Grantland story on LMU basketball

[ironlion]

grantland.com/features/mike-dunlap-coach-loyola-marymount-lions-wcc-conference-ncaa-basketball-bo-kimble-hank-gathers-paul-westhead-charlotte-bobcats-hornets/

[golions1444]

man, what an article, i don't really know where to start. I mean most of it is all things us fans on this board know about and have discussed in the past. It makes a lot of good points. I always have believed LMU should be a great program based on it's location and campus and such, but I have always also had the theory that the campus invites too many distractions which affect the players negatively. it's hard not to get excited to hear about what Kimble would do with the program, but how realistic are his aspirations?

Overall, I'll conclude that it's great to get a cover story on Grantland, the article is not necessarily super positive, but also not negative, so the publicity is great, we'll take it.

[waterboy]

Wow, great article. Acurate history (I was there). The basketball program was like its Catholicity, all pretend, until Max. Hopefully Dunlap will tap into the inner giant of the School and make this a real program. (Wouldn't hurt the School to follow suit and tap Catholicity, its inner Giant) Interesting, Dunlaps had problemes with the Bobcats getting back on defense...its an issue he still needs to work on. Overall I am very pleased with Dunlap, he will deliver. But I loved the enthusiasm Bo expressed about wanting the job.

[longtimelionfan]

Very interesting and insightful article and a positive for a number of reasons. Among them:

1. I don't remember a previous media piece, particularly in a national media outlet, that was as in-depth or included so many impressions and quotes from those who were actually involved since the 80s;

2. It presented a variety of candidly expressed viewpoints and opinions from those previously and currently involved;

3. It provides a brief but national spotlight on the program now and provides a foundation for more national, regional and local attention should Dunlap be successful in building and sustaining a successful program; and, as such, should be a recruiting aid;

4. It demonstrates that irrespective of the personal views and slants of those of us who comment on this board that turning the program around and building a sustained, successful program at LMU is not as easy as any of us on this board make it out to be; and,

5. For me (and I suspect most of you), the most exciting thing, before this article I don't ever remember hearing or reading a high ranking LMU official ever express the goal of having a Top 50 program.

I sincerely hope but, like the title of the article suggests, don't know that Dunlap will be successful. But, I think it is correct to say that like him or not, support his hire or not, LMU would not have received this sort of detailed analysis and article in a national publication absent hiring Dunlap or someone of his national reputation or stature. For that, the University deserves credit. Agree or disagree with the Dunlap hire but it seems indisputable that the University is now actively trying to make the men's basketball program successful. As many of us know and the article demonstrates that wasn't always the case over the last few decades.

Makes this season and those ahead all the more exciting for Lions fans.

[golions1444]

I think the University is definitely committed now. I know for a fact Dunlap would not have taken the job if the administration was not committed to winning, i.e. putting up the money to build a successful program.

[ALioninWinter]

Great article. I too was most impressed by the number and breadth of interview quotes from a wide range of individuals.

I have to agree with Bove. There are so many intricacies to coaching that I don't see how someone without any experience could do the job. It's not the coaching part that is the problem. It's all the administrative stuff (NCAA rules, recruiting, etc). Sure you can hire a savvy assistant but that assistant won't be with you 24/7. I appreciate Bo's dedication but I agree he should work in a few college environments first.

I support Dunlap's hiring. He definitely has the tools to do the job. If he fails, it will be his stubbornness and unwillingness to listen to others who have valid points. Time will tell how he has learned from his previous experiences.

It is nice to finally hear a few words from the administration. I think the lack of communication from the university's upper echelons has been a real downer for the program. Where does senior leadership see the school and its BB program headed? When Burcham came on board he said he was a strong supporter of the BB program. That's the last official statement I ever heard. If the top officials want the program to be successful they need to provide some public guidance on their vision and then give the program the resources it needs. I presume some resources have been forthcoming. Dunlap would not have taken the job without some assurances. Now, I'd like to see/hear some more statements similar to Bove's in this article.

[slblions08]

Interesting article. VERY Interesting.

Some Positives:

1. We're on Grantland? Somebody is paying attention. Johnathan Abrams does good work and wouldn't just randomly pick a story on LMU. Yes, hiring Mike Dunlap does make LMU relevant on a greater scale. Too many connections, knows too many reporters and its interesting. How does an NBA coach and a guy who helped many high profile assistants just show up at a small mostly irrelevant school to coach. If LMU does anything positive over the next two seasons, there will be recognition.

2. The Administration actually says something? You're right everybody. The only words from administration since I've been a follower has been "we support Lion athletics". Wow. Interesting to hear from Bove and Husak. Bove gives us the real scoop though, which is yes, LMU lucked into that situation. She also keeps it real when she says "we never had any foundation for a big program." It just means that LMU never really cared about athletics. It really makes the accomplishments of Hank and Bo,etc that much greater when you think about it.

3. The article itself was really fair and balanced. It just laid out everything for us. There are perceived positives about Dunlap and perceived negatives. Same goes for Husak and for LMU in general.

4. Great to hear from the former coaches and their take. As much as we all hated Good, I almost felt sorry for him in this article. I do think he was fired the wrong way, and the way Dunlap was hired is almost too empowering for a newbie. But I guess thats what they felt they had to do in order to bring him in. Dunlap just seems to "slick" for me still. It was great to hear from Anthony. Any chance he's interested in a coaching career in the future? He's still a leader from France. And funny about the "bubble"..sounds like a true LMU alum.

Some negatives

1. Sounds like 25 years have been wasted. The administration treated LMU like a small town and the circus shows up and never comes back. Or maybe its Woodstock...man those were great memories years ago. Nobody back then had vision that, hey maybe sports and our story will help the university overall in the future. It would have made LMU that much greater academically. You know kids from all over apply to USC and UCLA, yet LMU provides the best of both. The intimacy of a private school and the safety of the neighborhood. Plus the networking. Kids shouldnt be thinking Pepperdine, they should think LMU.

2. It sounds like every coach that has left, including Westhead to Good are angry and disgruntled and feel that the administration never supported them. They are all angry. Like, I think they care about LMU but they just seem mad that it went sour. That screams to leadership, and yes to Husak.

3. Bill Bayno, screw you. I think he was the best coach for our program and still would be, but they way he left just was garbage. I get it. Illness. I understand that he has an illness but that was just wrong and even Max Good is angry. I mean hes not locked up in a hospital now hes transforming Toronto!!!

4. Okay last point. One missing piece to this article was that of the people around the program in LA. I have a former a coworker that was Hanks's brother's best friend (is it Derek?) His gf was at LMU and they all lived in Hannon. He was with Hank the morning before his death. He remembers the tremendous buzz of Gersten of which I can only know through story telling. He is now a respected youth basketball coach and knows everybody like Theus, Bland, Ollie, the old Crenshaw coach etc. He handles recruits. But he used to tell me always that there are TONS of recruits that would be directed towards LMU if the local basketball coaches knew that somebody good would be hired at LMU. But i think by good, he meant someone that had a connection that past. I guess going to LMU games was cheaper and intimate unlike a USC or UCLA in 1987-1990 and based on its location people went in droves. They have stories or whatever. He swears on his life that LMU would attract tons of talent but that nobody has reached out to that era. Basically, he says, LMU is the best place for parents to keep kids out of trouble or bad influences. Given the security, intimacy and people looking out for you on campus. However LMU shunned that whole thing like it never happened.

I mean why not give Bo Kimble the shot? The idea that you have to get practice for years as an assistant doesnt even work in the pros. Steve Kerry, Derek Fisher, Mark Jackson? In baseball Mike Matheny? I feel if Kimble is that passionate he'd work hard on it. Xs and Os? maybe not the best of the mat...but recruiting? Yes.

5. Just kidding. One more point. One of them says that two high end recruits dont just show up. You're right, but in the past 6 years we've had Viney, Young, Siame, Stewart all select LMU for some reason. None of them are Hank or Bo but still something. But is LMU too soft? Yes, the moves that LMU has taken to ruin the ROAR, keep them from chanting You Suck or anything is ridiculous. That make us unexciting. Fire Husak and his assistant the guy who walks around with the hanging badge. And where is the guy who used to be the keeper of Gersten, the lead usher? Bring him back

[Lion-O]

Very candid article. I remember the John Olive years. Painfully boring games to watch.

[husky]

Fair enough piece. Guess I'm not that familiar with all the network's resources; in fact, never heard of "Grantland". I have been accused of channeling my inner Grantland Rice (but without his grace). The descriptions of the school and campus cannot do anything but help.Plus I think the article mercifully left out that most students seldom get around to actually going to the games.

To sum it up: The arrival of a World Champion coach and 2 blue chip All Americans in the late 80's has proven to be so far impossible to duplicate.

Five facts. (1) On 1 Jan 2014 LMU 's 13/14 record was 11-4 including a great win over BYU (2) Injuries wrote the end to all that (3) The talent trajectory of returnees and recruits was the best in my memory and (4) We are going to improve and have some wins. (5) We can endure, it isn't as though this is new to us. So GO LIONS!!!

[ADG'99]

This is great! For those unfamiliar Grantland is owned by ESPN and curated by Bill "Sportsguy" Simmons. It is basically the New Yorker of sports writing, the Worldwide Leader has poured a bunch of money into it, hiring good professional writers. With new websites popping up all the time, I realize that it gets tough to know what is real and what is written by fans (e.g. SBNation). Trust me, this isn't one of those west coast hoops type websites. Its the real deal.

[LIONS90045]

Thanks Iron – that is a very interesting article. And great conversation on its contents.

I saw several interesting things in the write up:

Re Dunlap on coaching: “I was becoming too hard on the kids,” Dunlap said, explaining why he left Metro State. “I was becoming too hard on the administration. We were in pursuit of 1 percent. We were one of the top programs in America, so when a freshman came in he inherited a lot of burden as opposed to joy. I just became more and more demanding on everybody and I didn’t like who I was becoming. It was my fault, so I had to leave.”

I‘m hoping he is learning to work with the talent he has while developing players in the mold of his system, which I’m happy to assume will approve performance over the long term.

“Anthony Ireland, a three-time All-WCC guard who completed his senior season at LMU in March, said he believed the program needed a coaching change, and that the early feedback from his former teammates on Dunlap’s approach has been positive. Despite a decorated college career that included scoring more than 2,000 points and playing in all 132 of the Lions’ games during his four years on the team, Ireland’s accomplishments were overshadowed by frequent losses.”

Interesting comments from a Max staple. AI was also ecstatic about the LMU campus and ability to attract top players.

Re Bo Kimble’s self promotion as coach:

“Kimble said that if he were coach, he would restore Westhead’s system. “I would bring back the 100-points-a-game offense and I would recruit better than anybody on the West Coast because players would want to play that game,” he said. “I’d need a two-year window and guys will start transferring. I’ll recruit the best of the best.”

He also said: “He has remained close to the program throughout his career, first as a professional in the NBA and overseas and now as a volunteer coach at Shoreline Community College near Seattle. Kimble said he still gets excited when he returns to Loyola Marymount.”

“volunteer” = unpaid? Why not bring him in as an assistant coach and see if he can deliver on his recruiting magic? I can accept he needs tempering and experience before handing him a head coaching position at a significant D1 school.

Re Coach Good:

“Meanwhile, Good expressed dismay over how his tenure at LMU ended.”

Others have said Max was the most unlucky coach they knew with the injuries that limited LMU’s record last season. And some might argue that the Lions, this season anyway, might sport a better record this season with the departing players still here and Cartwright and Stewart in the fold than we might achieve in rebuilding under Dunlap. I’ll sigh and take my chances on the long term performance of the program under its new leadership. To date, I like the player development I’ve seen already especially with our big men.

Like Husky, I was not familiar with Grantland but they did write an intelligent and thorough article. But then I did not know who Iggy Azelia was until I saw her picture in today's paper. I thought it was a guy.

[ironlion]

Happy Thanksgiving all!

[slblions08]

3 years since this article and still the most insightful. Seems to me that Dunlap has reverted to his old habits, and the administration as well.