This rule has been in place for years. It’s there to prevent exactly what you describe. There was a growing trend of fogos who were getting beat clean jumping intentionally. This rule means you have to play the fo clean.
Whatever weaknesses the Jays have, M has them worse. Jays should roll, but Petro won’t be looking to embarrass his coaching disciples. Gonna be there in my Hopkins gear.
Still the B1G JV squad. It’ll take a little while for coaching to take hold. There is some individual talent, and a lot of athleticism, but as a team they lack discipline. So lots of turnovers and poor off-ball defense. But they are nowhere near as skilled as they need to be to succeed at the highest levels. Ball handling needs improvement, and the long sticks need to be better off the carpet.
Sloppy, uncaused turnovers leading to Rutgers transition. Woeful EMO that did nothing to get the D rotating. Long sticks were poor off the ground. You’re going to have tough shooting days, but you can still win if you do the other stuff competently. This was just ugly. Ohio doesn’t have a great offense, but their defense is formidable. A performance like today’s won’t dent Ohio’s d next week. Next week is an elimination game.
You may regret asking question #2 when I get done answering it!
2 things"
1: for a seder you would really need a leg of lamb, and you can't get a Kosher one outside of Israel.
2: we DON'T eat lamb at the seder, because lamb was the sacrifice made at the Temple, when it existed. So since we can't sacrifice the Paschal lamb anymore, we don't eat lamb at the seder.
3: Seder food tends to reflect wherever your family came from. So the Jews of Eastern Europe, AKA Ashkenazim, tend to eat kosher-for-passover versions of the foods from that region. The Jews who originated in Spain (expelled in 1492 and migrating to N Africa, Italy, and the mid-east) tend to eat foods much more like those eaten in those regions!
The most impressive thing in this article? Over 1900 out of 2776 faculty members actually read and responded to the email they got this weekend to vote. That is incredible. This is not sarcasm. They are engaged, and they are pissed off.
This is a question with a really complicated answer. For any school it depends on the size of the school's primary venue, and how big a crowd can be expected for lax compared to football (which depends not only on size of school, but how important lax is at the school, and how much area interest there is in lacrosse).
I went to school at Hopkins - arguably the bluest of the blue bloods - and Homewood Field is shared. Homewood seats 10k, and gets much bigger crowds for lacrosse than for its very successful D-III football team. Hopkins has an smaller enrollment than Homewood has capacity, but in a city like Baltimore with really committed lacrosse fans any good contest is going to be well-attended.
TV is also affecting crowd sizes at lacrosse games, so a downside of being frequently televised can be lowered attendance at crappy weather games.
""I challenge you to find anyone at this university who is as into football as I am,” he told Buckley and Reimer. “I am at those games –– I come home with bruises from cheering so loud. I am on top of those bleachers, I'm like throwing myself around recklessly. I am endangering myself for the sake of the game."
He told Outsports he goes beyond cheering at the games. He’s “that guy” making everybody around him stand on their feet and throw their bodies into the games.
“I forcibly encourage the people sitting in my section or watching with me at home to be loud on every down and never sit down. I tell them they can sit down when they’re dead.”"
Me too. I figured Michigan would want a proven head coach. But I like the hire. There aren't many really good defensively minded head coaches who are looking for new situations right now. For instance, the word is they spoke to Shawn Nadelen at Towson, and that he was happy where he is.
So, with all of these hijinks, I just realized that I have not seen Fulmer Cupdates in forever. Does anyone know if the Fulmer Cup still exists? Cause Sparty should be high in the standings this year....
Petro is not leaving Hopkins. Where this fantasy came from that he's interested in the job is beyond me. Just because he was a huge supporter of the effort to get M to go varsity doesn't mean he wants the job.
Coach T is not leaving Denver. It's his retirement destination as his kids are out there.
Why would Danowski leave Duke?
Starsia is the only one on the top of that list that has any chance of moving.
I love the idea of Scotty Matt, but note that the Great Danes and the Blue Jays have put their series on hiatus until Scotty's kid graduates from Hopkins. In 2 more years. He's gone in record that he doesn't want to coach against his kid.
Michigans next coach is probably coming from the Ivies, or is a talented guy at a second tier school. Think Shawn Nadelen.
That could have been much uglier for Michigan than it was. Petro took his foot off the gas VERY early. I don't think he wanted to embarrass JP by scoring 20+. (at 20 the Hopkins crowd stops counting goals) Hop could have put a bunch more on the board.
Michigan is an extremely undisciplined team. As Carc kept on saying, don't foul the Jays. Most of M's fouls were the result of poor judgement and out-of-control play. A lot of the play just wasn't smart.
Many of you have condemned the defensive coaching, and you are correct that there is much to be desired. I'm actually not surprised that they didn't double the ball on the 3-minute man-up. Doubling in lacrosse often leads to defensive breakdowns, especially for an undisciplined team. What I found more ridiculous was deliberately putting a shortie on Marr. Clearly, the defensive game plan was lacking,
Lack of discipline, and lack of playing with smarts is indicative of poor head coaching, not just poor defensive coaching. It is time for Michigan to find itself a professional lacrosse coach.
I'd say that if they could have kept the deficit to 5 this wouldn't be a bad loss. But its a bad loss. ND is down, so I don't see this result as being an improvement.
They will beat Mercer and Furman, which will take them to 6 wins. With the kind of play they had today they will lose to UMBC and Penn, and the only chance of a win in B1G play will be OSU. The other 4 teams will pound them. So maybe a chance at 7 wins?
Watched the first half of the game on the free stream, and I had to stop watching as what I was seeing was an atrocity against exciting lacrosse.
Yes, ND is an established team that has been very good for quite some time. But from what I saw today their vaunted defense is not so vaunted this year. They will be fighting for an at large spot this year, and will likely have to thank a down year in the ACC for making the tourney. (We'll see if NC, UVa, and 'Cuse bounce back in March/April.)
This team has talent. Not deep or elite yet, but talent. King and Noseworthy are the real thing on attack. I saw MANY opportunities for M to score in the first half. King seemed to be able to get himself matched up on a shortie with impunity, which should have spelled trouble for ND. But off-ball movement was rare, so he usually had to dodge to the goal himself out of those situations. Even when he had his defender hung up. Early on he dodged toward the goal, got doubled, and skipped a pass up top, only to have it roll away from his team mate. That can't have inspired confidence.
Ball movement was slow and sloppy. No crispness, so no getting ND on a carousel. Those 18 turnovers? How many were passes thrown right at ND sticks?
Defensively, they held up OK in 6 on 6 in the first half, but any unsettled situation resulted in a goal for ND. No recognition of the urgent need to find their assignments, get back in the hole, and stop the ball.
The fact that this is in any way a political statement in this day and age is so sad. As the great Neil deGrasse Tyson says, "The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it." Considering the "evidence based" nature of this blog, I'd hope that fans of any political stripe would share that value.
The word is that his mother has a serious dislike for Harbaugh. Why, I haven't heard. But I've watched him play for the last two years (my kid is in the PiHi marching band) and he just plain stands out.
Because Harbaugh is angry. Very, very angry. And he has nothing to do for 4 weeks except attack game planning for FSU with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind. Someone has to pay.
May god have mercy on the souls of the Seminoles. 1 pissed off Jim Harbaugh + 1 month to prepare + Doc Brown + enthusiasm unknown to mankind = sad panda Seminoles
To add to what Wahoo is saying, JP drove the fundraising to take the team varsity. It was his relationships to donors, based on his credibility as the club coach that enabled him to raise the sum required to demonstrate to the Athletic Dept. that lacrosse could be viable from a development standpoint. The donors were motivated to make the investment in no small part by the idea of an immediate jump. In addition, they were trusting a known actor, JP, rather than an unknown.
WD I agree that Michigan needs a new coach. But if the progam had hired an outsider, and been shut down for a year, the transition from club to varsity never would have happened.
Also a really good candidate. My choice would be Shawn Nadelen at Towson. He hasn't done enough to have really blown up yet, but he's building something there, and is an excellent defensive coach. And he's from the Pietramala coaching tree.
My choice would be Shawn Nadelen at Towson. He's done really good things there, and is a really strong defensive coach. He's a branch of the Dave Pietramala coaching tree.
Pressler is pretty awesome. However I don't expect a program like Michigan to look at him. The rape may have been fake, but the team had a significant behavior/drinking problem under Pressler, which is the kind of thing Michigan won't tolerate.
The question of recruiting has been raised many times during the discussions of whether JP should get more time. As many have pointed out, a large proportion of the elite programs are recruiting really early - 8th, 9th grade. (including my alma mater - and its an that many of us Hopkins alums wonder about - is Hopkins missing out on too many great late bloomers?)
Anyway, from the same article I linked to above, Quint Kessenich points out that there is plenty of talent left out there after Hopkins and UVa have scooped up the early commits.
Fact: There are more than 3,700 high schools playing varsity lacrosse nationwide. New York has 402 programs. Maryland has 226. Lacrosse is booming in California with 259 teams. Florida is growing rapidly with 201 squads.
Opinion: The 70 Division I college coaches have never had more talent to evaluate. Good players and athletes in non-traditional areas are slipping through the cracks and end up playing DII or DIII. Late bloomers are finding a home in the MCLA, the club league that now has 213 teams including most of the Power Five schools like Oregon, BYU, Arizona State, Clemson and Florida State. Combine this explosion with early recruiting, where coaches offer scholarships to eighth, ninth and 10th graders, and you have a volatile recruiting climate. The winning intangibles aren't evident in a ninth grade prospect — work ethic, leadership, being a great teammate, reaction to adversity and social skills are complete unknowns.
Quint Kessenich's "Fact and Fiction" column on Inside Lacrosse addressed Princeton's vacancy, and who he would bring in to interview. I would say that the same people would be choices for Michigan. Frankly, its a lot easier to recruit to Michigan than Princeton.
Fact: Princeton (3-7) fired coach Chris Bates and will hold a search for a new coach at the conclusion the season.
Opinion: The Tigers are no longer at the top of the heap in the Ivy League. Yale, Brown and Penn have passed them. A turnaround starts with hiring the right coach combined with increased administrative support. If I were leading the search I'd bring in Harvard assistant and former Cornell head coach Ben DeLuca, Towson head coach Shawn Nadelen, Hobart's Greg Raymond, a former Princeton assistant, Tufts head coach Mike Daly, Denver assistant John Orsen and Benson, the Johns Hopkins offensive coordinator, for interviews. Nadelen is the front-runner.
There was lots of pointless switching on screens. Second slides were late or non-existent. Lots of effort. But very frenetic. Next week, and the rest if the conference schedule, will be ugly.
I watched the first half on the live stream, and Marist is not good. Fundamentally unsound. Michigan was more skilled, but undisciplined on both ends of the field. Communication on defense was lacking. A fantastic goalie performance is being wasted. Too bad.
It really is about coaching at this point. I wouldn't go all "unacceptable," but with the new facilities really needs to come a coaching upgrade. Most likely at the head coaching position, because I don't think JP can hire himself a great defensive assistant. Such an assistant would now be looking at HC jobs.
Yes. All this. Look at how attractive Michigan is to kids from the hotbeds of Maryland and Long Island. You don't think their lacrosse-playing high school classmates aren't interested? When Hopkins coach Pietramala brought his national championship team here for an exhibition in the fall of 2007, his players were ridiculously jacked to visit Michigan, go to the M-OSU game, and experience the feel of a serious Big Ten school.
Michigan is actually a higher rated squad than Dartmouth. Better RPI, better power rating, better everything. They should be beating a team like Dartmouth. It is as close as they will get to a sure thing.
I have no issue with the transition, except that it should have involved a plan for coaching succession. Clearly, JP needed to be there for the first few years. But he just doesn't have the experience/knowledge/credentials to take this team where it needs to go.
And even programs in talent-rich areas are recruiting outside those areas these days. Denver recruits the three "Cs" - Colorado, Canada, California. Hardly the traditional hotbeds. And the Michigan name is HUGE in the hotbeds of Maryland and Long Island.
You're welcome. There's some good stuff on IL once in a while, so its worth looking at now and then if you follow lacrosse. As Quint points out, many programs are now able to hold on to their talented assistants. But I would guess that this would be less the case if Michigan came calling with Michigan $$.
Re conference play, I agree. Rutgers and Penn State have made significant jumps this year. OSU will be solid. Maryland and Hopkins will treat Michigan like the proverbial tomato can. I think everyone had hope for this year given the development of the offense. But the D just isn't there.
Your point serves to drive home my point. Someone else installed a defense for him. But a defense isn't just installed for ever. It is taught, adjusted, and taught again and again. Along with technique, communication, etc. Select whatever defensive system you want - you better have someone to teach it. Preferably someone who's been there.
I disagree with your premise that JP can coach at any level. If he could, then he could coach a defense that, as you put it, "is reaching GERG-like levels of ineptitude." He doesn't have the experience and background to develop the defense that Michigan needs, and it is unlikely he can hire someone who can help him do it (anyone who could do so will be getting a HC job somewhere.)
A great defensive coach with some good athletes, some of whom have a pretty good stick, can build a defense. While a great offense depends heavily on the skills of its players (see the passing and shooting skills of the top teams,) a great defense is less skill-dependent, and more dependent on athleticism and coaching. (yes, of course skilled players aren't all you need for offense, and skill certainly helps with defense.)
They might be able beat Dartmouth, but I'm not sure I see who they can beat in conference play this year. Hopkins and Maryland won't be pretty (both might have started slow, but please look at the destruction they rained down on Towson and Princeton today.) Penn State and Rutgers are quite improved, and OSU is about where they've been for the past couple of years.
It is and it isn't. There is a LOT of talent out there right now, in non-traditional places that are becoming traditional. Michigan is obviously a huge name. But building a program depends on coaching. Bryant was nothing before Mike Pressler landed there after the Duke fiasco. Denver was a mid-tier program just beginning to challenge the big dogs before Bill Tierney decided to take off for Colorado. Time for JP to move upstairs to development and alumni relations.
I don't think the argument can be made right now that Michigan is middle of the pack. It should be, but isn't. Middle of the pack implies that on a given day Michigan could challenge top teams. Maybe not win, but also not be treated like a tomato can. This far in, Michigan should not be a tomato can.
In principle, losing to Brown is nothing to be ashamed of right now. Brown has been rebuilding for longer than Michigan has been building. However, it is quite clear that Michigan can't play defense. Yes, Brown has high scoring offense. But there has been little improvement in the defense since getting blown out by NC to start the season.
I agree with WD regarding JP. He built a great club team, and did an amazing job transitioning the program to D1. But he's going against some amazing coaches and developers of talent. I don't see how he is going to develop a defense that can keep Michigan in games like this. He just doesn't have the background. (look at who is coaching great defensive teams - former All American defensemen/former assistants to great defensive coaches.)
This is an age of parity. But the schools that are taking advantage of this parity have really talented coaches. See Quint Kessenich's article on Inside Lacrosse on parity: http://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/quint-parity-is-creating-chaos/34286. Quint makes some really interesting observations that when applied to Michigan's case point a finger directly at coaching. I wouldn't worry about players leaving if JP is transitioned into another role (think Alumni Relations/development - he's an awesome fundraiser.) Worry that players will cool on Michigan as a destination.
There are some really talented young coaches out there. Bring one to Michigan.
Outside of the hotbeds of Maryland and Central New York (and neighboring areas,) the new places to find talent are the three Cs of Canada, Colorado, and California. That's one of the main reasons yesterday's game was in Orange County. The state of Michigan has some talent, but not like these newer recruiting areas.
Logan was very impressive in goal. He made the saves he was supposed to, and then some. Moving Kyle Jackson back to attack was clearly the right move. He's too good to have off the field. He will have extremely tough competition for B1G POY, but I agree that he'll be in the conversation. My $$ is on Ryan Brown.
Michigan has clearly recruited some excellent athletes - they won this game between the restraining lines winning contested ground balls, clearing with sheer speed, and putting pressure on Delaware's clearing game. Some of these D-middies have serious wheels.
Recent Comments
You may regret asking question #2 when I get done answering it!
2 things"
1: for a seder you would really need a leg of lamb, and you can't get a Kosher one outside of Israel.
2: we DON'T eat lamb at the seder, because lamb was the sacrifice made at the Temple, when it existed. So since we can't sacrifice the Paschal lamb anymore, we don't eat lamb at the seder.
3: Seder food tends to reflect wherever your family came from. So the Jews of Eastern Europe, AKA Ashkenazim, tend to eat kosher-for-passover versions of the foods from that region. The Jews who originated in Spain (expelled in 1492 and migrating to N Africa, Italy, and the mid-east) tend to eat foods much more like those eaten in those regions!
Now I have experienced all that is great on MgoBlog. Dvar Torah with my Michigan fandom. Dayenu, and Chag Pesach Sameach Seth.
Don't read the comments - a lot of clutching of pearls because the University should do "better" than a mere athlete.
The most impressive thing in this article? Over 1900 out of 2776 faculty members actually read and responded to the email they got this weekend to vote. That is incredible. This is not sarcasm. They are engaged, and they are pissed off.
This is a question with a really complicated answer. For any school it depends on the size of the school's primary venue, and how big a crowd can be expected for lax compared to football (which depends not only on size of school, but how important lax is at the school, and how much area interest there is in lacrosse).
I went to school at Hopkins - arguably the bluest of the blue bloods - and Homewood Field is shared. Homewood seats 10k, and gets much bigger crowds for lacrosse than for its very successful D-III football team. Hopkins has an smaller enrollment than Homewood has capacity, but in a city like Baltimore with really committed lacrosse fans any good contest is going to be well-attended.
TV is also affecting crowd sizes at lacrosse games, so a downside of being frequently televised can be lowered attendance at crappy weather games.
""I challenge you to find anyone at this university who is as into football as I am,” he told Buckley and Reimer. “I am at those games –– I come home with bruises from cheering so loud. I am on top of those bleachers, I'm like throwing myself around recklessly. I am endangering myself for the sake of the game."
He told Outsports he goes beyond cheering at the games. He’s “that guy” making everybody around him stand on their feet and throw their bodies into the games.
“I forcibly encourage the people sitting in my section or watching with me at home to be loud on every down and never sit down. I tell them they can sit down when they’re dead.”"
https://www.outsports.com/2017/10/5/16423878/jim-harbaugh-gay-son-james…
Agree. I am just glad that the "want" didn't result in an older retread. (e.g. Starsia)
Good for Manuel. Conry is ready to be a head coach - Maryland was his second Asst. Head coaching job where he transformed a defense.
Me too. I figured Michigan would want a proven head coach. But I like the hire. There aren't many really good defensively minded head coaches who are looking for new situations right now. For instance, the word is they spoke to Shawn Nadelen at Towson, and that he was happy where he is.
Let's try winning a few conference games first. Then making it to the conference tournament. Then making the NCAA tournament.
So, with all of these hijinks, I just realized that I have not seen Fulmer Cupdates in forever. Does anyone know if the Fulmer Cup still exists? Cause Sparty should be high in the standings this year....
Petro is not leaving Hopkins. Where this fantasy came from that he's interested in the job is beyond me. Just because he was a huge supporter of the effort to get M to go varsity doesn't mean he wants the job.
Coach T is not leaving Denver. It's his retirement destination as his kids are out there.
Why would Danowski leave Duke?
Starsia is the only one on the top of that list that has any chance of moving.
I love the idea of Scotty Matt, but note that the Great Danes and the Blue Jays have put their series on hiatus until Scotty's kid graduates from Hopkins. In 2 more years. He's gone in record that he doesn't want to coach against his kid.
Michigans next coach is probably coming from the Ivies, or is a talented guy at a second tier school. Think Shawn Nadelen.
That could have been much uglier for Michigan than it was. Petro took his foot off the gas VERY early. I don't think he wanted to embarrass JP by scoring 20+. (at 20 the Hopkins crowd stops counting goals) Hop could have put a bunch more on the board.
Michigan is an extremely undisciplined team. As Carc kept on saying, don't foul the Jays. Most of M's fouls were the result of poor judgement and out-of-control play. A lot of the play just wasn't smart.
Many of you have condemned the defensive coaching, and you are correct that there is much to be desired. I'm actually not surprised that they didn't double the ball on the 3-minute man-up. Doubling in lacrosse often leads to defensive breakdowns, especially for an undisciplined team. What I found more ridiculous was deliberately putting a shortie on Marr. Clearly, the defensive game plan was lacking,
Lack of discipline, and lack of playing with smarts is indicative of poor head coaching, not just poor defensive coaching. It is time for Michigan to find itself a professional lacrosse coach.
Lunardi's updated bracket has M as a 6-seed as of tonight. Swapped places with Minnesota.
I'd say that if they could have kept the deficit to 5 this wouldn't be a bad loss. But its a bad loss. ND is down, so I don't see this result as being an improvement.
They will beat Mercer and Furman, which will take them to 6 wins. With the kind of play they had today they will lose to UMBC and Penn, and the only chance of a win in B1G play will be OSU. The other 4 teams will pound them. So maybe a chance at 7 wins?
Watched the first half of the game on the free stream, and I had to stop watching as what I was seeing was an atrocity against exciting lacrosse.
Yes, ND is an established team that has been very good for quite some time. But from what I saw today their vaunted defense is not so vaunted this year. They will be fighting for an at large spot this year, and will likely have to thank a down year in the ACC for making the tourney. (We'll see if NC, UVa, and 'Cuse bounce back in March/April.)
This team has talent. Not deep or elite yet, but talent. King and Noseworthy are the real thing on attack. I saw MANY opportunities for M to score in the first half. King seemed to be able to get himself matched up on a shortie with impunity, which should have spelled trouble for ND. But off-ball movement was rare, so he usually had to dodge to the goal himself out of those situations. Even when he had his defender hung up. Early on he dodged toward the goal, got doubled, and skipped a pass up top, only to have it roll away from his team mate. That can't have inspired confidence.
Ball movement was slow and sloppy. No crispness, so no getting ND on a carousel. Those 18 turnovers? How many were passes thrown right at ND sticks?
Defensively, they held up OK in 6 on 6 in the first half, but any unsettled situation resulted in a goal for ND. No recognition of the urgent need to find their assignments, get back in the hole, and stop the ball.
This is not a well-coached team.
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The fact that this is in any way a political statement in this day and age is so sad. As the great Neil deGrasse Tyson says, "The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it." Considering the "evidence based" nature of this blog, I'd hope that fans of any political stripe would share that value.
The word is that his mother has a serious dislike for Harbaugh. Why, I haven't heard. But I've watched him play for the last two years (my kid is in the PiHi marching band) and he just plain stands out.
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Arranged by AJ Holmes, Uof M MT Class of 2011.
To add to what Wahoo is saying, JP drove the fundraising to take the team varsity. It was his relationships to donors, based on his credibility as the club coach that enabled him to raise the sum required to demonstrate to the Athletic Dept. that lacrosse could be viable from a development standpoint. The donors were motivated to make the investment in no small part by the idea of an immediate jump. In addition, they were trusting a known actor, JP, rather than an unknown.
WD I agree that Michigan needs a new coach. But if the progam had hired an outsider, and been shut down for a year, the transition from club to varsity never would have happened.
Also a really good candidate. My choice would be Shawn Nadelen at Towson. He hasn't done enough to have really blown up yet, but he's building something there, and is an excellent defensive coach. And he's from the Pietramala coaching tree.
My choice would be Shawn Nadelen at Towson. He's done really good things there, and is a really strong defensive coach. He's a branch of the Dave Pietramala coaching tree.
The question of recruiting has been raised many times during the discussions of whether JP should get more time. As many have pointed out, a large proportion of the elite programs are recruiting really early - 8th, 9th grade. (including my alma mater - and its an that many of us Hopkins alums wonder about - is Hopkins missing out on too many great late bloomers?)
Anyway, from the same article I linked to above, Quint Kessenich points out that there is plenty of talent left out there after Hopkins and UVa have scooped up the early commits.
http://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/quint-fact-and-fiction-separating-contenders-and-pretenders/34761
Fact: There are more than 3,700 high schools playing varsity lacrosse nationwide. New York has 402 programs. Maryland has 226. Lacrosse is booming in California with 259 teams. Florida is growing rapidly with 201 squads.
Opinion: The 70 Division I college coaches have never had more talent to evaluate. Good players and athletes in non-traditional areas are slipping through the cracks and end up playing DII or DIII. Late bloomers are finding a home in the MCLA, the club league that now has 213 teams including most of the Power Five schools like Oregon, BYU, Arizona State, Clemson and Florida State. Combine this explosion with early recruiting, where coaches offer scholarships to eighth, ninth and 10th graders, and you have a volatile recruiting climate. The winning intangibles aren't evident in a ninth grade prospect — work ethic, leadership, being a great teammate, reaction to adversity and social skills are complete unknowns.
Quint Kessenich's "Fact and Fiction" column on Inside Lacrosse addressed Princeton's vacancy, and who he would bring in to interview. I would say that the same people would be choices for Michigan. Frankly, its a lot easier to recruit to Michigan than Princeton.
http://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/quint-fact-and-fiction-separating-contenders-and-pretenders/34761
Fact: Princeton (3-7) fired coach Chris Bates and will hold a search for a new coach at the conclusion the season.
Opinion: The Tigers are no longer at the top of the heap in the Ivy League. Yale, Brown and Penn have passed them. A turnaround starts with hiring the right coach combined with increased administrative support. If I were leading the search I'd bring in Harvard assistant and former Cornell head coach Ben DeLuca, Towson head coach Shawn Nadelen, Hobart's Greg Raymond, a former Princeton assistant, Tufts head coach Mike Daly, Denver assistant John Orsen and Benson, the Johns Hopkins offensive coordinator, for interviews. Nadelen is the front-runner.
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It really is about coaching at this point. I wouldn't go all "unacceptable," but with the new facilities really needs to come a coaching upgrade. Most likely at the head coaching position, because I don't think JP can hire himself a great defensive assistant. Such an assistant would now be looking at HC jobs.
Yes. All this. Look at how attractive Michigan is to kids from the hotbeds of Maryland and Long Island. You don't think their lacrosse-playing high school classmates aren't interested? When Hopkins coach Pietramala brought his national championship team here for an exhibition in the fall of 2007, his players were ridiculously jacked to visit Michigan, go to the M-OSU game, and experience the feel of a serious Big Ten school.
Its about coaching!!!
Michigan is actually a higher rated squad than Dartmouth. Better RPI, better power rating, better everything. They should be beating a team like Dartmouth. It is as close as they will get to a sure thing.
I have no issue with the transition, except that it should have involved a plan for coaching succession. Clearly, JP needed to be there for the first few years. But he just doesn't have the experience/knowledge/credentials to take this team where it needs to go.
And even programs in talent-rich areas are recruiting outside those areas these days. Denver recruits the three "Cs" - Colorado, Canada, California. Hardly the traditional hotbeds. And the Michigan name is HUGE in the hotbeds of Maryland and Long Island.
You're welcome. There's some good stuff on IL once in a while, so its worth looking at now and then if you follow lacrosse. As Quint points out, many programs are now able to hold on to their talented assistants. But I would guess that this would be less the case if Michigan came calling with Michigan $$.
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I disagree with your premise that JP can coach at any level. If he could, then he could coach a defense that, as you put it, "is reaching GERG-like levels of ineptitude." He doesn't have the experience and background to develop the defense that Michigan needs, and it is unlikely he can hire someone who can help him do it (anyone who could do so will be getting a HC job somewhere.)
A great defensive coach with some good athletes, some of whom have a pretty good stick, can build a defense. While a great offense depends heavily on the skills of its players (see the passing and shooting skills of the top teams,) a great defense is less skill-dependent, and more dependent on athleticism and coaching. (yes, of course skilled players aren't all you need for offense, and skill certainly helps with defense.)
They might be able beat Dartmouth, but I'm not sure I see who they can beat in conference play this year. Hopkins and Maryland won't be pretty (both might have started slow, but please look at the destruction they rained down on Towson and Princeton today.) Penn State and Rutgers are quite improved, and OSU is about where they've been for the past couple of years.
It is and it isn't. There is a LOT of talent out there right now, in non-traditional places that are becoming traditional. Michigan is obviously a huge name. But building a program depends on coaching. Bryant was nothing before Mike Pressler landed there after the Duke fiasco. Denver was a mid-tier program just beginning to challenge the big dogs before Bill Tierney decided to take off for Colorado. Time for JP to move upstairs to development and alumni relations.
I don't think the argument can be made right now that Michigan is middle of the pack. It should be, but isn't. Middle of the pack implies that on a given day Michigan could challenge top teams. Maybe not win, but also not be treated like a tomato can. This far in, Michigan should not be a tomato can.
In principle, losing to Brown is nothing to be ashamed of right now. Brown has been rebuilding for longer than Michigan has been building. However, it is quite clear that Michigan can't play defense. Yes, Brown has high scoring offense. But there has been little improvement in the defense since getting blown out by NC to start the season.
I agree with WD regarding JP. He built a great club team, and did an amazing job transitioning the program to D1. But he's going against some amazing coaches and developers of talent. I don't see how he is going to develop a defense that can keep Michigan in games like this. He just doesn't have the background. (look at who is coaching great defensive teams - former All American defensemen/former assistants to great defensive coaches.)
This is an age of parity. But the schools that are taking advantage of this parity have really talented coaches. See Quint Kessenich's article on Inside Lacrosse on parity: http://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/quint-parity-is-creating-chaos/34286. Quint makes some really interesting observations that when applied to Michigan's case point a finger directly at coaching. I wouldn't worry about players leaving if JP is transitioned into another role (think Alumni Relations/development - he's an awesome fundraiser.) Worry that players will cool on Michigan as a destination.
There are some really talented young coaches out there. Bring one to Michigan.
Outside of the hotbeds of Maryland and Central New York (and neighboring areas,) the new places to find talent are the three Cs of Canada, Colorado, and California. That's one of the main reasons yesterday's game was in Orange County. The state of Michigan has some talent, but not like these newer recruiting areas.
More and more games are being streamed, and the quality is getting better and better.
Logan was very impressive in goal. He made the saves he was supposed to, and then some. Moving Kyle Jackson back to attack was clearly the right move. He's too good to have off the field. He will have extremely tough competition for B1G POY, but I agree that he'll be in the conversation. My $$ is on Ryan Brown.
Michigan has clearly recruited some excellent athletes - they won this game between the restraining lines winning contested ground balls, clearing with sheer speed, and putting pressure on Delaware's clearing game. Some of these D-middies have serious wheels.