Ball State Woes
Aug 5, 2007 8:15:50 GMT -5
Post by Glory Days on Aug 5, 2007 8:15:50 GMT -5
Here is an interesting article that came out when Soderburg was fired.
What went wrong for Soderberg?
By Tom Timmermann
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
04/20/2007
Yes, the timing of the firing of Brad Soderberg as basketball coach at St. Louis University came as a surprise. But only the timing.
Soderberg had just completed his fifth season at SLU — which, ironically, was the first 20-win season in his 13 seasons as a head coach — and had failed to take the team to the NCAA Tournament during that time. That in itself would cause many schools to make a coaching change. This season's failure stung even more because many thought it was SLU's best team in some time.
But SLU isn't UCLA, North Carolina or Kentucky, and when you've gone to the NCAA tournament just six times in the school's history, a five-year gap isn't exactly unprecedented. Soderberg had the firm support of his athletic director, was a man of exemplary character who graduated almost all of his players and had two years to go on his contract, all of which led to the conclusion that he would get at least one more chance.
But as it turned out, the clock had run out on Soderberg. It's still not clear what led to the firing — the university's statement announcing his departure refers to a "detailed analysis of the just-concluded season" — but the failure to make the NCAAs was obviously the breaking point. Many also thought there were difficulties in recruiting, and the school has a desire to have an exciting, contending team when it moves into its new on-campus arena in 2008. It all apparently combined, in the view of school president the Rev. Lawrence Biondi, to push Soderberg out.
In the end, any discussion of what did in Soderberg will come around to recruiting. He was never able to put together a team with all the essential components — this year's team lacked a power forward and significant depth — to build the big winner Biondi sought. That's not easy at any mid-major program and it didn't happen at SLU.
Athletics director Cheryl Levick often came to his defense on recruiting, pointing out how hard it was to convince kids to come to SLU's antiquated facilities in West Pine Gym. She felt Soderberg wouldn't get a real chance to show what he could do until he got into the new building and had the same resources that other schools had.
Soderberg had three players who earned all-conference honors while at SLU — Ian Vouyoukas, Tommie Liddell and Kevin Lisch on this season's team, which, assistant coach Angres Thorpe pointed out, showed they "were able to bring in talent.''
But plenty of kids from the region got away, either because SLU didn't pursue them or they preferred to go elsewhere. A lot of factors go into a player's decision on where to go to school, many of which are beyond a coach's control. But there was a perception in the high school basketball community that SLU let talented local players who would have happily played at SLU — Blake Ahearn (who went to Missouri State) or Randal Falker (SIUC) — go elsewhere.
Of course, you can't give scholarships to everyone, so you have to choose wisely. This season's team lacked depth and in many games relied on only seven or eight players, something that got them into trouble in the Atlantic 10 tournament. When Lisch got hurt against Temple and then freshman Dustin Maguire had trouble defensively, Soderberg turned to walk-on Jeff Coffey (who did quite well).
Red flags went up when Soderberg signed no recruits in the early period in the fall. The players they sought most actively chose to go elsewhere and SLU had an empty cupboard. SLU got two commitments in the late period and were in the running for several others who had held off on their decisions. Several were junior college players, who usually don't make their decisions until after the national JC championships. Another was Steffphon Pettigrew, Kentucky's Mr. Basketball, who was going to make his campus visit to SLU this weekend. Now, that's not expected to happen.
SLU's recruiting also couldn't produce a diamond in the rough, the player who didn't get noticed by the big schools but who developed into a star in college. SLU took a chance on Obi Ikeakor, a 6-8 forward from Houston who sat out his senior year of high school because of a knee injury. But Ikeakor's weight ballooned after two years of inactivity and he left the program over the Christmas break.
Ultimately, what went wrong for Soderberg was a problem he had from Day One, when he was viewed as the safe, maybe boring, choice. He didn't cut a dashing image, his early teams didn't play with a lot of pizazz, just with a Big Ten style of physicality. His public demeanor may not have portrayed the immense passion that was seen by those he coached, or those who waited outside locker rooms for him after tough losses. What ultimately may have gotten Soderberg fired was that he didn't look like the kind of guy who could bring in exciting players to put an exciting brand of basketball on the court at a brand new arena.
www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/slu/story/1A9371EAE5751366862572C300130AD8?OpenDocument
What went wrong for Soderberg?
By Tom Timmermann
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
04/20/2007
Yes, the timing of the firing of Brad Soderberg as basketball coach at St. Louis University came as a surprise. But only the timing.
Soderberg had just completed his fifth season at SLU — which, ironically, was the first 20-win season in his 13 seasons as a head coach — and had failed to take the team to the NCAA Tournament during that time. That in itself would cause many schools to make a coaching change. This season's failure stung even more because many thought it was SLU's best team in some time.
But SLU isn't UCLA, North Carolina or Kentucky, and when you've gone to the NCAA tournament just six times in the school's history, a five-year gap isn't exactly unprecedented. Soderberg had the firm support of his athletic director, was a man of exemplary character who graduated almost all of his players and had two years to go on his contract, all of which led to the conclusion that he would get at least one more chance.
But as it turned out, the clock had run out on Soderberg. It's still not clear what led to the firing — the university's statement announcing his departure refers to a "detailed analysis of the just-concluded season" — but the failure to make the NCAAs was obviously the breaking point. Many also thought there were difficulties in recruiting, and the school has a desire to have an exciting, contending team when it moves into its new on-campus arena in 2008. It all apparently combined, in the view of school president the Rev. Lawrence Biondi, to push Soderberg out.
In the end, any discussion of what did in Soderberg will come around to recruiting. He was never able to put together a team with all the essential components — this year's team lacked a power forward and significant depth — to build the big winner Biondi sought. That's not easy at any mid-major program and it didn't happen at SLU.
Athletics director Cheryl Levick often came to his defense on recruiting, pointing out how hard it was to convince kids to come to SLU's antiquated facilities in West Pine Gym. She felt Soderberg wouldn't get a real chance to show what he could do until he got into the new building and had the same resources that other schools had.
Soderberg had three players who earned all-conference honors while at SLU — Ian Vouyoukas, Tommie Liddell and Kevin Lisch on this season's team, which, assistant coach Angres Thorpe pointed out, showed they "were able to bring in talent.''
But plenty of kids from the region got away, either because SLU didn't pursue them or they preferred to go elsewhere. A lot of factors go into a player's decision on where to go to school, many of which are beyond a coach's control. But there was a perception in the high school basketball community that SLU let talented local players who would have happily played at SLU — Blake Ahearn (who went to Missouri State) or Randal Falker (SIUC) — go elsewhere.
Of course, you can't give scholarships to everyone, so you have to choose wisely. This season's team lacked depth and in many games relied on only seven or eight players, something that got them into trouble in the Atlantic 10 tournament. When Lisch got hurt against Temple and then freshman Dustin Maguire had trouble defensively, Soderberg turned to walk-on Jeff Coffey (who did quite well).
Red flags went up when Soderberg signed no recruits in the early period in the fall. The players they sought most actively chose to go elsewhere and SLU had an empty cupboard. SLU got two commitments in the late period and were in the running for several others who had held off on their decisions. Several were junior college players, who usually don't make their decisions until after the national JC championships. Another was Steffphon Pettigrew, Kentucky's Mr. Basketball, who was going to make his campus visit to SLU this weekend. Now, that's not expected to happen.
SLU's recruiting also couldn't produce a diamond in the rough, the player who didn't get noticed by the big schools but who developed into a star in college. SLU took a chance on Obi Ikeakor, a 6-8 forward from Houston who sat out his senior year of high school because of a knee injury. But Ikeakor's weight ballooned after two years of inactivity and he left the program over the Christmas break.
Ultimately, what went wrong for Soderberg was a problem he had from Day One, when he was viewed as the safe, maybe boring, choice. He didn't cut a dashing image, his early teams didn't play with a lot of pizazz, just with a Big Ten style of physicality. His public demeanor may not have portrayed the immense passion that was seen by those he coached, or those who waited outside locker rooms for him after tough losses. What ultimately may have gotten Soderberg fired was that he didn't look like the kind of guy who could bring in exciting players to put an exciting brand of basketball on the court at a brand new arena.
www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/slu/story/1A9371EAE5751366862572C300130AD8?OpenDocument