Bobby Gonzalez Causes Nothing But Trouble

Pete Thamel wrote an unflattering piece about Bobby Gonzalez in today's New York Times. The article focused on how he was hated during his coaching days in Manhattan.

We all know Gonzalez is crazy no matter where he goes, but it's shocking to read how no one from Manhattan was sad to see him leave despite the good work he did over there.

One would think he would be appreciated for putting that university on the map by promoting it and winning games. Instead, many players despised him for the way he treated them—along with his boss.

Maybe it shouldn't be surprising after experiencing Gonzalez's wrath. This writer covered Big East Media Day for SPMSportsPage.com in Gonzalez's first year as Seton Hall head coach.

Gonzalez was asked what he can do to live up to the standards Louis Orr created. He was insulted by the question. He was defensive, and he looked like he wanted to go punch the questioner.

When New York sportswriters were asked about him after what took place, they all talked about Gonzo being Gonzo. That means behaving like a child.

For this crazy coach, it serves him well—but it does not represent the fine program well. Seton Hall always had people who won with class.

The university decided it would rather sell its ethics to win. At the time, it was a good hire, but after watching the way Gonzalez behaved during his time at Seton Hall, it turned out to be a mistake.

What exactly has he won at the university? This team has not made an NIT appearance under his leadership. At least, Orr led his team to play in March—whether it's the NIT or the NCAA tournament.

Gonzalez led the Pirates to the CBI, but Seton Hall athletic director Joe Quinlan decided not to let the team play in the tournament.

This, along with Gonzalez's suspension for an driving incident, started a strained relationship between Quinlan and Gonzalez. Of course, Gonzalez won the power struggle, because New Jersey state Sen. Richard Codey likes him.

Politicians always seem to play a role in college programs. One would think Codey would have something better to do, like finding a way to bring employment back to the Garden State, instead of protecting the well-compensated coach.

Gonzalez has brought nothing but headaches to the school. What has he exactly done to earn admiration from the fans?

If they think he is out to stand up for his program, they don't know him that well.

Gonzalez is all about himself. It's something Manhattan players said publicly in that interview with Thamel.

It's one thing to defend him if he was winning. But he hasn't. He has done an decent job, but this is not what was expected when he took the Pirates job. By now, the Pirates should be making the tournament—not fighting for a spot.

When Orr was there, the program had the pieces to be successful—yet Gonzalez has not found a way to make it work. Sorry, but being in the NIT does not constitute success.

Even Gonzalez would be the first to admit that privately.

He can talk about how Seton Hall beats its metropolitan rivals, but that's not a big deal. Rutgers and St. John's are terrible. Seton Hall should be beating them.

Gonzalez has been so-so in recruiting at best. This is not what Seton Hall had in mind when they hired him. They fire Orr for his lack of recruiting, but looking back, Orr recruited better players than Gonzalez.

Those high school stars would rather play elsewhere than play for a crazy person. It's hard to blame them, either.

When we think of Gonzalez, we think of incidents. That's not meant to be a compliment.

It's not passion. It's idiotic on his part.

Is it necessary for him to pick fights with Fred Hill and his staff all the time? Seriously.

He talks about how it's a rivalry regarding the incident with him and couple of Rutgers coaches last Thursday night. There's nothing to be proud of when a grown man fights with an assistant coach—not to mention his players dunking a couple of times when the game was out of hand in Seton Hall's favor.

He needs to channel his emotions at games. Great coaches find a way.

No question, most coaches are not really nice guys in their own right—but they manage not to get carried away.

In the game against Marquette last Sunday, Gonzalez spent most of the time barking with the referees rather than concentrating on coaching. He lost his train of thought, naturally—and it's no coincidence that he could not find a way to get his team to win a game it needed to get into the tournament.

He can't be doing this. Bad calls are going to happen.

His job is to coach and put his team in a position to win. When he behaves like that, the referees remember this type of stuff. It hurts the team in the long run.

No one noticed his act at Manhattan, but in the Big East, Gonzalez knew he was going to get exposed. He talks about how he's wired that way, and it's hard for him to change.

Baloney. It's up to him to know what is right from wrong. How come other crazy coaches know what to do?

Gonzalez's bobos talk about why no one wanted to hire him when he was doing well at Manhattan.

But now we know why.

He's not worth the trouble.

He has not lived up to the expectations. He will be back because the boosters like him.

At the end, the boosters get what they want, and Gonzalez gets away with his act.

Let's hope Gonzalez does so well next year that he can move on to another university that will tolerate him.