I've taken some time and let a lot of different ideas float through my head before commenting on this situation. I suppose it breaks into two parts. Fire Skinner? and Replace Skinner.
Fire Skinner?
I understand. Al Skinner did a great job here. He made the program what it is today. He consistently found diamonds in the rough in recruiting (Though he had a lot of recruiting help from his assistants), and he consistently got more out of players than you would have expected. He also did a very nice job preparing his kids to play professional basketball. However, he seems to have brought BC as far as he can. His flex offense is useful in creating basketball players out of kids with legitimate skill sets, however it fails to take advantage of kids with exceptional skill sets. Skinner doesn't know what to do with a player like Reggie Jackson, who needs to get out in the open. You were able to see Rakim Sanders, who advanced so fast, simply plateau in his junior year. BC needs a coach that can take the team to that next level. If recruits can see these advances, the plan can extend outward, bringing in better players and then showing future recruits what can be made of these better players. Skinner's offense is also very plain and didn't inspire the BC students to get excited about their team. Fans of sport can appreciate what he does, but a college fan base needs to extend well beyond that. Skinner was great, but now it's time for BC to try to be exceptional. I don't personally know if that is possible. I'm typically fairly pessimistic about the issue. The Northeast is not a basketball recruiting pool. There are too many teams fighting for NY players, so BC doesn't stand much of a chance. Boston is not a huge draw for a lot of the players, as it is a pro town, with little regard for BC, even during times of greater success. Even the students don't turn out for games not featuring Duke or UNC. Frankly, BC just doesn't stick in the heads of these guys. It was time for Skins to go.
Replace Skinner.
The main candidates seem to be:
Chris Mooney, Richmond: Has recently removed his name and signed an extension with the Spiders.
Steve Donahue, Cornell
Bill Coen, Northeastern (Former Assistant)
Brad Stevens, Butler
Ed Cooley, Fairfield (Former Assistant)
Jim Baron, Rhode Island
My main argument against firing Skinner when I first heard he news was: "Do you really think you can do better?". As the search rolls on, although I don't agree with the complete validity of that argument, I start to worry about the answer to that question. My #1 to-do upon firing Skinner was: "Talk to Bruce Pearl". I didn't expect Pearl to take the job, because he seems to have fallen in love with Tennesse, and it is a better job. However, I thought that it needed to be done. Not only was Pearl born in Newton, Ma and a former Manager and Mascot for BC Basketball, he is the exact type of coach, running the exact type of team that Gene DeFilippo is looking for. He runs the floor, presses, excites the crowd. He gets involved in the school, has no problem becoming a poster-face for the University. This is they guy painted orange at a Lady Vols game, a guy who always wears a hideous Orange blazer. A report surfaced late last week that DeFilippo had called Pearl "to talk about other candidates". During this phone call, Pearl declined the position he wasn't yet offered. Like I said, I didn't expect him to take the job, but we didn't even try. GDF called him after a list of coaching candidates already absented him. DeFilippo has already dismissed the questions, saying Pearl "wasn't a candidate yet". And when he finally called him, it was "to talk about other candidates". If you want a guy like Pearl to leave TENNESSEE and come to BOSTON COLLEGE, you better grovel at his feet. Make him feel like he is the only coach that could ever make BC right again. Don't call him as an afterthought later in the week. I can only hope Gene called him right away and was turned down, but didn't want to reveal the rejection.
Anyway, after Pearl, my next choice would have been Mooney. He recruits well for a smaller school and runs an offense that would be better suited for the current cast of characters. However, he is not out.
Of the remaining I would take Bill Coen. From what I hear, he did a lot of the recruiting for Skinner and a lot of the in game play-calling. Players loved him and thought he could be a great coach by himself. He seems to be more adaptive and could bring in some new ideas, without upsetting what already exists. Brad Stevens would be nice, but I doubt he'd take this job. Butler is in the National Championship game, so he's already getting farther than BC ever has. Besides that, he is now at the top of the list for any team that is looking for a coach after next season, and Stevens returns, I believe, 4 starters next year. So he should wait and take a great job for 2011.
I suppose all we can do now is see what happens.
-APT
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