It is only May, but there have already been dramatic shifts in the ACC coaching ranks. At no time in the history of the ACC have 3 coaching changes taken place in one off season. That came to an end this spring as Clemson, Boston College and Wake Forest will all have new coaches patrolling the sidelines. Include Tony Bennett at UVA last year and a thrid of the league has had a change of head coach. Let’s take a look at each of the school’s selections.
Boston College- Al Skinner did a great job at BC, getting to the NCAA’s 7 times and making the Eagles a factor when they entered the ACC. He arrived at BC before AD Gene DeFillipo and the two were polar opposites as far as their personalities were concerned- Skinner more laid back and hands off, DeFilippo full of energy. Even with succes, Skinner’s brand of basketball was not exciting and attendance at the Conte Forum waned. DeFillipo came to the conclusion he needed an infussion of energy and made a change.
In comes Steve Donahue from Cornell. He had a great run there, winning three straight Ivy League titles and getting them to the sweet 16 last year. They also had regular season wins vs. Wisconsin and Temple en route to a 29 win season. His teams are not wide open but they do score alot, take care of the ball and shoot the three very well. This will be a departure from Skinner’s style and should be more entertaining. It will be interesting to see, with the quality of athlete he can now recruit, how Donahue fairs against ACC competition.
Clemson- Oliver Purnell’s departure from Clemson caught alot of people by surprise. His hiring at Depaul came quickly and he never even gave Clemson a chance to retain him. He had incredible success with the Tigers, with four straight 20 win seasons and 3 straight NCAA berths but his success in March was limited. At the end of the day, carping about his lack of post season success along with DePaul emptying the fault lead to his departure.
Enter Brad Brownell. He has had a quick rise through the ranks, taking over for Jerry Wainright at UNC Wilmington, getting the Seahawks to the NCAA’s twice. Next stop was Wright St., where he won 20 games all four years and won the Horizon league in 2007. Brownell’s teams are tough-minded on defense but will not press full court like Purnell’s squads. He reminds people in Clemson of their football coach, Dabo Swinney- a can do, no nonsense coach. He is a proven winner, but this is his highest profile job in the toughest conference yet. His mission is to make the Tiger’s a factor in March.
Wake Forest- A lack of post season succes also lead to Dino Gaudio’s departure. His regular season record over three years was outstanding, but his teams always wilted as the season went along. Even an NCAA win against Texas this year could not save his job in AD Ron Wellman’s eyes. I disagreed with this move when I heard of it. I have the utmost respect for Wellman but I thought Gaudio did a marvelous job after Skip Prosser’s death and, on the surface, should have gotten another year. Ther must have been something going on behind the scene that precipitated this move.
Gaudio’s replacement is the most curious hire of the three. Jeff Bzdelick, a Pat Riley disciple with a mostly NBA pedigree, comes over after stints at Air Force and Colorado. His record on the collegiate level is marginal, at best, and his teams have had very little success in the post season.He is a devotee of the Princeton offense and prefers to play a matchup zone. I have always said that guys are either pro coaches or college coaches. Wellman is betting alot that Bzdelick can come in and make Wake a factor in March.
It is interesting to note that none of the hires are marquis names. None of the AD’s tried to win the press conference with coaching stars. Looking back, Jim Valvano, Bobby Cremins and Mike Krzyzewski weren’t household names at the time of their hiring, but all went on to become icons. These three schools are hoping for the same thing with this new group.