Meet BU's new head coach, Pat Chambers

After being called out by good friends, anonymous commenters and none other than AD Mike Lynch, it's time to update the blog. I'm redefining the phrase Better Late Than Never.

As you may or may not have heard, BU finally hired a coach after a month-long search: Mr. Pat Chambers, formerly assisting on the Villanova sidelines. My first reaction, of course, was: Who? The media kept telling me we were looking into these big names like Richard Pitino and Tim Welsh and Fran McCaffery. It only mentioned lesser-known names like Pat Chambers in add-on sentences at the ends of articles about those other guys. And if you used the BU Hoops Blog as your sole source of information on the search, you still thought Tony Jones was the main candidate for the job (sorry).

I'll admit I let myself be drawn into the celebrity search. I liked the idea that a Richard Pitino could come in, energize our players and our fanbase and turn BU into a perennial winner in no time. It sounds nice, but the reality is that doesn't usually happen. It takes tons of hard work, skills gained through experience, and time to build something like a basketball program. It doesn't just happen because you bring in a big name.

That was something I realized the day Pat Chambers was introduced as the new men's basketball coach. I didn't know much about Coach Chambers except that he spent 5 years at Villanova, rising from Director of Basketball Operations (booking hotels and flights?) all the way to associate head coach (X's and O's plus head recruiter). And truth be told, 5 years doesn't seem like that long to be coaching at the highest level.

But anyone who had any doubts about Coach Chambers taking over the program and making it successful should take the time to watch the introductory press conference (I'm looking at you Jake O'Brien). The guy is young and energetic, enthusiastic and optimistic to a fault, and just seems to be a guy that college players could relate to. He also seems like he could be a hard-ass if he wants to (he's got the military haircut for it anyway).

A young, hungry, up-and-coming assistant coach is who we've been hoping for in this program - somebody like Leibovitz, Lonergan, Pikiell and Broadus, who have all been making their marks on this league. And if all goes well, we'll be looking for another coach in 3 or 4 years (although the same could be said if all does not go well at all).

There's no way to know right now if this is a good hire or not. That will be decided in 2 or 3 years by what is produced on the court. For now, however, put me in the effin-pumped column. I think the future's bright for BU basketball.

Tony Jones Withdraws from BU Coaching Search

After a few days of articles by Mark Blaudschun in the Boston Globe saying it appeared to be a done deal, Tennessee assistant Tony Jones will not be BU's next head coach. Jones withdrew his name from consideration today. His statement to the Knoxville News-Sentinel:

“With the commitment the University of Tennessee has shown to the men's program, I feel it's in my best interests to remain a part of Bruce Pearl's staff,'' Jones said. “After long and thoughtful consideration, I've decided Boston wasn't the right fit for me at this point in my career.''

Hmm, this might have something to do with Memphis' failed pursuit of Tennessee's head coach, Bruce Pearl, and the pay raise Pearl was able to finagle because of it. An AP report in the Memphis Commerical Appeal said that Pearl "is expected to ask for a larger assistant coaching salary pool." A pay raise for Jones is probably his reason for staying - maybe UT is giving him more as an assistant than BU was offering as head coach.

Jones did the same thing -- withdraw after doing interviews -- when he was considered for the Tennessee State job.

The question is: where does BU turn now? And how does Blaudschun regain some credibility after being wrong on so much of this coaching search? Blaudschun is now flogging Villanova assistant Patrick Chambers (while still clinging to Jones as the frontrunner)... more on Chambers later today.

BU Coaching Rumor Roundup: Globe Says it's Tony Jones

Mark Blaudschun in the Boston Globe, after issuing the requisite safety escape valves for himself (i.e. "appears to be the choice," "expected to be completed," "barring any snags or a change of heart"...), says that the next BU men's basketball coach is Tony Jones.

Blaudschun's source says, "They are talking and working on a few things. But it looks pretty good." His sources have been wrong before, but he says he's talked to folks both at BU and at Tennessee.

Meanwhile, Mike Griffith of the Knoxville News-Sentinel gives a little more background on Jones. He says Jones was a finalist for the coaching job at Marshall University - a Conference USA team that we lost to this year - and was considered by Tennessee State this year. he has been the top assistant to Bruce Pearl (a damn good basketball coach) for the last eight years between Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Tennessee, and currently makes $182,434 as an assistant. At UT, Jones handles scheduling, in-game substitutions and some recruiting duties (Blaudschun says he "is known as an aggressive recruiter").

Jones confirmed to UT's hometown paper that he interviewed with Mike Lynch, but would not comment beyond that.

BU Coaching Rumor Roundup: A New Frontrunner, and a Lot of New Names

I'll be the first to admit I've been a little negligent over the past week, as the BU coaching search has been heating up nationally. Lots of updates to get to.

Tony Jones
Is there a new front-runner? Mark Blaudschun of the Boston Globe thinks so, and it's Tennessee assistant coach Tony Jones. Jones is by all accounts a great assistant and has a great resume, having spent four years at Tennessee since following Bruce Pearl there after four years at Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He also spent a few years at Toledo and Buffalo. But Jeff Goodman is confused by the focus on Jones: he has zero ties to the New England/New York City region. He's a midwest guy through and through.

I'm interested to see where it goes. Can a guy come in and be successful without any access to BU's historical recruiting grounds

Steve Donahue
Blaudschun spent a whole article talking about Cornell coach Steve Donahue, only to find out the next day that Donahue isn't interested.

Fran McCaffery
Oy. The coaching search firm screwed up on this one. Blaudschun says they "emailed" Siena coach Fran McCaffery about coming to talk in Boston. Yes, the same guy who just won an NCAA game for the second straight year and is being talked about for Big East and ACC jobs. Not only that, but when McCaffery told them they needed permission from the Siena AD to talk to him, "they didn't seem willing to do that," according to McCaffrey!

The idea of McCaffery coming to BU is laughable, and the Times Union's Mark Singelais agrees. He even calls it "silly." Dear Parker Executive Search, please don't turn our program into a laughingstock anymore.

Jay Lawson
Apparently the search firm talked to D-2 Bentley's coach Jay Lawson for "a two-minute conversation." Lawson seems to be a good coach, but this one gets slammed by Jeff Goodman, who questions the need for a search firm to find a guy who lives 2 minutes down the road.

Rob Burke and Pat Chambers
Finally, Blaudschun casually drops the fact that two more guys have been interviewed: Georgetown associate coach Rob Burke and Villanova assistant Pat Chambers. I can't even keep up with all these guys.

It may be easier to keep up with who is NOT getting interviewed:

Pittsburgh assistant Tom Herrion: "No one has contacted me yet."
Louisville assistant Richard Pitino: "I haven't heard a thing."
Ex-Providence coach Tim Welsh: "No one has called me."

Is Parker calling all the people who don't make any sense, and refusing to call the people seem to make the most sense? Or was Mark Blaudschun basically wrong on all of his initial guesses?