The Strongest Link?!?!

[THEGYMBAR]

I asked on previous thread on the Dick Strong influence on the program moving forward. My take is that is hire or support of TC made things better. Is that influence going to build or did he overstay his need/welcome?
Is he a difference maker or an overzealous supporter?

[esotericmindguy]

I asked on previous thread on the Dick Strong influence on the program moving forward. My take is that is hire or support of TC made things better. Is that influence going to build or did he overstay his need/welcome?
Is he a difference maker or an overzealous supporter?

Well from what I heard and understand, Strong allowed Crean to use his jet for recruiting purposes and also paid a good chunk of his salary.  As long as he continues to do that I would say he hasn't overstayed his welcome.  Rumor had it that Strong and others were riding Crean about the G'town loss and not making it out of the first round with the big 3. 

I say good for him for putting the screws to crean puff.

[79Warrior]

Well from what I heard and understand, Strong allowed Crean to use his jet for recruiting purposes and also paid a good chunk of his salary.  As long as he continues to do that I would say he hasn't overstayed his welcome.  Rumor had it that Strong and others were riding Crean about the G'town loss and not making it out of the first round with the big 3. 

I say good for him for putting the screws to crean puff.

Gtwn loss squarely on Crean for failing to foul.

[THEGYMBAR]

DS paid above and beyond the $1.6m TC received. Bergrstrom has a jet and I would assume it could be used by men's head coach. Is his influence right for moving forward? Money and planes can be had in many ways, but a supporter that knows ball is tougher to find.

Granted Strong gave TC some heat after Georgetown. Was that too little, too late? IF I was banking the show I would have been TC's butt for three years. So, question remains the same...is DS a help or black cloud over the joint?

If ,and I say if, TC stroked DS off to get Buzz the job I think it was a mistake. DS strength is stealing top notch fund managers with money as motive...what happened here? I think he knows he can run Buzz around the block. We do not DS running the program, outside of a billion bucks he reminds me of TC's deadbeat father in law.

[ChicosBailBonds]

I'm curious what all the vitriol is toward Jack Harbaugh from some.

[Sir Lawrence]

I'm curious what all the vitriol is toward Jack Harbaugh from some.

I agree--he is a nice, decent guy, that was actually friendly to the people paying his salary.  Sure, he was part of the Crean benefit package, but there were an awful lot of folks around here singing his praises during the tournament, only to crap on him now. 

[THEGYMBAR]

Harbaugh---he was brought here so he and was wife could be a nanny for he Crean kids. How does that equate to the job he has now. Quite honestly I wish Tom and Joanie needed a nanny in Bloomington. Unfortunately Jack knows better. No offense to Harbaugh, but outside of walking season ticket holders out to be honored what does he do?

[mug644]

Granted Strong gave TC some heat after Georgetown. Was that too little, too late? IF I was banking the show I would have been TC's butt for three years. So, question remains the same...is DS a help or black cloud over the joint?

I think you hinted at an answer right there. You are not Dick Strong, and you would've been riding Crean's butt. He didn't. Yes, he put pressure on, but don't most of us agree that the time was right to put pressure on? Perhaps he was willing to not go ballistic until seeing what would happen in the tournament. Since we could've/should've beat Stanford, maybe (just maybe) Strong put the fear of ...  into Crean before he even got back to Milwaukee. Maybe Crean didn't have the balls to weather the storm, and he took the first plane out, and it was to godforsaken Bloomington.

I'm not a fan of any one donor (or a cabal, for that matter) haven't such sway within a program, but it seems possible that Strong is not being to strong, that he is playing his cards (and dollars) wisely.

Now, if he's directly behind the Buzz hire, well, I'm definitely against that. Only because I believe that a group can usually make a better decision than an individual. Strong may have been valuable in helping us break from someone who wasn't going to be able to move us farther, but he should tread carefully about how much his opinion serve as the direction of the program in the years to come.

[wampum77]

Harbaugh struck me as a huckster just like his son in law.  His "one act play" before the MU vs Michigan State game was absolutely disgusting extolling the qualities of Tommy.  Then the star of the show (Tommy) was just brilliant during the game--- absolutely lost regarding a coaching strategy and don't tell me it was all because of McNeal being out.  Tommy Tan would have trouble adjusting a rheostat.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

I know a lot of people on this board thought Harbaugh's rah-rah speech before the Kentucky game was great. I thought it was entirely inappropriate and was purely a show for his family who was standing at the back of the room. Total nonsense.

Do well-heeled alums who paid a lot of money to travel with the team, want the coaches father in law feeding his own ego by giving them a "pep talk?" I doubt it. These weren't college-aged football players. It was an act. Save that crap for the locker room.

I would have walked out.

[jce]

It is always difficult with these supporters.  They are absolutely essential to the success of your program, and every school has a couple...even Division III schools do.  But there is a fine line between supporting the program and exerting too much influence.  Where is that line?  Look at Okie State and T. Boone Pickens.  The money has been fantastic for the program, helping to improve the facilities and the profile.  However, how much influence does Pickens now have?  What if the goals of the University are in conflict with Pickens?  What concessions did OSU have to make to get the money?

[Fullodds]

Jack gave the exact type of speech in San Diego.  It was actually very well received.

I always liked Jack.  He treated me, my family, and others I saw interacting with him and his family (wife, sons, etc.) with class and respect.  I never thought of him as anything but a guy helping out his family. 

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Harbaugh---he was brought here so he and was wife could be a nanny for he Crean kids. How does that equate to the job he has now. Quite honestly I wish Tom and Joanie needed a nanny in Bloomington. Unfortunately Jack knows better. No offense to Harbaugh, but outside of walking season ticket holders out to be honored what does he do?

Sheesh.

How do you know all of this stuff?

Amazing. 

[Sir Lawrence]

I know a lot of people on this board thought Harbaugh's rah-rah speech before the Kentucky game was great. I thought it was entirely inappropriate and was purely a show for his family who was standing at the back of the room. Total nonsense.

Do well-heeled alums who paid a lot of money to travel with the team, want the coaches father in law feeding his own ego by giving them a "pep talk?" I doubt it. These weren't college-aged football players. It was an act. Save that crap for the locker room.

I would have walked out.

Maybe you would have walked out.  I doubt that I would have.  I respect the cred you've earned, PRN, for seeing the dark side of Crean (while I either didn't recognize it, or chose to ignore it).  Yes, he was (is) a self promoting, egotistical arse, but Marquette certainly benefited from the by-product of his persona.  The summer after he was hired I confronted him at an awards night he attended at my parish grade school.  He referenced in his speech the difficulty of dealing with players transferring.  I asked him how long MU could expect HIM to stay loyal to the program.  His answer did not instill confidence.  Despite that, I still am happy with what he did for the program.  And no, I'll never forgive him for the manner in which he departed, and I take little issue with the comments you've made since April 1.

Ripping on Jack Harbaugh, however, seems very petty.  I might be the biggest ass clown on the planet (I suspect some on my staff would testify under oath about that) but what does that have to do with my father-in-law?  He's a sweet old man.  So is Jack Harbaugh.  I seriously doubt Jack was giving the speech to provide a show to his family. 

[THEGYMBAR]

2002mualum---I know because I know. FYI there are people on this board that are close to the program.

[wampum77]

"Harbough helping out his family"?  Please tell me his job description at Marquette?  I'm told that Tommy was not a particularly good team player within the AD much less in the BE.  Was Harbough there to mend fences and build bridges?  Please don't tell me about Tommy's donation to build a soccer stadium.  If there wasn't something in it for Tommy, he didn't do it. 

The motivational approach carried Tommy as far as it could at Marquette and the BE and he was smart enough to know it. 

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

2002mualum---I know because I know. FYI there are people on this board that are close to the program.

I guess so.

Forgive me if it seems like you have an axe to grind and you are embellishing and speculating in a manner that supports your belief that Crean is a jerk.

I'm not trying to fight with you, it's just that I can only go with what I know is fact, not what is just purely speculation.

[ChicosBailBonds]

PRN, why was it inappropriate?  It's exactly what was advertised....it was a pep rally and a pep talk was given.

No one had a gun to anyone's head to be there.  People knew exactly what they were there for.  It was fun, it got the fans riled up and ready to cheer on the team.  Seriously what the hell was inappropriate about it?

[ChicosBailBonds]

I guess so.

Forgive me if it seems like you have an axe to grind and you are embellishing and speculating in a manner that supports your belief that Crean is a jerk.

I'm not trying to fight with you, it's just that I can only go with what I know is fact, not what is just purely speculation.

And we wonder why KO, Deane and Crean all said our fans are complete tools and they couldn't wait to jump ship.

[THEGYMBAR]

2002MUalum---axe to grind with TC? Hardly, I am very happy he built the program to where it is today and equally as happy he left.

I could care less if TC hired 47 family members. It is was it is, a joke. My comments on why Jack moved here are accurate and really who cares now.

I promise you I have no axe to grind.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

2002MUalum---axe to grind with TC? Hardly, I am very happy he built the program to where it is today and equally as happy he left.

I could care less if TC hired 47 family members. It is was it is, a joke. My comments on why Jack moved here are accurate and really who cares now.

I promise you I have no axe to grind.

OK... I'll just take it as face value.

I'm just highly speculative of people who rip people on message boards and say stuff like "because I know". How am I supposed to react to that? (*shrug*).

I'm not calling you a liar, but honestly, I don't really know the validity of most of the stuff that is getting posted lately.

I am curious as to why all this anti-crean sentiment is coming up now (from a lot of posters)

It just appears like sour grapes.

Maybe it is, maybe it isn't.

[THEGYMBAR]

2002mualum...read my post. I very much appreciate TC for taking from a bottom tier program to top tier program. I want to look forward, unfortunately sometimes you have to learn from the past to succeed in the future. TC build a foundation and that is awesome. I couldn't care less if he was the biggest dick in the world as long we won.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

2002mualum...read my post. I very much appreciate TC for taking from a bottom tier program to top tier program. I want to look forward, unfortunately sometimes you have to learn from the past to succeed in the future. TC build a foundation and that is awesome. I couldn't care less if he was the biggest dick in the world as long we won.

I'm not sure I understand then...

If you appreciate the work he did, why are you blasting the Harbaugh family thing?

[THEGYMBAR]

2002mualum....The Harbaugh thing is learning from the past. MU allowed TC too much power and we are now stuck with Uncle Jack. TC did great job but there was ZERO need for Jack to be here.

My point is, I don't want to see Buzz's family collecting checks from MU in the future. Business, and college ball is business, should not be run that way. Never do business with family. TC needed someone to watch his back/be on his side and he got Jack.

[downtown85]

I am curious as to why all this anti-crean sentiment is coming up now (from a lot of posters)

Uhhhh....could it be that it is now clear he is raiding our recruits.  

I had mild qwalms about him while he was here.  I didn't care much for him but as long as we won, I was actually kind of glad he was our coach.

When he left, I thought of it as an opportunity for MU to have an upgrade at Coach.  I actually wished him to do well at IU.  Now that it is clear he is trying to re-build that program on the back of recruiting done at MU, I think he is the scum of the earth.  I hope he falls flat on his face at IU.  Sorry, that is just the way I feel.