Dayton fans grade Gregory

[Titanxman04]

http://udpride.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15233

I know it's kind of frowned upon to post threads from that dump of a site, but alas, cruising on it every couple of months, you do find some interesting reads. Alas, they think he's done a pretty good job. Must be nice to have low standards.

[CinciX12]

I read through that the other day actually. It honestly has a few decent conversations in it. An A or a B is total insanity if you ask me. I don't see how we give Mack higher than a B and we had significantly better results last season.

[tmac03]

I read through that the other day actually. It honestly has a few decent conversations in it. An A or a B is total insanity if you ask me. I don't see how we give Mack higher than a B and we had significantly better results last season.

First year coach who had us moments from the Elite 8 and has overseen one of the most successful recruiting phases in school history (if not the most successful) doesn't get higher than a B from you? Tough crowd.

[MADXSTER]

First year coach who had us moments from the Elite 8 and has overseen one of the most successful recruiting phases in school history (if not the most successful) doesn't get higher than a B from you? Tough crowd.

Agree

[GoMuskies]

Mack: A++

[Xpectations]

Move over Reggie Jackson, Brian Gregory is the new Mr. October. Unfortunately college basketball isn't played in October.

It's not surprising that it's October and Gregory is being overrated—whether it be for his career or the upcoming season. Every year UD fans get sucked into the promise of this year being Dayton's year. So does the media. Same ol', same ol'.

This really is and has been Dayton’s time of year—October—prior to playing any actual games.

Brian Gregory = Mr. October

Chris Mack = Mr. March

[GuyFawkes38]

It does seem like Xavier fans are simply harder on their coaches than Dayton fans.

I'm sort of a strict grader. I gave Mack a B- this year.

I'd have to give Gregory a D-. He had a talented group which should have coasted to a tourney birth. I don't understand how anyone could give him anything better than a C.

A quote from the thread:


If Brian Gregory was coach at a powerhouse school like UNC or Duke, then I would give him a D based on the record and results. It would be completely different and it is hard to say what the team would be like if he was coach there. He probably would be canned from there.

However, he is coaching at Dayton and is doing a pretty decent job for the type of basketball school Dayton is. His winning percentage is 1 of the better coaches in the history of Dayton basketball.

I get the feeling that I think more of the UD bball program than Dayton fans. There is no reason why UD shouldn't be a top non BCS school (X, zaga, Butler, St. Joes, etc...). Great facilities, large sold out arena, lots of alumni support....UD should be getting more for the energy they put into the program.

[Xpectations]

It seems high rankings are all the rage for area coaches.

Brian Gregory is graded an "A" by Dayton fans and Mick Cronin is ranked #1 by the media (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/482911-six-coaches-feeling-the-wrath-2010-11-college-hoops-hot-seat-watch).

[rhyno2110]

Fawkes, how is St. Joes a top non-bcs school?

Anyways, anyone can see how valued Gregory is to Dayton fans. Why you ask? Simply put, Gregory brings in athletic players from the recruiting trail that instill hope in Dayton fans. The thing is, I find Gregory to be a shitty in-game coach. Some of his substitution patterns don't make much sense. He also chokes every conference season. He's incapable of adjustments. Dayton will never realize its full potential as far as Gregory is there. Its the same thing every year.

[GuyFawkes38]

In the last few years, they haven't been. But I think they still sort of belong in the grouping. They made an elite eight and have many NCAA tourney appearances the past 15 years.

[Titanxman04]

I find it utterly baffling...nay, almost disturbing to grade a coach with his own players an A or a B, after they win a game in the tourney, return seven key players, and DON'T make it back to the big dance - most of the reason being that they finish 8-8 in conference.

Thats just an awful job, and yet, this fan base is still excited to have him coach. Several individuals say that he's an awful in-game coach on that thread, and yet, they give him credit and a B. You can recruit five stars, but you won't win shit if you can't learn to actually COACH.

[CinciX12]

First year coach who had us moments from the Elite 8 and has overseen one of the most successful recruiting phases in school history (if not the most successful) doesn't get higher than a B from you? Tough crowd.

An A is the elite 8 and beyond, with more than 28 wins, a conference title and conference tournament title. So a very tough crowd haha.

Gregory would get an F+ from me though, if I can earn some respect back on that.

[Titanxman04]

An A is the elite 8 and beyond, with more than 28 wins, a conference title and conference tournament title. So a very tough crowd haha.

Gregory would get an F+ from me though, if I can earn some respect back on that.

I would have given Gregory about a D for the incredibly disappointing season.

[XURunner85]

Hey I would grade Gregory an "A" too. But not for the same reasons ud fans are giving him an "A". As An X fan, I give Gregory and "A" because I know he is going to get the ud fans to drink the kool-aid, schedule soft OOC so that going into the A10 they all think they are going to run away with the league to only fall apart and not make the NCAA tourney but still convince the ud fans that the next year will be even better. And he does this every year. I love it. I think the year he doesn't convince they are going to be good and that iit is a re-building year, I might be worried.......nah.....

[xubrew]

if ud is happy with where they are, then it is good for xavier. i wouldn't give him an A or B by any means, but if all power to the ud fans that do. if mediocrity is a B in their book, then there is no reason to think that they ever expect to be any better.

[madness31]

Gregory has underachieved, especially during A-10 play last year. You can't count out an NIT championship as meaningless but his inability to coach against conference teams shows his overall coaching ineffectiveness. He does bring talent and is good enough to be a threat so I'd go with a C.

Grading Mack is difficult as he has proven his recruiting ability and deserves an A or A+ for that. The team made a strong run last season which tempts you to give him a high coaching score but when you look at his end of half/game sets he is terrible. The teams inbounding was also bad and the defense had too many holes. These things could be the fault of the players or a learning curve on adjusting to a new style but they remain as serious concerns. Those are the types of things that coaches should make the difference in. Was the sweet 16 and almost the elite 8 because of Mack or was it incredible play by a few stars? I'd have to go with incomplete on Mack at this time and give him another year. He likely won't have a guy shooting such a high percentage of total shots this year and you will see what type of team Mack can build. The results were great in year 1 but this year should be far more telling about his coaching ability.

[muskienick]

Gregory has underachieved, especially during A-10 play last year. You can't count out an NIT championship as meaningless but his inability to coach against conference teams shows his overall coaching ineffectiveness. He does bring talent and is good enough to be a threat so I'd go with a C.

Grading Mack is difficult as he has proven his recruiting ability and deserves an A or A+ for that. The team made a strong run last season which tempts you to give him a high coaching score but when you look at his end of half/game sets he is terrible. The teams inbounding was also bad and the defense had too many holes. These things could be the fault of the players or a learning curve on adjusting to a new style but they remain as serious concerns. Those are the types of things that coaches should make the difference in. Was the sweet 16 and almost the elite 8 because of Mack or was it incredible play by a few stars? I'd have to go with incomplete on Mack at this time and give him another year. He likely won't have a guy shooting such a high percentage of total shots this year and you will see what type of team Mack can build. The results were great in year 1 but this year should be far more telling about his coaching ability.

Obviously, those dolts, Fr. Graham and AD Bobinski, made an atrocious pick when they named Chris Mack over madness31 as head coach. They should have given madness the job and let him hire Mack as his Associate HC in charge of recruiting (as long as he agreed to stay at the far end of the bench as the clock runs down)!


Needless to say, the above reeks with sarcasm!

[XU 87]

Grading Mack is difficult as he has proven his recruiting ability and deserves an A or A+ for that. The team made a strong run last season which tempts you to give him a high coaching score but when you look at his end of half/game sets he is terrible. The teams inbounding was also bad and the defense had too many holes.

It's too bad you missed last year's season.

[MuskieCinci]

A 'C' means satisfactory. A 'B' is exceeding expectations and an 'A' is doing a phenomenal job. Brian Gregory gets a 'C' at Dayton. He hasn't raised or lower the bar since Purnell left.

Mack deserves an 'A'. He maintained the program and after a bit of a rough start got the most out of his team as possible and made the Sweet Sixteen and was so close to an Elite Eight. His recruiting has been the best in the A-10 and is even better than Sean's so a solid 'A' there.

As for the tough graders, I understand where they are coming from. It is possible to be the best coach in the world at the best school in the world and still get a 'C'. But at that point it is because you are a victim of your own/ your program's success. Just like what constitutes a coach getting an 'A' at Fordham is waaaaaay different from what it takes to get an 'A' at Xavier.

[blobfan]

I'm w/ MuskieCinci on Gregory's Greg and for the same reasons: C. Can't give him lower than that since they did well in the NIT but can't give them higher unless they make the NCAA. I'd give Mack an A-, A if we'd gone to the Elite 8 and A+ if we'd gone further.

Mick doesn't get a grade. It's obvious that he's only auditing the class, not taking it for a grade.

[DoubleD86]

I am sure I will get grief for this but I don't think I could give Mack an A yet. He would have a strong B/B+ for me, in large part since he was big in recruiting most of those players. However, when I looked at the roster at the beginning of the year, I saw a Sweet 16 possible team. My expectations were getting into the tourney and winning a game. I think Mack is and will be a great coach, but if we are going purely off of results he did an above average job. He had some struggles early and clearly improved those. He got the guys to jell and come together, and he allowed Crawford to flourish. However, he finished about where I expected (maybe slightly higher) in an incredible game. For me, he exceeded expectations but was not phenomenal (and no that is not a knock on him).

So in summary:
Gregory C+
Mack B+

[Muskied]

This thread is an example of how different the UD and XU business plans for basketball actually are. Gregory gets an A for them, because they have set lower and regional expectations. XU has a different and broader approach....and if any fan of either school disagrees with that, then they haven't been paying attention. The sad thing is, UD fans are EXPECTING to become Xavier, when it's near impossible given the business plan the University has set.

I do question some of the positive feedback I've seen regarding Gregory. One common compliment is "he is a great recruiter and he protects his back yard, retaining local talent...." Since when did Montgomery County become Bronx,NY?