Duke and Oklahoma...

name new coaches.
Duke - Sean McNally
Oklahoma - Sunny Golloway

Article on BA

 

Went to school with McNally. He was a prick. Better basketball player than baseball player.

 

The facts that (1) Duke took as long as they did to name a replacement and (2) they chose a relatively unproven coach say to me that they couldn't satisfy a "name" candidate with their commitment to baseball.

In my opinion, it's unfortunate; as the ACC needs its weaker programs to improve. I hope that Coach McNally succeeds.

 

Do you really think Coack K will let another "name " coach come in?

 

Absolutely. But are there really "name" coaches in baseball? You could take absolute most well known coach in that sport and he wouldn't come close to eclipsing K. K wouldn't be threatened by any baseball coach.

 

Most college baseball programs head coaches dont have household sports names to begin with. I dont think Coach K would care or not, The baseball coach at any ACC school is not going to top the football or basketball coach and at some schools even top the womens basketball coach.

But Prepster dont you think Duke at least went to someone who was pretty good as a player has some coaching ability and is a Duke Alum...
It might give players a sense of stability and a reason to play at Duke..

 

I agree with your basic assessment, I.C.; but, I also think that it's likely that they spoke with some "higher visibility" guys before they settled on Coach McNally. Any of those "higher visibility" coaches would have wanted assurances from the Athletic Director, Joe Alleva, that Duke would commit to doing what is necessary to recruit and retain the same calibre players that the top 5-6 teams in their conference routinely attract. The same sort of commitment, I would add, that comparable, private schools like Stanford and Vanderbilt have made.

Back to your point, I think they went with the "tried and true." Unfortunately for Duke, the "tried and true," so far, has led to a long history of medicrity at best.

By the way, there was no suggestion here that college baseball coaches ought to be lumped together with their much higher visibility brethren in football and basketball. However, there are plenty of "name" coaches in the Division I baseball world; where "name" is defined as guys who are quite clearly poised to take a committed program to a high competitive level. One among many who comes to mind is long-time Ray Tanner assistant, Jim Toman, at the University of South Carolina.

I also don't have any reason to subscribe to the theory that the reason Duke's football and baseball programs tend to languish is because Coach K won't allow them to flourish. In my opinion, it doesn't require Coach K's influence. Instead, I think it could be simple dollars and cents. The level of financial commitment to compete at Division I's highest level in baseball is enormous...and growing. Mr. Alleva and other Duke policymakers may simply have decided that the potential return on that investment is too uncertain to warrant that level of commitment.

Finally, I repeat the hope that Mr. Alleva has made a great choice and is willing to make the investment required to Coach McNally's effort to bring winning baseball to Duke. If the ACC is ever going to become the "top to bottom" conference competitively that conferences like the SEC and Big 12 have become, the "Dukes" need to succeed.

 

I agree

 

coulda woulda shoulda

gone after Mike Schildt