Bourne Sends Another Message to Brady
JMU Athletic Director Jeff Bourne was in a giving mood today. As Mike Barber reports above, Bourne handed out contract extensions to 3 Dukes coaches. Now that the ink has dried, Kenny Brooks is locked up until 2016, and McFarland and Lombardo until 2015. Notably absent from the list is men’s basketball coach Matt Brady. In case you were wondering, Brady is only under contract through this coming season. I guess it’s pretty clear he still has something to prove in Bourne’s eyes. No pressure coach.
Yes, yes. Let’s chase Brady off. We chased Lefty off for the same reason. 20+ win seasons aren’t good enough.
I don’t understand what the administration hopes to accomplish by stringing Brady along like this. Will it help recruiting? Does it save a few bucks? I don’t get it.
I have zero faith that the administration will hire anyone better. We were a CAA laughing stock a couple years ago. Brady changed that. Odds are we’re going right back to laughing stock with a bad hire (which seems inevitable).
Remember – not so long ago, we replaced a 750 win coach with Sheman freaking Dillard.
I agree with you Matt. I’m actually a big Brady fan. The point of this post wasn’t to say that I think Brady should be on the way out. I was just trying to highlight the fact that Bourne is being crystal clear with Brady here. Win CAA championships, like McFarland, Lombardo, and Brooks did last year, and you’ll get extended no problem. Otherwise, Bourne appears to be dead set on keeping the pressure ratcheted up a few notches. Nothing wrong with that. If they chase Brady off after a competitive season however, I’d feel differently.
I’m not one of those people that thinks there is a magic number of wins that Brady needs to hit, a mandate for an NCAA tournament, etc in order to get extended. I just want to see more progress forward. I think he’s done an admirable job getting the program back to being competitive. Now it’s time to take it to the next level. I think he can and will do it.
But they’re hamstringing him in recruiting. It’s silly. Why agree to come to JMU if the coaching staff recruiting you is likely to be gone when you get to campus? JMU needs to gain an appreciation for the realities of recruiting. If we ever hope to be a big time program, we need to understand how the game works. Hanging your coach out in the wind is a no-win situation. And right now, every coach recruiting against us for kids is using this as ammo. Bet your bottom dollar on it.
And beg my pardon, but it’s a damn sight harder to win a CAA championship in men’s hoops these days than it used to be. Not to take away from the accomplishments of the other coaches, but how many final four (or its CWS equivalent) appearances has the CAA made in their sports recently?
That may be a dumb question, because I have no idea, actually.
No doubt the perception of being a lame duck has an impact on recruiting and can be ammo for other teams. Brady has JMU at least winning now, but I still think he’s forced to recruit “under the radar” guys. He got one of them to commit on Sunday (Andre Nation). He seems very athletic and averaged 22 and 6 for a good Florida high school team (state semi-finalists), but enrolled in prep school because he wasn’t heavily recruited.
“Win CAA championships, like McFarland, Lombardo, and Brooks did last year, and you’ll get extended no problem. Otherwise, Bourne appears to be dead set on keeping the pressure ratcheted up a few notches. ”
So….. when’s MM’s current contract up?
He’s earned an extension, the conference has become too competative for the opposing coaches to have a recruiting advantage, which they do, especially when it comes to a decent facility. I know I’ve heard the Kool Aid answer,” we have to win are way out of the convo” It’s a glorified high school gym. You spend money wisely you make money!!! The football stadium is an investment that will pay dividends.
You bring up a really good point Bill D, in that the convocation center probably makes it additionally difficult to recruit players. It can be loud, but it’s got such a weird design that it definitely seems more like a gym than an arena.
The only part kids worry about when it comes to the gym is if they are on the floor during games. They don’t worry about how many luxury boxes their are. It doesn’t hurt, but that is far from the issue.
Come on Ted. That’s the coach in you talking. I’m not saying that facilities are the top reason for recruits to choose a school, but I think it definitely can put a place over the top. Listen to all the quotes from Mickey about how much easier it is to recruit with the new stadium. Nicer facilities alone aren’t going to do much, but they can help be part of a pretty nice package.