I came to SHU in the fall of 1964 on a men's basketball scholarship. For our younger readers SHU was the first college to make HEADLINES in 1960 when 2 players, Hicks and Gunther, were caught shaving points for gamblers and because of that the Board of Regents put several sanctions on the program..
Games would have to be on east coast, no in season or post season tournaments for several years, etc.
I will admit that this hurt recruiting and the quality of players who came to the Hall was not as gifted as many of our opponents at that time. We played hard for Coach Regan and tried to represent the University well.
SHU is still a hard place to sell to recruits. A nice campus but very small compared to some other places-
If you drive up South Orange Avenue from the Parkway your first impression is not favorable---and several other things.
I live near the Syracuse Carrier Dome and they can bring a player in and tell them on a bad night you will play in front of 20-22,000 fans, on a good night 35,000- W can not compete with that.
WHAT I want from SHU is to be competitive in the league on a regular basis- Hopefully with 5 minutes to go in most games we have a chance to win- Some years top third, most years 4-6 spot. Make sure the kids who stay 4 years are coming out with a meaningful degree. Players not getting into trouble and making headlines and that kind of stuff.
I think the roster we had this year is closer to Big East caliber players in total then we have had recently BUT I feel that the coaching staff needs to make changes- Whether coaches themselves or how the team executes an offense.
Finally IF the rumor is true that Coach Willard was looking at the Holy Cross position HOW can he be kept as our coach? His loyalty is now in question and we have to bite the bullet and replace him.
Edited for easier reading.
This post was edited on 3/26 8:37 AM by Halldan1
Games would have to be on east coast, no in season or post season tournaments for several years, etc.
I will admit that this hurt recruiting and the quality of players who came to the Hall was not as gifted as many of our opponents at that time. We played hard for Coach Regan and tried to represent the University well.
SHU is still a hard place to sell to recruits. A nice campus but very small compared to some other places-
If you drive up South Orange Avenue from the Parkway your first impression is not favorable---and several other things.
I live near the Syracuse Carrier Dome and they can bring a player in and tell them on a bad night you will play in front of 20-22,000 fans, on a good night 35,000- W can not compete with that.
WHAT I want from SHU is to be competitive in the league on a regular basis- Hopefully with 5 minutes to go in most games we have a chance to win- Some years top third, most years 4-6 spot. Make sure the kids who stay 4 years are coming out with a meaningful degree. Players not getting into trouble and making headlines and that kind of stuff.
I think the roster we had this year is closer to Big East caliber players in total then we have had recently BUT I feel that the coaching staff needs to make changes- Whether coaches themselves or how the team executes an offense.
Finally IF the rumor is true that Coach Willard was looking at the Holy Cross position HOW can he be kept as our coach? His loyalty is now in question and we have to bite the bullet and replace him.
Edited for easier reading.
This post was edited on 3/26 8:37 AM by Halldan1
