Xavier loses again

[Cincyfan78]

I thought Mack's behavior after the fight said everything about his personality.... He was willing to let the inmates run the asylum. Let someone else shut them up. Let someone else discipline them. He didn't want to take a stand.

UC has run a program full of questionable characters for many years. But never once did I get the feeling that the coach wasn't in control. I always knew that Huggins would throw anyone off the team and I feel the same way about Mick. The thing is that you can recruit and even live with questionable character players, but the minute you give up control, you're finished. Rex Ryan is currently learning this in the NFL.

This! 100%

Rep'd.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Mick has really won me over the last two years....I don't think I fully realized the daunting task he faced when he took over, and just how decimated the team was.....Nancy Z basically killed Huggs ability to recruit, so after Andy K took over for a year the cupboard was left really bare....Mick can recruit, but he didn't have a chance to get started the first year, all the players were basically gone....they've improved a bit year by year, and Mick has risen to every challenge, and is to be commended for how he handled this last crisis.....he could be here a long time, and the program is well back on the way to prominence again.....

I don't think a lot of people know just how bad it was here at UC.

UC was on the door for APR violations. Would have been a MASSIVE blow had they lost scholarships and possible post-season play ability. No way anyone would have been able to recruit for 2-3 years.

Huggins was banned from recruiting nearly a full year, when you think about all the restrictions and everything. Kennedy didn't really recruit at all, as I think he knew he wasn't going to be kept. Losing Downey after AK left was a big blow. He would have been a really good stop-gap player. Adding him with Vaughn would have given UC at least 2 more wins in the BE and probably more in NonConf games in each of their years together early on. Doesn't sound like much.

UC basically wasn't recruited from just before Huggin's last year through the time that Mick got here. And he got here late, and wasn't able to sign anyone, really. The guys he got, Wilks, McClain, Davis..etc...were all left-over players no one signed. His first real recruiting class came with Dixon and Gates. Not shabby...but think about the length of time between recruiting classes from Huggin's next to last year til Mick took over. That's basically 3 years UC went without any type of real recruiting effort.

What Mick has been able to do and in the conference he's been able to do it in is nothing short of amazing.