University of Massachusets Athletics
The Last Minute
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The hiring of Steve Lappas as head basketball coach at UMass ushers in a new era in the history of the program. Putting aside the emotional ties to the past, the luring of Lappas by Bob Marcum represents the most significant coaching hire this institution has ever seen. Argue all you want about the hiring of John Calipari, but the reality is that nobody here really knew what they were getting, other than the fact John had been a good assistant coach at a Pittsburgh program that had a couple of years of success, and he had doled out peas and carrots at Kansas. If Maine had been willing to add $10,000 to its recruiting budget, John Calipari would never have come to Amherst. The University of Maine was considered a better job at the time than the University of Massachusetts. About seven years later, that same John Calipari would turn down overtures from St. John's, the third-winningest program in college basketball history, to stay at the University of Massachusetts. This was largely because Bob Marcum had put together a contract for Calipari that convinced John that the University of Massachusetts was a better job than St. John's.
And that brings us to Steve Lappas. Lappas has a proven track record, a record of success in the big time that is unmatched by any previous major coaching hire in UMass history. He is the first head coach ever to leave the Big East for the Atlantic 10, which in my opinion, is something only UMass or Temple could pull off. What Lappas brings to the table is very simple. He has gotten it done at the highest level of college basketball in a league which most years offers few gimmes. Throw out his first season at Villanova and he averaged 21 wins overall and 10 wins a year in the conference. He owns the only Big East championship in Villanova history as well as the school record for wins. Mike Francesa and Mike Lupica were with the Voice of the Minutemen Bob Behler at Shea Stadium a few weeks back and told Behler that Lappas is a great recruiter and a real find for UMass. Five NBA draft selections, including lottery picks Tim Thomas and Kerry Kittles, would certainly seem to lend some credibility to those opinions. And what UMass fan out there didn't feel better about Lappas after seeing he whipped the Hated Huskies twice last season and six times overall?
The cynics will point to his 2-4 NCAA tournament record, but a fundamental truth is that you've got a much better chance of winning NCAA tournament games if you are selected to participate. Lappas has gotten to the NCAA tournament going against a much deeper group of contenders than he will have to face in the Atlantic 10. Since the Big East was formed just over 20 years ago, Georgetown, Seton Hall, Providence, UConn, Syracuse, St. John's and, yes, Villanova have all been to the Final Four. Three of them have won the national championship. Miami, Notre Dame, Boston College and Pitt have all taken turns as solid postseason teams. In a typical year, there are around eight teams in that conference with a legitimate chance of making the NCAA Tournament come March. That folks, is pretty stiff competition from top to bottom.
Once Lappas was in the picture, the choice was obvious. We had a first rate group of candidates in Fran McCaffery, Jim Larranaga and Jim Baron, three quality guys who are going to continue to do well in their current situations and wherever they may end up in the future. But in Lappas we wound up with a guy who has proven he can win in the Big East, under the microscope of one of the two most widely exposed conferences in the country. There is no question of whether or not he can win at a high level. He has already proven it.
--UMASS--
Also on the Lappas front, this month's "How Can You Possibly Write That?" Media Award goes to Andy Katz of ESPN.com, who wrote that Marcum was forced to go after a bigger name by the powers-that-be in Boston. Where do these guys come up with this stuff? Boston was more than prepared to endorse a hiring from among the first three candidates. It was Marcum who had a tentative Lappas deal put together before anyone else (specifically Rutgers) even knew Lappas might consider leaving Villanova. The administration in Boston and Amherst had to approve the hire, and their support was critical in getting it done before Lappas was whisked away to talk with another school, but make no mistake about who made it happen.
--UMASS--
Nice story in the Boston Sunday Globe by John Powers about the re-emergence of UMass lacrosse. After suffering through back-to-back losing seasons and trying to deal with the tragic death of Eric Sopracasa, UMass has roared back on to the national scene. Greg Cannella's squad got off to a 10-0 start (the best in 20 years) and a number four national ranking before losing by a goal with 12 seconds to play against 8th-ranked Georgetown. The Minutemen still have tough games remaining against Syracuse, Rutgers and Brown, but a win over Rutgers would clinch at least a tie for the ECAC Lacrosse League championship. A Georgetown loss to that same Rutgers team would then give UMass an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, but the Minutemen have put themselves in a position for an at-large bid if they take care of business. Cannella and his staff of Andy Shay and Terry Mangan have taken 12 seniors and created a wonderfully balanced team. UMass is among the top three nationally in scoring with eight players scoring 10 or more goals, has been dominant on faceoffs (about 65 percent), and still plays Cannella's trademark defense, although he has more size and strength than he has had in the past. UMass plays a little more wide open than in Cannella's earlier years as head coach (a style he says is actually easier to coach), but the results speak for themselves. For a team that has suffered through as much as this group has over the last couple of years, and for Cannella, who represents hard work and character, this season has been a great reward.