented upperclassmen. But it’s also based on the notion that the Franimal has managed to (a) actually retain virtually everyone from last year’s team and (b) add some promising recruits in the offseason.
After finding Bryce Cartwright, who turned out to be one of the league’s better point guard last season, and Melsahn Basabe, one of the league’s better freshmen, Iowa fans are willing to give McCaffery quite a bit of rope when it comes to recruiting. It’s also a hope predicated on the belief that further exposure to McCaffery’s tutelage will improve the current squad; Jarryd Cole blossomed as a solid post player last year and even previously-hopeless cases like Andrew Brommer began to show signs of actual basketball talent at times. Given all that, 17-20 wins seems like a genuinely reasonable prediction and an NIT berth seems like an attainable goal.
LBU: Obligatory wrestling question: What’s the outlook on next season for the Hawkeyes? Will PSU-Iowa remain a fierce clash of the titans for years to come in the Big Ten, or is there another team that could join the fray?
BHGP: There should be some other very good teams next year (and in years to come), like Oklahoma State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Cornell, and Minnesota… but Penn State and Iowa look like the true forces to be reckoned with, particularly next year. Both teams return the lion’s share (er, no pun intended) of their teams last years — teams that finished a scant point apart at the Big Ten Tournament (and a few more apart at the NCAA Tournament). Both teams also return basically all of their studs — McDonough, Marion, St. John, and Gambrall return for Iowa, while Taylor, Ruth, Long, and Wright return for Penn State.
Both teams are also (justifiably) excited about some of the new starters looking to muscle their way into the line-ups, as both had some blue-chip prospects redshirting next year. Really, both teams look absolutely loaded for next year; Iowa has a bit more ground to make up than Penn State, but there should be some exciting clashes between both teams next year, first at the dual meet at Penn State’s Rec Center and later at the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments.
WORD ASSOCIATION: Name the first thing that comes to mind for each of the following:
Threw in that ‘basketball’ at the end, so you fools don’t get it twisted. No, this is not another unrated, ‘no-name’ football player who will spark more petty e-drama. Patrick Chambers got his first commitment to the program in just three and a half weeks. Akosa Maduegbunam (pronounced Mah-do-way-boo-nam) from Boston, MA committed on Tuesday, likely while he was still on campus. The 6’3″ combo guard is a 2012 prospect, who will occupy one of the two open scholarships remaining for the 2012-2013 season (plug: all of your scholarship inquiries about the team can be answered with the scholarship table listed on the front page of LBU).
The rising senior will be transferring from Charlestown High School this upcoming season to play at Winchendon Prep in the loaded NEPSAC. Winchendon will be his third high school, as he transferred to Charlestown from Cushing Academy after his freshman year. While at Charlestown for 2 seasons, he averaged 20 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and was an All-City selection twice. He is taking his talents to the NEPSAC at the urging of his Charlestown coach next season.
Akosa chose Penn State over offers from Temple, Drexel, New Hampshire, and Iona. He has an 82, 2-star rating at ESPN.com. As of right now, Maduegbunam certainly doesn’t seem to be much of a high-profile prospect, but what needs to be kept in mind is that he’s been playing in the recruiting shadows of the NEPSAC, and his AAU club, Expressions Elite, doesn’t appear at many of the high-profile AAU events. He will have his chance to make his mark in the NEPSAC next season when he’s at Winchendon. What we do know is that Maduegbunam and Coach Chambers share an unbreakable bond. From ESPN:
“I would say Coach Chambers is probably one of the best recruiters ever,” Maduegbunam said this afternoon by phone. “He just makes you feel really welcome, really wanted. I tried to evaluate coaches as to where they’ll be down the road. Somewhere along the line of life, I’ll stop playing basketball, and Coach Chambers is a guy who would be there at my wedding. He is more than just a college coach. It’s more than just basketball for him, it’s about character and personality. He found that in me, and I found that in him.”
Akosa’s been described as an athletic player who can attack the rim in transition and can shoot from range in the half-court. The one site out there who has followed Maduegbuna is Adam Finkelstein’s New England Basketball Recruiting Report. Many observations of Akosa’s performances have been logged at NERR in his profile page
“I always knew I wanted to go out of state,” Maduegbunam told the New England Recruiting Report, “so I almost thought it was a miracle when I heard that Pat Chambers was moving to Penn State.”
“I liked being under the radar,” Maduegbunam said. “I always knew I was a high-major kid and Pat Chambers knew it too.”
Akosa’s family hails from Nigeria, but he was born and raised in Boston, MA. You can get to know Akosa a little better from this piece from the Boston Globe.
Welcome, Akosa Maduegbunam, to the Penn State family! Your name is awesome, but I’m confident it will be no challenge to the Great Steve Jones.
ITBUUS returns with an old familiar foe as Mike Gibson of the popular Temple blog Temple Football Forever was kind enough to shower us with his vast insight about all things Temple football, along with his unabashed man-crush for everything Steve Addazio.
Time for me to eat some humble pie: If Temple had a QB last year, they would’ve notched their first victory over PSU post-World War II. How’s the QB situation working out for the upcoming season?
TFF: They did. His name was Mike Gerardi. Chester Stewart was God-awful at Penn State last year and his three picks made him appear to be damn near color blind. Not sure if the win would have occurred since Bernard Pierce went out with an ankle sprain after scoring two touchdowns, but I don’t think Gerardi would have thrown the three picks.
Use a TV show analogy to describe the Golden-to-Addazio transition.
TFF: ABC Evening News. Everybody thought Diane Sawyer wouldn’t measure up to Charlie Gibson and now nobody remembers who Charlie Gibson was, Diane is that much better. When Al Golden goes 5-7 at Miami and Addazio goes opens by winning 11 of 12 at Temple only those of us who remembered who Bobby Wallace was will remember who Al Golden was.
Lose the hair, add a 'stache, and BOOM. Steve Addazio.
Seriously though, what are the expectations in Year 1 of the Addazio era? Will he incorporate the same offensive system he used at Florida right away, or will he adjust to fit his personnel?
TFF: The first thing he said at his first press conference was he will adjust to the personnel. Bernard Pierce is the personnel. Give him the ball until he sprains his ankle again, occasionally using the play-action pass to keep the defense honest. At least that’s what I suspect. Later, he will recruit to implement his system. The key thing that separates this Temple staff from Golden’s is the assistants. Chuck Heater went 11-0 as DC at Utah. He was DC at Florida last year (really co-DC but Urban Meyer called him Mother Theresa, as in miracle worker). Scot Loeffler, the QB coach at Florida the last couple of years, was the QB coach who developed Tom Brady at Michigan. Addazio was the HEAD coach at Florida for the three months Meyer was on medical leave. These are big-time guys. Golden never had big-time guys.
In case you haven’t noticed: Penn State now has a passionate Philly native coaching their basketball team in Pat Chambers. How “not worried” are you?
TFF: Not worried because I’m about 90 percent Temple football fan, 10 percent Temple hoops fan and because Fran Dunphy is that good a coach and a person.
WORD ASSOCIATION
Wayne Hardin – Genius
John Chaney, - Recruiter
Bill Cosby – Old [TIM'S NOTE: Damn it! Was really hoping he'd say "Jell-O" or "Filth, Flarn, Filth"]
Pepe Sanchez - Juan Fernandez
Big East – Stupid
Western PA - Adam DiMichele
Bob Saget – Funny only to himself
Unlike Bill Cosby, you'll never see Bob Saget around any Temple University sporting events. Sorry, Danny Tanner fans.
Last but not least, how times out of 10 does Juan Fernandez pull this off?
The new basketball staff continues to take form as it was announced today that Villanova DOBO Keith Urgo would be joining the Lions as a full-time assistant. You can read about coach Urgo in the official Penn State release. He is the second assistant to be brought in by Chambers and will be the #3 guy on the bench.
Keith Urgo. Photo: GoTerriers.com
Urgo has got an inspiring story with the development of his non-profit organization but is short on coaching experience. He was awalk-on player for the Fairfield Stags, where he graduated in 2002. Eventually he found his passion for a coaching career after a brief stint in real estate. Jay Wright hired him in 2007 as the video coordinator, a position he held for one season. He was then promoted to DOBO for 2 seasons and became an actual assistant this past season, when Doug West left Wright’s staff in June 2010. However, Doug West rejoined VU’s staff two weeks ago, demoting Urgo back to DOBO (great timing by Mr. West, eh?). Chambers and Urgo worked together for two years at Villanova.
It’s certainly easy to judge Urgo as a ‘bad hire’ due to his lack of qualifications, but I’m sure Chambers judgment is sound as to what’s expected from an assistant coach. I’d rather have an inexperienced staff working together than a more seasoned group working apart.
The staff will be completed by the end of the week, according to Chambers, who had a nice appearance on Daily News Live in Philadelphia yesterday.
However, some recent events will likely mean the staff will be in place by tomorrow. Joe Jones was hired by Boston University tonight as Chambers’ replacement. As coach said in the above interview, he would bring Daly to PSU if he didn’t get the BU job. I would expect him to be announced as an assistant tomorrow.
Adam Fisher. Photo: GoTerriers.com
If you thought Urgo’s coaching experience was lacking, you might be a little more skeptical of Daly. He has only 2 full seasons of D-1 coaching experience, both coming under Chambers at BU. After his first season, he was promoted to associate HC this past year. He was in charge of developing the big men on the team. Prior to joining the BU staff, the former St. Joe’s standout had been coaching in the high school ranks in Philadelphia, primarily at his alma-mater, Monsignor-Bonner.
I am curious to see which of Daly or Burroughs will be the associate head coach. Burroughs seems to be more qualified, but Daly was Chambers’ right-hand man at BU. Burroughs was just announced as an assistant coach, so we will just have to wait and see. I’m guessing Daly, but wouldn’t be surprised by either.
While the three assistants are locked in, there have been some conflicting reports regarding the final two slots on the staff – DOBO and Video Coordinator. It has been confirmed that Adam Fisher will be joining the staff, but where is the question. I would guess that Fisher will be the Video Coordinator and former BU assistant Ross Condon will come on as the DOBO. If I’m correct, this is how it will look:
Head Coach – Pat Chambers
Associate HC – Brian Daly – big man coach
Assistant Coach – Eugene Burroughs – guard coach
Assistant Coach – Keith Urgo
Director of Basketball Operations – Ross Condon
Video Coordinator – Adam Fisher
All of it will be known in the near future, maybe even by tomorrow, but it’s looking like PSU will unofficially have the youngest coaching staff in the game. It’s great it’s all going to be finalized soon, so they can come up with a recruiting gameplan to hit the July AAU events hard and be ready to meet the team as they come back to school next week for the second summer session.
