Atlantic Coast Conference Coaching Woes

Back-to-back champions.

The Mecca of college basketball.

Tobacco Road.

The ACC has traditionally been where the best college basketball could be found. Names like Michael Jordan, David Thompson, and Ralph Sampson will be remembered for ages.

Why then the sudden movement of ACC coaches?

Boston College’s Al Skinner was fired, Dino Gaudio of Wake Forest got the boot, and Clemson’s Oliver Purnell took the money leaving the Tigers for Depaul.

On top of that, Coach K of Duke was given an enormous offer from the New Jersey Nets. He apparently has no interest.

The first two, Skinner and Gaudio, did not perform well enough to stay. They quite simply did not win enough games.

Wake Forest has had several up-and-down seasons in a row after thriving in the recent past. They would like to get back up to that level.

Of course, when they thrived, they had players like Chris Paul and Eric Williams. Their current 8^th place recruiting class according to ESPN.com could help with that. They just have to find the right coach that will be able will keep these recruit commits.

Wake Forest was not at the play they have been in the past, and that cost Gaudio lost his job.

What about Al Skinner?

After a losing record, Boston College needed a change. Once they entered the ACC, fans thought the basketball program would improve. It has. But the program needs to see more improvement.

What is the deal with Oliver Purnell?

He saw the green. He had no other reason to leave for a Depaul team that is not in the national spotlight. He does have the opportunity to recruit the Chicago area, but the main reason to leave was the money.

For a high-profile basketball conference these are major changes.

Why did this happen all of a sudden?

The ACC still has two very good basketball teams: UNC and Duke. No one wins more consistently or recruits better then these two teams.

But the bottom of the league has declined. The teams in the middle of the pack are not as good as they once were. These schools needed change.

These changes will be good for the Atlantic Coast Conference. No, Wake Forest did not land Brad Stevens. Only Boston College has found their man, Steve Donahue. Despite this, I do believe the changes will help these programs, and thereby help the ACC.

The ACC has the talent at the top to continue winning championships, but they need talent from the top to the bottom. To achieve this, coaches will continually be fired and asked to leave.

The only question remaining is “Who will be next?”

 

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