Goodbye Dave Paulsen

[GMU79]

Not sure where to ask. But did Paulsen officially land a spot on the BC coaching staff? I haven’t seen anything yet.

I'd like to know where he lands too.

 

[Mason32]

I know most everyone here seems to think DP is done as a head coach. I get that times have changed...very suddenly...but still D2/D3 are completely different scenarios. He may rather be an asst at a D1 school without all the hassle of being the HC, but if he wants the head gig, I still think he can be successful at a lower level. You don't stop knowing how to coach overnight, and those young men need and deserve quality coaches too.

Everyone keeps saying this, but I think the vacant coaching market has spoken and he's still unemployed last time I checked

 

[Patriotsince81]

If anyone wants a raspy voiced, one trick pony who throws his players under the bus rather than accepting responsibility for the program DP is your man!

 

[Pablo]

Apparently, Coach Paulsen is not a finalist for the CCSU job - https://hoopdirt.com/daily-dirt-4-19-21/

"The search at Central Connecticut is down to 4 – 3 D1 assistants and one small college head coach. Final interviews are this week."

 

[tblack33]

Apparently, Coach Paulsen is not a finalist for the CCSU job - https://hoopdirt.com/daily-dirt-4-19-21/

"The search at Central Connecticut is down to 4 – 3 D1 assistants and one small college head coach. Final interviews are this week."

Like someone else said, it’s almost like he is not as respected around the coaching community as everyone thought. I’m still sure he will land somewhere, but the fact that he’s not really in the mix anywhere is kinda telling.

 

[Leesburg Chankenstank III]

Before people start feeling sorry for DP, rememember, he cashed in 4 million dollars for 6 years worth of work and he was average or below average in his performance. In addition he will be making another half million this year for doing nothing. Good for him, he made his money. Now time to go off to Mountain Dew land and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

 

[gmubrian]

Before people start feeling sorry for DP, rememember, he cashed in 4 million dollars for 6 years worth of work and he was average or below average in his performance. In addition he will be making another half million this year for doing nothing. Good for him, he made his money. Now time to go off to Mountain Dew land and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Where might I find this "Mountain Dew land"? Asking for a friend...

 

[gmutom]

Where might I find this "Mountain Dew land"? Asking for a friend...

Just head Dew North. Can't miss it.

 

[GMUgemini]

Where might I find this "Mountain Dew land"? Asking for a friend...

Taco Bell?

Alternatively, we could rewrite "Big Rock Candy Mountain" for it to be nothing but Mountain Dew references.

 

[Pablo]

Before people start feeling sorry for DP, rememember, he cashed in 4 million dollars for 6 years worth of work and he was average or below average in his performance. In addition he will be making another half million this year for doing nothing. Good for him, he made his money. Now time to go off to Mountain Dew land and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Actually, Paulsen's buyout is half of his base salary which is still significant. Mason would benefit if he gets another coaching job for next season due to the mitigation language in his GMU contract.

 

[He15man]

Coaches have egos ... just as much as any athlete - college or pro. So I'd be shocked if Dave wasn't somewhat bitter about getting replaced by someone nearly half his age. I'm sure, wherever he is, he's thinking there's no way Kim knows as much or more than I do about the game of basketball because I've been around the game much longer. So, from a coaching POV, the mindset is probably there's nothing he (Kim) is going to do that I (Dave) couldn't have accomplished with another year. But as we all know, coaching isn't just X's and O's... it's relationships and recruiting. And there's no denying English delivers the knockout punch to Dave in that aspect of the game. He might not admit it publicly, but deep down, even Dave knows he'll never be a tenth of what Kim is on the recruiting trail and relating to today's player.

 

[Falco]

Coaches have egos ... just as much as any athlete - college or pro. So I'd be shocked if Dave wasn't somewhat bitter about getting replaced by someone nearly half his age. I'm sure, wherever he is, he's thinking there's no way Kim knows as much or more than I do about the game of basketball because I've been around the game much longer. So, from a coaching POV, the mindset is probably there's nothing he (Kim) is going to do that I (Dave) couldn't have accomplished with another year. But as we all know, coaching isn't just X's and O's... it's relationships and recruiting. And there's no denying English delivers the knockout punch to Dave in that aspect of the game. He might not admit it publicly, but deep down, even Dave knows he'll never be a tenth of what Kim is on the recruiting trail and relating to today's player.

It’s not like Dave was a great Xs and Os guy either.

 

[mkaufman1]

It’s not like Dave was a great Xs and Os guy either.

You’re right, he wasn’t. He was average. Many thought that Dane and Aaron were the brains of his operation even dating back to Bucknell.

 

[MasonSAE4]

We can rag on DP all we want (and I certainly fall squarely into his camp of detractors) but we have to at least be realistic. His recruiting was his downfall but we did finish 5th or thereabouts like three or four times. You can't be an awful recruiter, an awful X's and O's guy, and have terrible in-game management and do that in the A-10. You have to be at least OK at something. Yeah he was a bad coach, but some people on here genuinely believe we had a guy who needed Velcro shoes running the show.

 

[He15man]

It’s not like Dave was a great Xs and Os guy either.

You're not wrong. But I'm sure Dave, his years of experience, and his ego would disagree with you. In his mind, his plays work seamlessly every single time.

 

[Petey Buckets]

We can rag on DP all we want (and I certainly fall squarely into his camp of detractors) but we have to at least be realistic. His recruiting was his downfall but we did finish 5th or thereabouts like three or four times. You can't be an awful recruiter, an awful X's and O's guy, and have terrible in-game management and do that in the A-10. You have to be at least OK at something. Yeah he was a bad coach, but some people on here genuinely believe we had a guy who needed Velcro shoes running the show.

I've thought about this too and I agree. Dave's shortcoming was that he was mediocre or worse at just about everything and wasn't really *good* at anything, at least not at this level.

As far as X's and O's go, there's a tendency to talk about college basketball games like they're chess matches between Fischer and Kasparov. They really aren't. I saw someone defend IU's Mike Woodson hire by saying there's more coaching in one NBA game than in an entire season of college basketball and I think that's spot on.

 

[MasonSAE4]

I've thought about this too and I agree. Dave's shortcoming was that he was mediocre or worse at just about everything and wasn't really *good* at anything, at least not at this level.

As far as X's and O's go, there's a tendency to talk about college basketball games like they're chess matches between Fischer and Kasparov. They really aren't. I saw someone defend IU's Mike Woodson hire by saying there's more coaching in one NBA game than in an entire season of college basketball and I think that's spot on.

He was obviously able to squeeze blood from a stone with some players (Otis, Kier) but you just can’t start with a base of one and two star recruits unless your only strategy is to get the stars to align in a down year for the A-10. His player development abilities were probably his strong suit but even those were mediocre.

 

[GMU79]

He was obviously able to squeeze blood from a stone with some players (Otis, Kier) but you just can’t start with a base of one and two star recruits unless your only strategy is to get the stars to align in a down year for the A-10. His player development abilities were probably his strong suit but even those were mediocre.

Yes, seems like he had several most improved players.

 

[Old Man]

I saw someone defend IU's Mike Woodson hire by saying there's more coaching in one NBA game than in an entire season of college basketball and I think that's spot on.

Lololololololololol

wait .....

You're serious!

Coaching in the NBA ... that's a good one!

(This is not a defense of DP, just laughter at the thought of coaching in the NBA.)

 

[Quentin Daniels]

Coaching in the NBA ... that's a good one!

(This is not a defense of DP, just laughter at the thought of coaching in the NBA.)

I really have no idea. I imagine each has their own challenges.

But I do know that both Pitino and Calipari, who have 10 Final Fours and 3 National Championships between them, weren't up to the task.