Jeff Jacobs Editorial On CD and HOF

[Bronx23]

I think this obviously is thinking outside the box, in that we generally don't recognize the #2 person in many things. But this is not the usual situation. This is someone who has been with Geno through it all. So being the assistant / associate head coach to maybe the greatest sports coach ever in any sport is not something that will easily ever be repeated. They are clearly a team and balance and compliment one another extremely well.
I think one needs to consider both Genos and their former players input in her influence on many of their successes in basketball and life.
In most successful businesses there's a person in charge and then their 2nd in command. However they play it, each handles different aspects of what must be done. In sports and basketball in particular the best analogy or comparison as it comes to players is Michael Jordan (probably the consensus greatest player ever) and his sidekick Scottie Pippen. Jordan was GREAT but I doubt he would have won as many championships without Pippen.
Just as not everyone is cut out to play at U Conn on the women's side, some are better at being that complimentary part to the star. I think this is so rare and special that I truly hope she is inducted. It would give hope and import to succeeding which speaks to so much of what this twosome and team are about.
Bronx 23

 

[xoxxox]

CD is great but no HOFer. Being a longtime assistant means you didn't take a chance, played it safe. That's not a HOF characteristic in my book.

Sophomoric.

 

[uconnfan68]

So if CD got the Rutgers job, UConn would not have gone on winning titles? Not sure I buy that.

Maybe not. When was she supposed to get that? Don’t remember exactly.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Maybe not. When was she supposed to get that? Don’t remember exactly.

When Vivian did. 1996. I've heard a number of different stories about it.

CD was very popular with the RU crowd that was (sadly, a lot of them no longer with us 20+ years later) and Vivian wasn't. But Viv's resume - in 1996 - was excellent moving from a successful stint at Iowa to her east coast roots. And I don't think RU has any complaints.

Who knows - CD might have won a natty - or not. Geno might have won just as many without her - or more - or less. We'll never know, because it didn't happen.

As to the original premise - she is something of a unique case and correctly deserves HOF consideration. Should the HOF be open to assistants and associates - I would think as contributors, at least, the answer may be yes.

 

[HuskyNan]

CD is great but no HOFer. Being a longtime assistant means you didn't take a chance, played it safe. That's not a HOF characteristic in my book.

She’s not an assistant - she’s Associate Head Coach. Geno once said in spoken remarks he considered her a co-head coach.

As always, Dailey right by Auriemma's side

 

[UConnNick]

I think there are some people that are not as intensely ego driven as others. They don't need to actively seek the glare of the spotlight shining on them for any sort of adulation or validation of their accomplishments. They are reluctant to take any credit for what they have achieved and prefer to modestly give credit to others they've worked with. CD strikes me as that type of person. It shouldn't detract from the magnitude of her influence and contribution to the game of WCBB, all of which is certainly worthy of serious consideration for any applicable awards and honors.

 

[PhillyCoach]

First, let me state that I really respect CD and what she brings. CD and Geno are a team. Yin and Yang. They do go together. Exactly the same, but different. I have two points.
Are writers, announcers, GMs, owners, and other non-players part of any HOF? Or WBB HOF? IMHO I would put the "cream of Asst. Coaches" into the --Equal to or Greater than the writers, etc. category. If a writer has a category, so shall Asst. Coaches.
Finally, to quell the group who feel the Asst. Coaches should never get in (unless they become a head coach and win big) I say:
let's set the bar for entry into the HOF for Assts. Baseball has 3,000 hits, 500 home runs, 300 pitching wins, and so on.
I will humbly set the standard for an Asst. Coach into the HOF:
**Must have College Basketball Playing career (IMO any college player is equal to or greater than any writer, etc. for HOF)
**30 plus years with the same team/head coach
**1,ooo plus wins with the same team and HC
**10 plus National Championships with the same team and HC.
Holly does not make it and Stanford's Assistant does not either.
Let's start the category with CD and go from there.

 

[HuskyNan]

First, let me state that I really respect CD and what she brings. CD and Geno are a team. Yin and Yang. They do go together. Exactly the same, but different. I have two points.
Are writers, announcers, GMs, owners, and other non-players part of any HOF? Or WBB HOF? IMHO I would put the "cream of Asst. Coaches" into the --Equal to or Greater than the writers, etc. category. If a writer has a category, so shall Asst. Coaches.
Finally, to quell the group who feel the Asst. Coaches should never get in (unless they become a head coach and win big) I say:
let's set the bar for entry into the HOF for Assts. Baseball has 3,000 hits, 500 home runs, 300 pitching wins, and so on.
I will humbly set the standard for an Asst. Coach into the HOF:
**Must have College Basketball Playing career (IMO any college player is equal to or greater than any writer, etc. for HOF)
**30 plus years with the same team/head coach
**1,ooo plus wins with the same team and HC
**10 plus National Championships with the same team and HC.
Holly does not make it and Stanford's Assistant does not either.
Let's start the category with CD and go from there.

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Springfield, Massachusetts, honors players who have shown exceptional skill at basketball, all-time great coaches, referees, and other major contributors to the sport. It is named after Dr. James Naismith, who conceived the sport in 1891; he was inducted into the Hall as a contributor in 1959.[1]

To be considered for induction, nominees must meet certain prerequisites. Players must have been retired for at least five years before becoming eligible. Referees and coaches must have either been retired for at least five years, or, if they are still active, have coached or officiated for at least 25 years at high-school-level programs or higher. Those being considered for induction as contributors may be inducted at any time; the Hall of Fame and its committees evaluate whether contributions are significant enough for the nominee to be inducted as a contributor.[2] Teams are also inducted at the committees' discretion.

Contributors can be writers/sportscasters. Dick Vitale was honored with an induction.

By the way, Rebecca Lobo is in the Hall of Fame, not as a player but as a contributor.