Why?!?!?!?!?!

The reaction by BC head basketball coach Steve Donahue pictured above, was the exact same reaction I had last night when I read Pete Thamel's article on SI.com which reported that Donahue would remain at BC next year.  This is the same Steve Donahue who just completed his 4th season as the Boston College head coach with a far from stellar 8-24 record and finished in 14th place in the ACC.

I do want to make one disclaimer before I start to get into my Rant, and that is this is a Rant about Steve Donahue the coach and NOT Steve Donahue the man.  Donahue has shown since day one of being hired that he is a first class guy, whom I have the utmost respect for, and who is a tremendous ambassador to Boston College. His relentless support for former Sports Information Director Dick Kelley during his battle with ALS was well documented, and he has personified everything that you would want in a head coach.  With all that being said, during his 4 years as head coach of the Eagles he has shown that he cannot coach and recruit in the ACC.  I actually think Donahue is a good basketball coach, but he is best suited for a mid major team, not a team that is in arguably the best conference in college basketball.  Now with all that out of the way I will begin my Rant....

Based on Twitter reactions last night and reading other BC related blogs today, it appears there is not one person who is in favor of this decision.  Like any job, whether it be in sports, business or whatever field one works in, there are expectations and when those expectations aren't met, then usually there are consequences.  In the field of coaching the easiest way to judge one's performance is by wins and losses.  In Steve Donahue's 4 years at BC he is 54-76 overall and 24-44 in ACC play, with 9 of those ACC wins coming in his first year when Reggie Jackson and other Al Skinner players were the main reasons for the team's success.  In the last 3 years, playing with mainly players Donahue has recruited, the team has not finished above 8th place in the ACC.

 I am all for giving a coach time and allowing him to recruit his own players, but Donahue has shown he has not been able to recruit ACC caliber players.  Olivier Hanlan is the only player in my mind who would start on another ACC team.  Ryan Anderson is a good player, but would most likely be coming off the bench for most other teams.  Besides that , BC is made up of players, who although have shown glimmers of promise, have yet to play consistently enough to show me that they are worthy of playing in the ACC.

This past season, which just ended, was Donahue's 4th season in Chestnut Hill, which is usually the make or break your for a struggling coach.  This season had all the makings of one where BC would finish in the top half of the ACC and finally return to the NCAA Tournament after a 5 year absence, since all their players were returning, including last year's ACC Rookie of the Year in Hanlan.  The season however took a quick nose dive when the team began the year 1-5, and their only win was a 3 point win over Florida Atlantic, who in case you were wondering finished 10-22 this season.  Everyone knew that BC's gauntlet of a non-conference schedule was either going to really help them, or really hurt them, and we all pretty much realized by week 2 of the young season that the schedule would really hurt them.  The Eagles were never able to gain the confidence they needed to go on a run this season, as was evidenced by the fact that the team only had a win streak of 2 or more games once this season, and that was when they beat Washington and Sacred Heart in back to back games in November.  I, like a few others I'm sure, thought after BC beat undefeated and then #1 Syracuse that it would boost the team's confidence and help them finish the season strong. Unfortunately that wasn't the case as BC lost their next game after Syracuse by 27 to a mediocre Miami team and were only able to win 1 of their final 5 games.

There are many reasons why BC was not successful.  If you watched any games on TV this season you would know a favorite talking point among analysts was that center Dennis Clifford was out for the season and it was because of this that the Eagles lost so many games.  I am sorry but when a team loses a player for the season due to injury, a good coach will find a way for his team to adapt  as the season goes on.  This year's team was completely inept on defense, inconsistent on offense and almost always was out rebounded.  Physically many of BC's players weren't big enough both in strength and height to  bang on the boards with the the rest of their ACC brethren.  This all goes back to recruiting. It's as if Donahue thinks he is still in Ithaca recruiting for Cornell, and even given that BC has not been able to beat crosstown rival Harvard in his 4 years as head coach.  As a college coach, one has to have an eye for talent and the ability to recruit talent that will be able to compete in the league they are in, and so far Donahue hasn't shown he has that eye for talent that can compete in the ACC.

Rumors were swirling last night that the decision to keep Donahue wasn't BC Athletic Director Brad Bates' decision but rather one of a higher ranking official.  I won't comment on this because we do not know this for sure, but I really hope Bates has a strong explanation for this decision because he has a very disgruntled fan base right now.  In the nearly 2 years Bates has been at BC, I have been very impressed with the work he has done, especially with his hiring of football coach Steve Addazio, but this decision to keep Donahue is a real head scratcher for me.

Nearly every alum and BC basketball fan thought it was a foregone conclusion that Donahue would be gone after this season. For me, it wasn't a question of if, but rather when.  I figured by this weekend Bates would have already announced Donahue wouldn't be back and that the search had begun for the next head coach.  Instead I keep asking myself WHY!?!?!?!

Maybe Bates did reach out to BC alum Bruce Pearl about his interest in the position and he flat out told him that he wasn't interested.  That is a strong possibility given the fact that the Auburn job just opened up, and he is probably more comfortable coaching in the SEC than ACC.  Regardless if Pearl said no, a change to me had to have taken place.  In the last 4 years there has been no sign of light at the end of the dark, dark tunnel, that the basketball program has been traveling in since the departure of Al Skinner.

Maybe there isn't a big name coach out there that Bates thought he could get to takeover the program, although if you read my previous Rant I think Manhattan head coach Steve Masiello would have been a great option.  Maybe Bates thought the best he could have done was replace Steve Donahue with another Steve Donahue.  A coach from the low to mid level ranks who has coached for a while but has no elite level head coaching experience.  That is another possibility.  Also, maybe Bates and the administration were scared by the Michael Vega article on Wednesday that mentioned Olivier Hanlan was considering leaving for the pros and Ryan Anderson and Joe Rahon were considering transferring to schools on the West Coast.  Maybe they thought if Donahue was retained that this would be the best way to make sure Hanlan, Rahon and Anderson all stayed for one more year.  All of these are all very strong possibilities and reasons for keeping Donahue, but to me a change was a must.

There is very good chance BC will be better next year.  Most likely they will schedule a soft non-conference slate and there is a chance that some of the last minute losses they had this year will go their way, but what will the end result be? I don't see BC getting to the 20 win mark which would put them in the discussion for an NCAA bid.  I see them getting somewhere between 15-18 wins, and a potential NIT invite, which would make it six years since BC was last in the NCAA Tournament.  If BC does not make the tournament next year, which as I just mentioned is a very slim possibility, then without a doubt Donahue will be gone. So why would Bates and the BC administration delay the inevitable?

I am sure as you have read this Rant that you can tell I am not happy.  This was the first year I did not attend a BC basketball game in a long, long time, and by retaining Donahue I am not sure the product on the court will be worthy of mine, and I am sure many other disgruntled BC fans investments, come next season.  Boston College basketball needs a change, and needs it bad, but it looks like we will all have to wait another year.  Ugh!