the job is Ford's according to today's RonnieGram

Kosty · Post by **Kosty** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 9:31 am

I thought the Byrnes thing was only if DOHerty was hired.

AGldFinch6 · Post by **AGldFinch6** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 9:31 am

Do people really think it matters that much where the coach is from? A good coach can recruit, regardless of where he is from. If Ford wants to recruit locally go right ahead, if he wants to get kids from the south, who cares, some of the best HS players now are from the deep south. It probably will not be too hard for Ford to pick up a phone and make sure local coaches and such know who he is and make connections.

Maybe Ford has taken some notes from Pitino's book. Since Pitino is a NYC guy whose last two college coaching jobs have been at Louisville and Kentucky. Yet he somehow finds a way to recruit succesfully even though he isn't from the south. I'm sure if you look around the college coaching scene there are many more examples of that.

Umass73 · Post by **Umass73** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 9:33 am

VOR- Your right we are not a program at this time picked for the sweet 16, but there was a time not to long ago when we were close, remember. UCONN was afraid to play us, we beat BC every year, with a winning record we got an automatic at-large bid to the big dance and I believe the Mullins center was built specifically to make us a national power in men's hoops. I am now optimistic we can raise the bar and return to that same status or even better...

DS Bruce Robertson · Post by **DS Bruce Robertson** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 9:36 am

I'm not part of the grassroots basketball scene by any stretch, but from the few people I know that are part of it, I gather that a coach that earns respect has all the recruiting ties he needs. UMass isn't so difficult a sell that he will find a lot of slammed doors and unreturned calls when reaching out to the people he needs to reach out to. If he's a good teacher, a good communicatior, if he doesn't make promises he can't keep and if he treats coaches/parents/handlers/etc with respect he's just not going to have a problem getting UMass' foot in the door simply because he comes from somewhere else.

And has anyone mentioned Leo Papile during all this? Which college coach is he most closely associated with? Rick Pitino. Who did Ford play for? Rick Pitino. Who is pushing him for the job (allegedly)? Rick Pitino. Does anyone think it's going to be hard for Travis Ford to get a conversation with the head of the BABC? Rick Pitino. Wait, that's not the right answer. I mean... no.

DS Bruce Robertson · Post by **DS Bruce Robertson** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 9:38 am

Kosty wrote:I would think that at the very least, Ty Weeks should join as the lead assistant!!!!

I can't help but imagine that this is what Steve Carell is screaming in your avatar.

Crank · Post by **Crank** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 9:40 am

Great point Bruce. I had forgotten all about the Papile/Pitino connection.

Chemical Ali · Post by **Chemical Ali** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 9:41 am

Kosty wrote:I would think that at the very least, Ty Weeks should join as the lead assistant!!!!

Travis Ford and Ty Weeks. Oh man, that's a cool thought. 100% every game. I would love to see those guys work with Max, Lasme, and Freeman.

gui98 · Post by **gui98** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 9:42 am

bringing in a coach from the midwest just strengthens our chances to get kids from the midwest as well. Bring in an asst. from the northeast - expand the geographic talent pool base!

UMass87 · Post by **UMass87** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 9:47 am

gui98 wrote:bringing in a coach from the midwest ...

Maybe one of the Kentucky lurkers can ad their 2 cents but Kentucky is the South not the Midwest. People on this board keep referring to Ford's geographical connection as a connection to the Midwest.

nortonmalc · Post by **nortonmalc** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 9:48 am

kdogg8173 wrote:Reading the articles does worry me a little on the recruiting front. That article above mentions the rutgers coach how he has had some trouble recruiting this area. I'm hopeful that maybe with this group of players for a couple of more years (minus Viggiano next year), that he can have some success and ease the pain of recruting for a below average team.

Don't forget though that Gary Waters is trying to recruit people to Rutgers, an uphill battle by any measure.

CRR_ · Post by **CRR_** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 10:00 am

nortonmalc wrote:
kdogg8173 wrote:Reading the articles does worry me a little on the recruiting front. That article above mentions the rutgers coach how he has had some trouble recruiting this area. I'm hopeful that maybe with this group of players for a couple of more years (minus Viggiano next year), that he can have some success and ease the pain of recruting for a below average team.
Don't forget though that Gary Waters is trying to recruit people to Rutgers, an uphill battle by any measure.

Rutgers was not and will never be as good a job as UMass.

As far as recruiting goes, it's all about hard work and personality. Travis Ford will work hard, and he has a strong personality to go with that work ethic. If this report is true, UMass will be getting a young coach with tremendous potential.

DrG · Post by **DrG** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 10:00 am

UMass87 wrote:
gui98 wrote:bringing in a coach from the midwest ...
Maybe one of the Kentucky lurkers can ad their 2 cents but Kentucky is the South not the Midwest. People on this board keep referring to Ford's geographical connection as a connection to the Midwest.

As a frequent visitor to the Blue Grass, I can say it depends on what part of Kentucky you're in. Louisville and the northern Kentucky area near Cincinnati is like the Midwest. Lexington has more Southern characteristics. EKU, which is about 30-40 miles south of Lexington, is definitely Southern oriented. Remember that Kentucky was a border state and not part of the Confederacy.

philosopher · Post by **philosopher** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 10:01 am

If your region is defined by who is around you and how you think, then culturally is "southern." The Commonwealth is "closer" to Tennessee than Ohio or West Virgnia. It is more agricultural than industrial. Take you key images from the Kentucky Derby and it falls into place.

If Ford is the guy, he should have the common sense to hire a lead assistant who knows "New England" and "Northeast" culture. Additionally, as Bruce pointed out, his ties to Pitino should open any doors that he would need to have opened for him just about anywhere in the country.

bdance · Post by **bdance** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 10:04 am

UMass87 wrote:
gui98 wrote:bringing in a coach from the midwest ...
Maybe one of the Kentucky lurkers can ad their 2 cents but Kentucky is the South not the Midwest. People on this board keep referring to Ford's geographical connection as a connection to the Midwest.

My wife is from Indiana, about an hour south of Indy, and we visit most summers. Seemed to me that to a Hoosier Kentucky isn't thought of in terms of Southern or Midwestern. They're just the neighbor looming next door. They also seem to be the subject of many jokes, but I'm sure that cuts both ways.

Also, from the A10 board I gather some Cincinnati folks view KY the same way.

Used to be VOR · Post by **Used to be VOR** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 10:06 am

CRR_ wrote:Rutgers was not and will never be as good a job as UMass.

As far as recruiting goes, it's all about hard work and personality. Travis Ford will work hard, and he has a strong personality to go with that work ethic. If this report is true, UMass will be getting a young coach with tremendous potential.

The more I have heard about Ford, I think he would be a fine selection. He seems like a classy guy, he is young, and has had success in a place everyone said was difficult to win. I think a lot of those ingredients will play well in Amherst. I certainly think everyone should be able to get behind him and support him if he is chosen.

I choose to look at the best in the guy, and it seems like a good choice if indeed he is the one.