UMassHoops.com

InnervisionsUMASS · Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 11:56 am Post subject:

That article by Bob Ryan is probably the only one by him I've ever disliked or where I've shaken my head in disbelief that he would even write it. It was very CHB-esque.
_________________
Stop waiting for UMass to do something big and help UMass do something big. - Shades

vanmeter · Senior Joined: 02 Apr 2003 Posts: 1263

I wrote a letter to Bob Ryan following that article complaing about the unfair nature of it.. What was even worse than the article is that the picture of Al was taken in a casual setting with Al wearing a polo shirt. All the more to try to emphasize Ryan's point that all was lazy.

It was a blatant attempt by Ryan to do DeFillipo's bidding to try to discredit Al after DeFillipo fired him. DeFillipo now has Spaz and Donahue as his Football and Basketball Coaches - good luck. One more bad Football year and DeFillipo maybe the one looking for employment.

tom mclaughlin · Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 12:50 pm Post subject: Al Skinner

I brought up the Bob Ryan article because I know it has done damage to Al's reputation and I'm sure people use it against Al when he's involved in any job openings. People who don't really know Al take his laid back style and use it to label him lazy because they are ignorant and borderline racist.
Let me say it again, Al Skinner is as hard a working player I've ever seen and I've known him to be as loyal and classy an individual I've ever known. His career coaching record speaks for itself, it didn't happen by accident.
To coach for as long as he has and not be involved in any major scandals also speaks to his character. Al Skinner doesn't deserve this treatment, people have to speak up and right this wrong.

nighttrain777 · Junior Joined: 02 Apr 2003 Posts: 461 Location: Texas

So Bob Ryan and anyone who doesn't know Al Skinner is a "borderline racist", according to you.
_________________
'Fight On' You Loyal Sons and Daughters of Metawampe.

InnervisionsUMASS · Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 3:21 pm Post subject:

^

Yeah, that is a bit off base...
_________________
Stop waiting for UMass to do something big and help UMass do something big. - Shades

tom mclaughlin · Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 3:49 pm Post subject: Al Skinner

I aplogize very poor choice of words.

Chris20 · Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 3:51 pm Post subject:

I understood your point Tom. The structure of the sentence didn't quite work, but you gotta be looking for something to get pissed about if that offended you. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

tom mclaughlin · Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 4:02 pm Post subject: Al Skinner

Thanks Chris. I'm sensitive to the situation where people call Al Skinner lazy. Thru the years I personnally know of 2 instances regarding basketball and Al where people have verbalized that in regards to Al and I think it is wrong and they wouldn't do it with other coaches.
Just a touchy subject with me. It hit a nerve.

UMass87 · Hall of Fame Joined: 02 Apr 2003 Posts: 7335

PTrainXL · Senior Joined: 14 Feb 2009 Posts: 901 Location: The Q

Never thought of Skinner as lazy, I think he got screwed over and is still getting screwed over. Whatever it is he does not deserve it, BC is a bad hoops program, and they did very well under him in my opinion.

philosopher · Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 7:12 pm Post subject: Re: Al Skinner

tom mclaughlin · Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 7:54 pm Post subject: Al Skinner

Thanks for the kind words, but I played for Jack Leaman and he taught me all about being loyal, being a good teammate and sticking together. Al is a UMass guy and we all should want nothing but success for him and it hurts when some people put a label on him. He's too good a human being for that to happen. UMass people need to stick up for one another and help one another out. We're family.

wmmmfan · Sophomore Joined: 20 Aug 2010 Posts: 214

No need to apologize Tom, Al has been unfairly characterized by individuals connected to BC because he wasn't as engaged with the Alumni and fund raising as they would have liked.

It is part of the job as a head coach, but if they didn't like it and they wanted someone else they could have bought him out and both parties could have gone their own way. BC chose the classless way and decided to try and make Al look bad.

Al will coach again, if not at URI some university will hire him. I agree with some of the board members, he would be a great coach for an Ivy League program but SMU would be foolish to not give Al an interview as they head to the Big East. He can recruit nationally and is one of the best talent evaluators in the game.

Marty Peretz · Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 10:49 pm Post subject:

No idea if Al is lazy (though many good sources have indicated that he's disinterested in the non-coaching aspects of the game at this point in his career. Here's my one Al Skinner story: Al was playing an old guy I know in the senior olympics I believe in Springfield a few years back. Believe he might have even been playing with a pair of former UMass teammates. This was like the 55 and up division FYI. The other guys had one guy who'd played D3 so they were clearly outmatched. For whatever reason, they kept score in 2's and 3s and the game was timed. For the entirety of the contest, Skinner sought to dominate the paint, routinely bodying up the opposition's big man who was like 6'1". Apparently Skinner's teammates were laid back and had fun with it, but even up 30 late, Al was bitching about foul calls and trying to block shots like the blocked shot was going out of style. At the conclusion of the game, his teammates were all pretty friendly, shook hands, bantered a bit and went on their way, but Al didn't even shake hands and just left the court immediately. All business.

I have no idea what you want to read into this anecdote. Maybe he's a great competitor who doesn't know when to turn it off and that's just what you want in your head coach. Or maybe it affirms characterizations of him as cold, removed, aloof and devoid of the social/emotional intelligence necessary to be successful in today's recruiting-driven culture. I'm not going to classify him based on that incident and I think Al is obviously a wise hoops mind and pretty successful head coach. That said, most of what I've heard and seen suggest his time as an elite head coach has passed him by. The reality is, if he were as dynamic as some on this board want to make him out to be, some AD somewhere would probably give him a shot.

Age isn't as much a factor as some might make it; just look at Larranaga taking the Miami job later in his career.
_________________
Muck Fax Page

DrG · Hall of Fame Joined: 02 Apr 2003 Posts: 2171 Location: MA

Coach, I have always enjoyed Bob Ryan's work and I always felt he has been fair to UMass by Globe standards. But what he did to Al was terrible, and it is clear he was regurgitating what the BC hierarchy fed him. Not unlike what the Globe is buying what the Red Sox organization is doing to Terry Francona right now.