Wow, that was quick.
We’ll be bombarding you with PC hoops posts in the next few days: a discussion of good and bad candidates for the job, and our own endorsement for the position. Lots to talk about, so be sure to check back often.
In the meantime, to commemorate this historic day, we figured we’d have one last go at the irrational pro-Welsh brigade in the media. You know what that means… it’s time for another FJM-style post! Today’s subject: Sean McDonough and Bill Raftery during Timmy’s swan song on Wednesday.
Before we start, we need to set up the situation. Tim Welsh was certainly not without his strengths, as we’ve noted before, and one of his greatest strengths was that he was a well-spoken, forthright, and honest individual. This is a trait that has endeared him to fellow coaches, members of the media, and most everyone that has come in contact with him. Sean McDonough is one such member of the media, and his respect for Welsh is surely deepened by the fact that Timmy is a contributor to The Sean McDonough Charitable Foundation.
So the two are friends, and as Welsh’s friend, McDonough thought it would be unfair for the PC coach to lose his job. That’s fine… everyone is certainly entitled to their opinion. But when McDonough uses his platform as ESPN’s play-by-play announcer to slam anyone who would like to see Welsh and PC part ways — as he and Doris Burke (a PC alum, no less) did during the PC/Georgetown matchup on February 18 — then that means he’s overstepping his bounds.
Although Wednesday’s matchup with West Virginia wasn’t quite as bad, McDonough (with Raftery as his sidekick) still stated some opinions as fact, and it’s a bit annoying for us PC fans who consider ourselves to be level-headed. Without further ado, here are the clips, some excerpted quotes, and our response (once more, the quotes will be in bold, with our comments non-bolded):
McDonough: “Given all the adversity they’ve been through and everything swirling around on his job, the way he kept his focus and the way that team played hard all the way down the stretch… I mean, they had to win 2 of their last 3, at Cincinnati and at home against Connecticut, just to get here. I think it says an awful lot about Tim Welsh and his staff and about the stick-to-it-tiveness of his players.”
Winning 2 out of their last 3 does say an awful lot about Tim Welsh and his staff. To me, the main thing it says is that a team that’s talented enough to sweep the season series over a damned good UConn squad was in a position to miss the Big East Tourney in the first place. So yes… let’s pat Timmy on the back for guiding the Friars to wins in those games. But let’s also remember that those games should never have been must-wins in the first place.
But surely that wasn’t Welsh’s fault. No, he’s just the coach — what impact could he possibly have on the program? Not as big an impact as, say, the size of the student body.
McDonough: “He came to Providence after three terrific seasons at Iona, where he went 70-22. Doris Burke and I did a game earlier this year, Georgetown and Providence, and addressed a lot of the speculation swirling about Tim Welsh. We talked about how uneven the playing field is at Providence in a lot of ways, what he has to work with compared to a lot of other schools in the Big East. I think he demonstrated at Iona, when you give him an even playing field, he’s capable of winning and then some!”
[There's an exclamation point at the end because McDonough seemed really excited to make his point].
There’s no need to rehash the comments from the Georgetown game, but let’s just say that McDonough and Burke went slightly beyond the bounds of politely noting the “uneven playing field” (put it this way: PC AD Bob Driscoll went out of his way to call the comments “unwarranted and unfair”).
But if McDonough’s point is that PC does face some disadvantages, then yes, he’s absolutely right. So what possible difference could it make that Welsh can win with a level playing field? It will never be a completely level playing field at PC, so that’s a fairly useless skill. Imagine if Sean McDonough sucked at his job as college hoops play-by-play man. Would a good argument to let him continue be “Oh, but he’s an awesome baseball announcer”? Does that argument make one iota of sense? Jesus, I feel like Tom Smykowski: “Can’t you understand that? What the hell is wrong with you people?”
And before I move on to the next quote… isn’t it funny that as McDonough makes an argument for why Welsh should be extended, there’s a big “1-8 Record in Big East Tournament” on the screen? I think it’s called dramatic irony.
Raftery: “But the level playing ground that Sean’s alluding to — you can be successful. When it’s the practice facilities, the ambiance at some of these schools, it can be tough to overcome.”
I’m sorry… the ambiance? Are we evaluating restaurants? “The chef was excellent and the prices were reasonable, but the place gave off a nouveau riche vibe that was at odds with the upscale menu.” And even if I give you the benefit of the doubt, what kind of ambiance do Milwaukee (Marquette) and Cincinnati (Xavier, Cincy) and South Orange (Seton Hall) hold that Providence doesn’t? Unless you love cheese or crime or, well, New Jersey.
McDonough: “Well if this man was sitting here right now at 19-11 or 20-10 instead of 15-15 would there be any speculation about his job?”
Raftery: “Why is there any question, is what you’re saying, and you’re right.”
McDonough: “Are you going to fire him ’cause his best player broke his foot?”
Yes. In fact, Sharaud Curry’s foot is so integral to this discussion that I figured it would be helpful to make a list of what Sharaud Curry’s foot is responsible for:
- Two winning Big East records in the past decade
- A 1-9 mark in the Big East Tournament
- A 10-23 March record under Welsh
- The 88-61 loss to Pittsburgh on March 2, 2004
- The defections/transfers of Rob Sanders, Dwight Brewington, Gerald Brown, Jeff Parmer, Rob McKiver, Jajuan Robinson, DeSean White, Jamal Barney (just to name a few)
- Finishing 14-17 in 2004-05 with a returning First Team All-American on the roster
- Consistently being among the worst defensive teams in the Big East
- The Israeli/Palestinian issues
- Global warming
There you have it: the outline for my dissertation on why Sharaud Curry’s foot is the root of all evil in this world. When I write out the full version, be sure to check for it in the Sean McDonough Academic Journal of Awesome College Basketball Coaches (published quarterly by Beaufort Books).
In the end, what McDonough and Raftery said clearly didn’t affect the decision that Driscoll and Shanley made. As Jim Donaldson pretty aptly put it in the ProJo: “They’re looking at his body of work over the past 10 years. Unfortunately, for the last four years, that body has resembled a cadaver.” Canning Welsh was really a no-brainer.
Now if only hiring his successor would prove so simple…
3 Comments
March 15, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Welsh has done a lot of good for the program. If you compare the nuclear holocaust that Gillen left to where it is now, you can’t fairly call Welsh’s tenure a disaster by any stretch (not to say that you guys are). That being said, when you take into account the consistent end of game meltdowns, the consistent Feb./March meltdowns, the horrid postseason record, and the general “eyeball test” where they go minutes at a time every game playing uglier than your worst thoughts of Big 10 ball, a change was absolutely necessary.
March 16, 2008 at 8:30 am
If we dig a little deeper into Steve’s post, we can see where he actually draws his Welsh-hate from:
The defections/transfers of….Dwight Brewington,
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
March 16, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Gillen left Welsh with a first team BE player, Jamel Thomas, who carried Welsh to the NIT in his first year.
Gillen also left Welsh with the NCAA Defensive player of the year, John Linehan, as well as Maxey. Probably the two toughest kids Welsh ever coached at PC. Linehan and Maxey, both Gillen recruits, led Welsh to one of two NCAA appearances that Welsh produced in 10 seasons.