Warde Manuel's view on hiring coaches.

[huskymedic]

Q: In the past year, you have hired new coaches in men’s basketball and in both men’s and women’s ice hockey. How do you view the hiring decisions you have to make as a manager, knowing you’re beginning to put your footprint on the campus?

A: I look at it as important for the success of our teams and student-athletes, and have a great deal of respect for the history that has been developed here and what our coaches have already established and the success that is expected. There’s a lot of weight on my shoulders to make sure we do our due diligence and focus on picking the right people to lead our programs. I’m happy with the selections we’ve made. All place tremendous value on the educational side of what we are doing here, and really work with our student-athletes to make sure that they establish success in both the athletic and academic realm.

http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2013/09...ugh-changing-times-in-athletics/#.UkRnOTumT4U

Edit: Just sharing for those who might not see the whole article.

 

[freescooter]

And I love my mother and apple pie and the American flag and yadda yadda yadda. as quoted in " Coachspeak for Athletic Directors, Volume I."

 

[huskymedic]

And I love my mother and apple pie and the American flag and yadda yadda yadda. as quoted in " Coachspeak for Athletic Directors, Volume I."

He covered that with the Culinary Institute of America comment.

 

[Palatine]

I'm for education and against crime.

 

[rbny1]

What do you expect him to say? He was asked a softball question and gave a softball answer.

 

[huskymedic]

What do you expect him to say? He was asked a softball question and gave a softball answer.

Well damn - it was a UConn article. Not judging - just sharing.

 

[John]

And I love my mother and apple pie and the American flag and yadda yadda yadda. as quoted in " Coachspeak for Athletic Directors, Volume I."

http://www.sportscliche.com/

 

[rbny1]

Well damn - it was a UConn article. Not judging - just sharing.

Sorry, I wasn't addressing my comment to you. I was responding to freescooter and others.

 

[freescooter]

Well damn - it was a UConn article. Not judging - just sharing.

We're just having fun with it. When has an AD ever said "we want a coach who doesn't give a shti if our guys can read, write or speak,as long as they win?". And "he only wants them spending the absolute minimum amount of time necessary to on academics to stay eligible. As long as they can beat the h*ll out of the other team's guys he doesn't really even care if they are technically dumber than members of the plant family." But no AD will ever say any such thing. For successful pro coaches, disregard the line about academics.

 

[FAIRTIDES]

And I love my mother and apple pie and the American flag and yadda yadda yadda. as quoted in " Coachspeak for Athletic Directors, Volume I."

Stay with me. There's a point to this.

It is directly from the, "Mom's apple pie" Dictionary/Thesaurus. But, for me, it immediately brought to mind recent BY links to stories on Junior Joseph and Marcus Campbell; guys kicked off the team for rules violations who were allowed/encouraged to get UCONN degrees. Both used remaining eligibility to earn time towards graduate degrees at another institution. The Joseph and Campbell (and others) situations offer irrefutable proof that UCONN does not discard players because they can no longer contribute athletically.

If I were recruiting, I would ask every parent to read Part Five of the Sports Illustrated Oklahoma State "Expose." It resonated with me because it showed how drug tests, legal issues and grades were fixed for OSU players that continued to produce. It also showed what happened to a significant percentage of injured players or players, guilty of the same transgressions, who had fallen on the depth chart.

Once parents had finished reading, I would provide a list of Campbell and Joseph types; both injured and punished, that had gone on to receive a UCONN degree. Emphasis on the fact that an injury or youthful mistake won't be used to discard a third-team kid in order to re-gain a scholarship. Further emphasis on the fact that a kid who is willing to do the work/clean his act will earn a degree from a top-twenty public institution. That's a hell of an inducement.

It's something that will resonate with good parents and something that will place a check-mark in the pro-UCONN column.