Jim Phillips

[VirginiaWildcat]

At the risk of raising the ire of some posters here, wanted to bring some attention to Dr. Jim. The heat he took after making the coaching change was absolutely unreal. On this board alone, he was called all sorts of names, accused of sabotaging Carmody (along with several other false claims). I remember things said such as "Jim, we see you sweat, boy!"

In the end, he got his vindication. He made a coaching change that he knew, in his gut, was the right move, even if a small, but very vocal minority, heavily resisted the change (to the point where some have stopped being fans). Unfortunately for them, but wonderfully awesome for the rest of us, NU basketball has gone on to greater things!

Congrats, Dr. Jim!

 

[julescat]

Dr. Jim is a fantastic AD. Without a doubt. The best that NU has ever had or will ever have.

 

[NJCat]

Dr. Jim is a fantastic AD. Without a doubt. The best that NU has ever had or will ever have.

Agree. He has done a great job. His coaching choices have been very good, and he is a fund raiser par excellence.

 

[Mossreportdos]

Agree. He has done a great job. His coaching choices have been very good, and he is a fund raiser par excellence.

Doug Collins was just on espn with Chris and the second thing he did was say how great Jim Phillips and Morty are and that gave him faith that the Chris taking this job would be a good thing.

 

[NJCat]

Doug Collins was just on espn with Chris and the second thing he did was say how great Jim Phillips and Morty are and that gave him faith that the Chris taking this job would be a good thing.

Saw that interview. He was really great talking up what great support CCC has at NU. Dougie will be in SLC Thursday. Look for many shots of him in agony during the game.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Saw that interview. He was really great talking up what great support CCC has at NU. Dougie will be in SLC Thursday. Look for many shots of him in agony during the game.

In agony? Hope not.

 

[NJCat]

In agony?

All part of being a Cats fan.

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

Very smart guy!

 

[Sec.112]

a) Virginia, you know the good Dr. is still taking a beating out there.

b) I was absolutely amazed how much support Phillips' predecessor, Mark Murphy, received. I would come out here and shred him, and people were ga-ga over him. I think they liked how he answered their emails. My favorite was always the argument for that NU won some cup for the performance of all its teams.

Murphy did absolutely zlich, and it's pretty surprising how much Phillips has raised and built despite that capital deficit on top of the historic NU issues.

c) With all that said, allow me to add one anti-JP note. It's a real shame Shon Morris wasn't there today. Until he left, there were few who were bigger champions of the basketball program.

I understand Phillips needed a new direction business culture, but there HAS to be a place for Morris at events like this and many, many others.

I saw the man cry once when NU gained an NIT berth, for godsakes. He bleeds NU hoops.

 

[rwhitney014]

a) Virginia, you know the good Dr. is still taking a beating out there.

b) I was absolutely amazed how much support Phillips' predecessor, Mark Murphy, received. I would come out here and shred him, and people were ga-ga over him. I think they liked how he answered their emails. My favorite was always the argument for that NU won some cup for the performance of all its teams.

Murphy did absolutely zlich, and it's pretty surprising how much Phillips has raised and built despite that capital deficit on top of the historic NU issues.

c) With all that said, allow me to add one anti-JP note. It's a real shame Shon Morris wasn't there today. Until he left, there were few who were bigger champions of the basketball program.

I understand Phillips needed a new direction business culture, but there HAS to be a place for Morris at events like this and many, many others.

I saw the man cry once when NU gained an NIT berth, for godsakes. He bleeds NU hoops.

I don't know if one has to do with the other, or if it matters, but Shon was on BTN's coverage today. Just throwing it out there.

 

[jjjjjjj]

Very smart guy!

No doubt, and he's obviously doing a great job. But I'm sure he would agree that luck plays a big part in the success of any coaching hire, especially when you're hiring an assistant.

Of course, given the program's historic bad luck, we were due.

 

[NUCat320]

Dr. Jim never should have given Carmody a two-year extension. If he knew CBC wasn't the guy for the long-haul, he should have cut bait. A two-year extension is the dreaded "vote of confidence".

We know - because it was leaked to Teddy G - that CCC had been in their sights for forever; it just should have happened two years earlier.

For what it's worth, Virginia, you could have held this off for 3 1/2 weeks - Dr. Jim's true vindication comes Monday night, April 3.

"The ball is tipped..."

 

[VirginiaWildcat]

Dr. Jim never should have given Carmody a two-year extension. If he knew CBC wasn't the guy for the long-haul, he should have cut bait. A two-year extension is the dreaded "vote of confidence".

Didn't you tell me about three weeks ago that Carmody was fired at the right time? Geez...

Anyhoo...I remember your posts in the days after he was fired. Somehow giving BC a chance to build off his NIT run was "bad". Of course, had he really been let go two years earlier, you guys would have REALLY lost your minds! Please accept the fact that regardless of how BC was let go, you would have raised holy hell. Phillips did it the best way he could...gave BC a chance, and when the writing was on the wall (recruits like Ajou, Turner, etc), he made the necessary move.

And look where we are now.

 

[NUCat320]

Didn't you tell me about three weeks ago that Carmody was fired at the right time? Geez...

Anyhoo...I remember your posts in the days after he was fired. Somehow giving BC a chance to build off his NIT run was "bad". Of course, had he really been let go two years earlier, you guys would have REALLY lost your minds! Please accept the fact that regardless of how BC was let go, you would have raised holy hell. Phillips did it the best way he could...gave BC a chance, and when the writing was on the wall (recruits like Ajou, Turner, etc), he made the necessary move.

And look where we are now.

Two years is not a commitment, it's not a chance. It's telling a recruit that his coach might not make it through his freshman year, or until a junior recruit gets on campus.

The only other two year commitment I've seen in college sports was the deal given to the interim football coach, Cubit - and he was also fired before the term was out.

You chose to bring it up, bro.

 

[EvanstonCat]

At the risk of raising the ire of some posters here, wanted to bring some attention to Dr. Jim. The heat he took after making the coaching change was absolutely unreal. On this board alone, he was called all sorts of names, accused of sabotaging Carmody (along with several other false claims). I remember things said such as "Jim, we see you sweat, boy!"

In the end, he got his vindication. He made a coaching change that he knew, in his gut, was the right move, even if a small, but very vocal minority, heavily resisted the change (to the point where some have stopped being fans). Unfortunately for them, but wonderfully awesome for the rest of us, NU basketball has gone on to greater things!

Congrats, Dr. Jim!

This said, I think the majority of the board wanted change and included folks who thought Carmody should have been fired years ago. I think they were the majority, even if some were more thankful for Carmody's accomplishments than others. I think the very vocal minority you talked about were never NU fans but Carmody/Princeton fans. As you have pointed out, they stopped being fans, because they never were really NU fans. Good riddance (except that one guy who will go unnamed who still likes to post here when NU loses - hope this shuts him up and he never comes back ever again). NU nation is better off without them.

 

[catsattackfor3]

BC got a long time and how he survived those bad years in year 7 / 9 where he lost 18 and 22 games was pretty amazing.. The program actually improved when he finally after years added assistants like Tavaras Hardy who actually went out and recruited players. That first staff he had - had zero business coaching in the Big Ten - none of them ever recruited at a scholarship school let alone at this level (Craig Robinson?? the guy from Columbia?? and Mitch Henderson who turned out to be a nice coach was fresh out of playing over-seas), Carmody had a nice little nucleus when he first got here (Hardy, Johnson, young, McCants) but did nothing recruiting wise to add to that group, then finally started to get some players in year 9.

. Who knows what would have happened had Coble still played or Shurna not got hurt...those were NIT teams that with just a little more would have made yesterday happen years ago. Although I never agreed that BC was the guy I really believe he set a foundation that it was possible to be competitive at NU and the door could be kicked down. 20 win seasons and 3 NIT trips proved we were not a doormat any longer and kids especially local ones like Thompson, Shurna, Crawford actually wanted to come here, Just enjoy the moment, enjoy CC is here for as long as he will and lets get through this weekend which is very possible.

 

[VirginiaWildcat]

Two years is not a commitment, it's not a chance. It's telling a recruit that his coach might not make it through his freshman year, or until a junior recruit gets on campus.

The only other two year commitment I've seen in college sports was the deal given to the interim football coach, Cubit - and he was also fired before the term was out.

You chose to bring it up, bro.

So you DIDN'T mean it when you said Carmody was fired at the right time?

Please give me a scenario where you would've been fine with Carmody getting fired. I'll answer: there isn't one.

 

[hdhntr1]

a) Virginia, you know the good Dr. is still taking a beating out there.

b) I was absolutely amazed how much support Phillips' predecessor, Mark Murphy, received. I would come out here and shred him, and people were ga-ga over him. I think they liked how he answered their emails. My favorite was always the argument for that NU won some cup for the performance of all its teams.

Murphy did absolutely zlich, and it's pretty surprising how much Phillips has raised and built despite that capital deficit on top of the historic NU issues.

c) With all that said, allow me to add one anti-JP note. It's a real shame Shon Morris wasn't there today. Until he left, there were few who were bigger champions of the basketball program.

I understand Phillips needed a new direction business culture, but there HAS to be a place for Morris at events like this and many, many others.

I saw the man cry once when NU gained an NIT berth, for godsakes. He bleeds NU hoops.

Murphy was not here all that long but made an impact. He did make the move to put PF in his role as HC. Did he hire KAH? Did he oversee the Lakeside field? Morris was still in DC with the BTT. If not, he might have been there. But I cannot disagree it was sad to see him go.

 

[hdhntr1]

No doubt, and he's obviously doing a great job. But I'm sure he would agree that luck plays a big part in the success of any coaching hire, especially when you're hiring an assistant.

Of course, given the program's historic bad luck, we were due.

Prior to that, NU had tried to hire ex Duke assistants as HCs and Coach K usually put the kabosh on it. It did not appear he did this time, maybe because he say a change with Phillips at the helm

 

[hdhntr1]

Dr. Jim never should have given Carmody a two-year extension. If he knew CBC wasn't the guy for the long-haul, he should have cut bait. A two-year extension is the dreaded "vote of confidence".

We know - because it was leaked to Teddy G - that CCC had been in their sights for forever; it just should have happened two years earlier.

For what it's worth, Virginia, you could have held this off for 3 1/2 weeks - Dr. Jim's true vindication comes Monday night, April 3.

"The ball is tipped..."

It may have been that CCC was in their sights but perhaps he was not gettable when BC was given the extension.

 

[NUCat320]

So you DIDN'T mean it when you said Carmody was fired at the right time?

Please give me a scenario where you would've been fine with Carmody getting fired. I'll answer: there isn't one.

You are very bad at reading comprehension. I have, in fact, stated that Carmody should have been fired sooner.

1. Phillips should have fired him rather than giving him a two-year extension.

2. Given that he had granted the two-year extension, then he fired him at the right time, given that the program had plateaued. The first year of the extension - Carmody's last year in charge - was a lost year for the program.

It's allllllll goooooood, though. Go Cats.

 

[VirginiaWildcat]

You are very bad at reading comprehension. I have, in fact, stated that Carmody should have been fired sooner.

If he had been fired after the NIT season, you would have had no problem with it?

 

[FeliSilvestris]

BC got a long time and how he survived those bad years in year 7 / 9 where he lost 18 and 22 games was pretty amazing.. The program actually improved when he finally after years added assistants like Tavaras Hardy who actually went out and recruited players.

You may be confused. BC won almost 50% of his B1G games in his SECOND season. He won exactly 50% in his fourth season. Hid did have rough 7th/8th years. The main reason he survived was his very early success. Eventually he stabilized the program about 40% B1G win percentage mark. Not great, not very good, but A LOT BETTER than most before him for the preceding several decades.
It's crazy to argue that he could have accomplished that (when some many had failed) without being a very good coach. The fact he did it (supposedly) without being a good recruiter makes it even more remarkable.

 

[FeliSilvestris]

Prior to that, NU had tried to hire ex Duke assistants as HCs and Coach K usually put the kabosh on it. It did not appear he did this time, maybe because he say a change with Phillips at the helm

If coach K indeed did so, an important consideration must have been the state of COMPETITIVENESS of the NU program. You can't seriously argue that it makes no difference whether you are taking over a program that is winning 40+% of its league games, versus one that barely wins any game at all. No serious person would take such argument seriously.

 

[Fitz51]

You may be confused. BC won almost 50% of his B1G games in his SECOND season. He won exactly 50% in his fourth season. Hid did have rough 7th/8th years. The main reason he survived was his very early success. Eventually he stabilized the program about 40% B1G win percentage mark. Not great, not very good, but A LOT BETTER than most before him for the preceding several decades.
It's crazy to argue that he could have accomplished that (when some many had failed) without being a very good coach. The fact he did it (supposedly) without being a good recruiter makes it even more remarkable.

x-44-x-50-x-x-rough-rough

 

[NUCat320]

If he had been fired after the NIT season, you would have had no problem with it?

If the options were:
2 year extension; or
Cut bait

If Dr Jim, in post-firing interviews, had said "We weren't comfortable enough with the progress of the program to give him more ban two years," I would have applauded his vision and courage as a leader while concurrently feeling bad for the newly-unemployed CBC, who had already taken NU from point A (laughingstock) to point B (consistent .500+ seasons and postseason bids).

If he had just been fired with no justification, I would have been irate. I still miss our coach's shoulder shrugs.