[NU Sports] Barnett

[cherron604 at aol.com]

Just a couple of points:
 
If, 20 years from now, Gary Barnett was coaching in Evanston (time frame suggested so as to indicate that he did not succeed anyone in any way other than a normal, peaceful succession), I would not be upset in any way.  As a Chicagoan, the time he was here was very fun (sans the wandering eye), both on the field and off.  There is something inherently fun about a coach who is the toast of the media, has his own namesake restaurant, a coaches show, is a fixture on the rubber-chicken and celebrity golf circuits, etc, etc.  Somebody who analyzed such things could probably speak to a group's attachment to the classic 'lovable rogue' character, charismatic and intriguing if not a perfect choirboy, often at the expense of the harder-working, nose-to-the-grindstone, somewhat less-charismatic individual (haven't there been dozens of movies based on this premise ?).
 
Roy said:
 
"but you have to admit he gets as much out of his players as many of the other top coaches in the game today."
 
I am not entirely convinced of this just yet - as several have opined on here, that still needs to be proven, especially in some non-Basanez seasons.
 
Roy also added:
 
"and he's surrounded himself with good assistants, some of whom will move on to better jobs in the future."
 
Here also, there could be some discussion.  I think we all like Dunbar, Fitzgerald and Johns, but I think that quite a few of us have issues with Jerry Brown and Greg Colby, at least.
 
Do we have a pool yet on when Dunbar leaves for a better job ?
 
Chuck Herron   Tech '85




 
-----Original Message-----
From: Roy Lamberton <rstetson at capps-assoc.com>
To: 'SjT (Stephen J. Truog)' <sjtruog at yahoo.com>; nwu-sports at romaine.tssi.com
Sent: Mon, 5 Dec 2005 08:57:30 -0500
Subject: RE: [NU Sports] Barnett


And who probably would not be welcome by many NU sports fans.

I'm sure there are those at ND who wish for the return of Rockne, or Alabama
wishing for the Bear, but you can't go back, only forward.

In any case, we have a head coach who is not publicly looking for another job,
who just pulled a 7-4 season out of a team who was picked to be 4-7 at best, and
who got the team into a bowl.

You can dislike his "aw-shucks" attitude, some of his media comments after
games, or any other thing about him personally, but you have to admit he gets as
much out of his players as many of the other top coaches in the game today.

NU is a tough place to coach. There are students on your team with superior
intellects who are used to being both the star of their team, and the tops in
their class. You not only have to deal with kids who can internalize setbacks,
but get them all working together towards a common goal. Many of the NU players
are used to being "the man" who got it done by themselves.

I'm sure Gary Barnett was an outstanding recruiter and great with the parents.
Randy Walker also fits that requirement, and he's surrounded himself with good
assistants, some of whom will move on to better jobs in the future.

I don't know what RW did down in Texas when he first took over, but there seems
to be a small group that absolutely hates Randy Walker. I have my theories, but
they're not for this forum.

Anyway, enjoy the bowl...down there in Texas

Go Cats

rsl

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Roy S. Lamberton - Senior Associate
Computer Applications & Support Associates
and Publisher of Purple Reign, 
The Scout.com Northwestern University Site
(http://www.purplewildcats.com)
AIM Handle: CoachRoy74
======== Go Cats -  Beat 'em All ===========
Every time I think I've got this Computer 
Biz handled 
            -- There's another upgrade.
============================================

It was just a bit of bewilderment
> that we've spent most of the bandwith the last 3-4
> weeks bemoaning Walker and talking wishfully about our
> old coach - who left us and will not be coming back.
> 
> GO CATS!!!
> -SjT
> 
>


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