any insiders have any info on Capel?

[AppDawg]

Honest question. What has he done?

First of all, I am not an overly big fan of CC, but there are good things he has done. Among them, he started running our athletics program like a D1 institution. I have a friend that played baseball during the transition between Laney and CC. Prior to CC he said the program was ran like a small town High School program that was an afterthought. When CC came on, he said it was night and day the attention they got. He said CC reached out to the players amd coaches and asked what do you need to be successful?

I tell this story to point out, there may not be tangible things you can point to, but he was an instrumental part in changing the mindset of the athletics department from a "we can't" to a "we can do" attitude. That is something that can't be measured.

I also happen to believe the rehiring of "his name who shall not be mentioned" was a great hire at the time. Of course hindsight is 20/20 and who would have saw Wilmington luring him away???

[bcoach]

Honest question. What has he done?

First of all, I am not an overly big fan of CC, but there are good things he has done. Among them, he started running our athletics program like a D1 institution. I have a friend that played baseball during the transition between Laney and CC. Prior to CC he said the program was ran like a small town High School program that was an afterthought. When CC came on, he said it was night and day the attention they got. He said CC reached out to the players amd coaches and asked what do you need to be successful?

I tell this story to point out, there may not be tangible things you can point to, but he was an instrumental part in changing the mindset of the athletics department from a "we can't" to a "we can do" attitude. That is something that can't be measured.

I also happen to believe the rehiring of "his name who shall not be mentioned" was a great hire at the time. Of course hindsight is 20/20 and who would have saw Wilmington luring him away???

Here is why I ask. As far as can do that attitude was there with the exception of the AD. There is no question he was not even a strong HS AD. The expansion was planned before CC and the Nat champs were a result of those other than CC. By now he should have raised the money to pay for that expansion. As far as the hire he should have known two very important points. That coach had a wife who hated it here and that coach could not survive on the money we had. Look at the guys background. He had to have more money than we could ever pay and his wife was NOT going to live here for any amount of money anyway. What I see in CC is a guy that does not do his homework. With that said I really was asking an honest question. I just don't see him as a D1 AD and it seems there are other schools that feel the same way. Why would his resume not get him any of the jobs he has gone after? Could it be that when they look at the positives on that resume they then look at the dates and don't see the contribution to them?
I have to add that I appreciate your honest answer. Intangibles do have to be considered.I don't mean my response to be argumentative at all.

[EastHallApp]

I don't really fault him for bringing Buzz back. I had no problem with the way Buzz left the first time. Stayed 4 years, turned down at least one offer for a better job and probably more, had multiple successful seasons, left for a program that was coming off an Elite Eight appearance. Even when he was saying the whole "I really want to put down roots" bit the second time, it's not like I ever thought he'd say no if the ACC came calling. Just didn't think he'd go actively seeking out jobs that were barely a step up after just one year.

Even then, he had clearly left the program in better shape than he found it, if only CC had just made a solid hire to replace him. Unfortunately, we know how that went, and that is 100% on Cobb.

[IGgreer]

Nice post bcoach.

EastHall, even though on the surface Buzz seemed to be the sexy hire (if you can say that at this level of hoops). Like bcoach mentioned, Cobb didn't do his homework. How do you hire a guy that's wife was never going to live here? How do you hire a guy that basically just quit his last job at Coastal Carolina?

Lazy hire.

[Saint3333]

He changed the culture of the AD, tailgating, communication down the mountain, fundraising and facilities improved dramatically. He also gave a certain football coach another chance, but many forget that.

[IGgreer]

He changed the culture of the AD, tailgating, communication down the mountain, fundraising and facilities improved dramatically. He also gave a certain football coach another chance, but many forget that.

Good for him. He deserves recognition.

He also deserves recognition for slaughtering a revenue-sport in his department.

[Saint3333]

No doubt this basketball hire was a bad one. Bad for both parties. I'm able to see the good and the bad though, many here can't see that.

[IGgreer]

No doubt this basketball hire was a bad one. Bad for both parties. I'm able to see the good and the bad though, many here can't see that.

Hire(s). With an 's'

[appdaze]

I don't think hiring capel was a bad hire I think it was a risky hire. Had Capel started pumping out 20+ win seasons everyone would be praising CC for giving a young guy a shot. Stop using 20/20 hindsight to point fingers. The only part of this basketball issue I lay on CC is the extent to which he has let Capel continue. The writing was on the wall last season and nothing was done. That is where I put the blame on CC. No one could have known for certain Capel was going to be a bust. If you are saying you knew from the beginning that he was going to be a bust then you can obviously see in the future and you should be in Vegas winning millions instead of moaning on a message board. Sports fans have got to be the worst for bashing people using their super human 20/20 hindsight.

[IGgreer]

I don't think hiring capel was a bad hire I think it was a risky hire. Had Capel started pumping out 20+ win seasons everyone would be praising CC for giving a young guy a shot. Stop using 20/20 hindsight to point fingers. The only part of this basketball issue I lay on CC is the extent to which he has let Capel continue. The writing was on the wall last season and nothing was done. That is where I put the blame on CC. No one could have known for certain Capel was going to be a bust. If you are saying you knew from the beginning that he was going to be a bust then you can obviously see in the future and you should be in Vegas winning millions instead of moaning on a message board. Sports fans have got to be the worst for bashing people using their super human 20/20 hindsight.

Yeah, you're right Appdaze the more I think about it. The next time I see Charlie I'm going to say "you made a couple of bad hires, but that's OK." I will also shrug and pat him on the shoulder for sympathetic emphasis.


Some of you damn people are clueless.

[appdaze]

I don't think hiring capel was a bad hire I think it was a risky hire. Had Capel started pumping out 20+ win seasons everyone would be praising CC for giving a young guy a shot. Stop using 20/20 hindsight to point fingers. The only part of this basketball issue I lay on CC is the extent to which he has let Capel continue. The writing was on the wall last season and nothing was done. That is where I put the blame on CC. No one could have known for certain Capel was going to be a bust. If you are saying you knew from the beginning that he was going to be a bust then you can obviously see in the future and you should be in Vegas winning millions instead of moaning on a message board. Sports fans have got to be the worst for bashing people using their super human 20/20 hindsight.

Yeah, you're right Appdaze the more I think about it. The next time I see Charlie I'm going to say "you made a couple of bad hires, but that's OK." I will also shrug and pat him on the shoulder for sympathetic emphasis.

Some of you damn people are clueless.

Then with his next hire please guide him with your omnipotent foresight O great one!!

[Saint3333]

The buzz hire wasn't bad. Buzz lied during his press conference which I assumed he did during the interview process.

[bcoach]

I don't think hiring capel was a bad hire I think it was a risky hire. Had Capel started pumping out 20+ win seasons everyone would be praising CC for giving a young guy a shot. Stop using 20/20 hindsight to point fingers. The only part of this basketball issue I lay on CC is the extent to which he has let Capel continue. The writing was on the wall last season and nothing was done. That is where I put the blame on CC. No one could have known for certain Capel was going to be a bust. If you are saying you knew from the beginning that he was going to be a bust then you can obviously see in the future and you should be in Vegas winning millions instead of moaning on a message board. Sports fans have got to be the worst for bashing people using their super human 20/20 hindsight.

It's not a matter of knowing Capel would be a bust. You never know that. It is a matter of what credentials did he have that showed he may NOT be. He had a year as an assistant and you make him a DIV1 head coach?

[bcoach]

The buzz hire wasn't bad. Buzz lied during his press conference which I assumed he did during the interview process.

I understand that. Buzz and the truth are not often in the same room. My point is that it does not take much of an investigation to know that the lifestyle he was accustomed to would not be supported by an ASU salary and his wife was not going to live here. That just was no secret. If you had even a distant view of the family that stuck out like a sore thumb.

[EastHallApp]

So let's assume that Cobb should have known that Buzz was flat-out lying, and that he would jump on the first train out of town after one season.

Even given that, we still made our first trip to the SoCon final in a decade, came within a few points of making the dance, and Buzz left behind a roster that made us among the conference favorites for the next couple of years. All in all, not such a bad hire - IF the AD would have followed it up with another strong hire to build on that momentum and take advantage of the talent on hand.

[JCline0429]

So let's assume that Cobb should have known that Buzz was flat-out lying, and that he would jump on the first train out of town after one season.

Even given that, we still made our first trip to the SoCon final in a decade, came within a few points of making the dance, and Buzz left behind a roster that made us among the conference favorites for the next couple of years. All in all, not such a bad hire - IF the AD would have followed it up with another strong hire to build on that momentum and take advantage of the talent on hand.

It would help if Cobb would make his own hires rather than letting the big donors do it for him.

[HeffnerIV]

If one can't see that we're light years ahead of where we were as an athletic program, I really can't help ya. A lot of these complaints sound more personal than objective.

[MountainMan2020]

I don't think hiring capel was a bad hire I think it was a risky hire. Had Capel started pumping out 20+ win seasons everyone would be praising CC for giving a young guy a shot. Stop using 20/20 hindsight to point fingers. The only part of this basketball issue I lay on CC is the extent to which he has let Capel continue. The writing was on the wall last season and nothing was done. That is where I put the blame on CC. No one could have known for certain Capel was going to be a bust. If you are saying you knew from the beginning that he was going to be a bust then you can obviously see in the future and you should be in Vegas winning millions instead of moaning on a message board. Sports fans have got to be the worst for bashing people using their super human 20/20 hindsight.

Yeah, you're right Appdaze the more I think about it. The next time I see Charlie I'm going to say "you made a couple of bad hires, but that's OK." I will also shrug and pat him on the shoulder for sympathetic emphasis.


Some of you damn people are clueless.

The only clown as it relates to this subject or thread is you.

[asu66]

I don't think hiring capel was a bad hire I think it was a risky hire...No one could have known for certain Capel was going to be a bust. If you are saying you knew from the beginning that he was going to be a bust then you can obviously see in the future and you should be in Vegas winning millions instead of moaning on a message board.

Here's the way a large majority of Appalachian folks look at this entire ugly situation. We knew Buzz had a character problem by the way he departed the first time...in too big of a hurry to give proper respect and attention to Rufus Leach's tragic death. We were in almost total disbelief when a small, vocal group of admirers and former neighbors arm-twisted him to come back even after he told us 50 times he didn't want the job. Most pretty much knew we were going to get rolled when Buzz became a commuter coach--maintaining his legal residence in Pineville. He never had any intention of moving Jan and the kids back to The High Country. It was only a matter of time and circumstance 'til one of MJ's borrowed shoes would drop. A large majority of folks were quick to say "I told you so" when Buzz bolted over a weekend; only leaving Charlie Cobb a voice-mail good-bye.

Even in bolting; Buzz left matters in better condition than he'd found them. That took a little of the sting off of having been left in a cloud of cold fog--again--by the same bad actor. All we had to do at that point in time was to make a solid hire and everything would be OK. Or would it?

Shortly, Appalachian goes into one of its now "infamous" national searches for the best coach out there. Lo and behold, after only three or four days, we find our best candidate in a small, corner office at HCC. Jason Capel. Wow. Charlie taps Jason as our next head coach after only one year as an end of the bench assistant. And you want us to believe we couldn't see a problem with this hire when Matt McMahon (a self-made player, an experienced assistant and a proven recruiter) was available and wanted the job? Not to mention a growing folder of applicants. Get real.

Even small, regional airlines don't pick folks with only brief, student pilot training and zero flying hours and put them in the pilot's chair of Boeing 737s and expect smooth takeoffs and landings. You just don't do that. Common sense tells us that if you do, the blame's all on you when the planes crash on take-off.

This deal with Capel is 100 percent on Charlie; and he and everyone else knows it is. There's ample reason for the doubt, apathy or impatience that Appalachian fans are exhibiting. Just one question remains; is Charlie really going to fix it right this time?

[ASUMountaineer]

Another Cobb gripe fest. I wonder when this horse will "dead enough..."