Q&A with Coach Hewitt?

[gmujim92]

I'll put this out there again.

Here's a question for anyone who cares to respond: If money was not an issue, has Hewitt done enough on the court to warrant a fourth season?

Please show your work.

 

[GMUgemini]

I will hold out hope until Edwards or Cabrera makes a statement that it won't happen or we get to Mason Madness and it hasn't happened yet.


Given how young our bench is, I think you have to expect some to transfer, plus not every coach is going to want a team made up of almost entirely ~6'7" wing men that create match up problems (evidently only for our team).

Rebuilding the roster (potentially)
Rebuilding the fans confidence in the program
Rebuilding donor interaction
Rebuilding student and community outreach (both of the last two have almost completely died since Hewitt took the helm)
Rebuilding lofty plans of ideas like a practice facility

So yes, I would say that rebuilding is an appropriate term.

First, I'd like to say I wanted Hewitt fired the day after we lost to Fordham in the A10 tournament.

However:

Number 1 is a hypothetical. Number 2, 3 and 4 we never had (and if we did in fact raise $1.15 million, that's UP year over year). Number 5, the practice facility, was nixed during the previous regime and had nothing to do with Hewitt.

As for why he probably won't get fired in the summer (and of course I could be wrong since I have no inside knowledge whatsoever):

1) Timing. We are planning a trip overseas, assistant coaches are all out scouting summer tournaments and prepping for the upcoming season. I don't think scrambling to find a coach in July/August is the best way to go about getting a candidate we all would get excited about.

2) Money: Sadly, Jim, money is an option. I know a lot of you don't think $1.2 million is a lot, but it is at our level. It would be a huge decision by Edwards to put himself in the hole that much on his first day on the job.

3) Confidence: if Brian's reports about the staff in the athletics department is true, everyone in the office is still on the Hewitt bandwagon. There will be advocates for Hewitt in conversations.

4) Perception: Let's face it, from an outsider's perspective Hewitt has had one bad season. Did he underachieve in years one and two? Absolutely. Was last year just a horribly bad season? Absolutely. But I think Hewitt will get a fourth year to prove year three was a fluke.

My guess is we are most likely going to have to suffer through one more year of Hewitt.

 

[gmujim92]

First, I'd like to say I wanted Hewitt fired the day after we lost to Fordham in the A10 tournament.

However:

Number 1 is a hypothetical. Number 2, 3 and 4 we never had (and if we did in fact raise $1.15 million, that's UP year over year). Number 5, the practice facility, was nixed during the previous regime and had nothing to do with Hewitt.

As for why he probably won't get fired in the summer (and of course I could be wrong since I have no inside knowledge whatsoever):

1) Timing. We are planning a trip overseas, assistant coaches are all out scouting summer tournaments and prepping for the upcoming season. I don't think scrambling to find a coach in July/August is the best way to go about getting a candidate we all would get excited about.

2) Money: Sadly, Jim, money is an option. I know a lot of you don't think $1.2 million is a lot, but it is at our level. It would be a huge decision by Edwards to put himself in the hole that much on his first day on the job.

3) Confidence: if Brian's reports about the staff in the athletics department is true, everyone in the office is still on the Hewitt bandwagon. There will be advocates for Hewitt in conversations.

4) Perception: Let's face it, from an outsider's perspective Hewitt has had one bad season. Did he underachieve in years one and two? Absolutely. Was last year just a horribly bad season? Absolutely. But I think Hewitt will get a fourth year to prove year three was a fluke.

My guess is we are most likely going to have to suffer through one more year of Hewitt.

And I'll counter with:

1. The timing would be less than ideal. But it will be even worse if Hewitt goes out this summer and signs 3 players who then ask out of their LOIs next spring when his a** gets fired -- leaving our new coach scrambling to fill those spots. IMHO, you have to rip off the band-aid at some point.

2. I'm still waiting for anyone to dispute GS's point about all the money Mason had to have budgeted in order to fulfill the incentives in Hewitt's contract. Bueller? Bueller?

3. It doesn't matter what our existing AD staff thinks because they're not going to have a say in whether Hewitt stays or goes. They're going to be too busy scrambling to retain their own jobs to worry whether the coach gets a pink slip.

4. Reality trumps perception in sports -- and the reality is that Hewitt inherited a very talented program that had become very accustomed to winning and making the NCAA tournament ... and in three short years, he has taken it to the toilet.

He doesn't just have to prove that last year was a fluke. He has to prove that most of his teams' penchant for underachieving over the past 15 years never really happened. Good luck with that one.

 

[GSII]

Perception? You don't want to know what Hewitt's perception is amongst some AAU coaches, Div I refs and other DIV I coaches, head and asistants, who will not say publicy. You really don't want to know...unfortunetly

 

[wijg]

I'll put this out there again.

Here's a question for anyone who cares to respond: If money was not an issue, has Hewitt done enough on the court to warrant a fourth season?

Please show your work.

No! But you probably already knew my answer.

 

[wijg]

Number 2, 3 and 4 we never had (and if we did in fact raise $1.15 million, that's UP year over year). Number 5, the practice facility, was nixed during the previous regime and had nothing to do with Hewitt.

You say we never had these? Really?
2. Rebuilding the fans confidence in the program
-I know I had confidence under the OCM. He was not perfect but he was consistently good.

3. Rebuilding donor interaction
-Under the OCM, there was significant donor interaction. Have you noticed how few events occur now that Hewitt has been in charge? You mention the $1.15M raised. What do you think it would have been with a successful team and a coach that knows how to schmooze?

4. Rebuilding student and community outreach
-The OCM would go to just about any speaking engagement he was invited to and he would usually do a bang up job. Hewitt, it is like pulling teeth to get him to attend events and then he seems unprepared.

5. Rebuilding lofty plans of ideas like a practice facility
He would have never made the comment about the practice facility being fine if it was not still in play. He was helping do the damage control. This is not just about a practice facility. The point is that I don't see any shooting for the stars type of talk. I see and hear things are good enough instead of pushing for bigger and better.

Admittedly these are all minor things compared to the on court performance, but they add up. I know I feel as if the program is falling apart and in need of rebuilding.

 

[GMUgemini]

Well, wijg, most of the things you are talking about are the AD's job, and we just got a new one. So let's see what his plans are and how he does.

It would be a huge risk to fire Hewitt in the summer, a huge risk. I'm just not sure the benefit for getting rid of him now is that much greater than getting rid of him in March. If this was April, it would be an entirely different thing.

 

[GSII]

Hewitt, it is like pulling teeth to get him to attend games and then he seems unprepared.

Wjig, i fixed your post.

 

[gmujim92]

It would be a huge risk to fire Hewitt in the summer, a huge risk. I'm just not sure the benefit for getting rid of him now is that much greater than getting rid of him in March. If this was April, it would be an entirely different thing.

I'm not trying to be obtuse, but I just don't get why it's such a huge risk.

We're not going to be a great team this season anyhow. It's not as if a late coaching change would disturb all this great chemistry that's been built up.

To me, letting Hewitt spend a full season as the lamest of lame ducks would be way worse for everyone.

 

[A.-Siegfried]

I'm not trying to be obtuse, but I just don't get why it's such a huge risk.

We're not going to be a great team this season anyhow. It's not as if a late coaching change would disturb all this great chemistry that's been built up.

To me, letting Hewitt spend a full season as the lamest of lame ducks would be way worse for everyone.

But wouldn't that be season 5? He isn't a lame duck this year. He has a whole year after this one on his contract.

If we are having this conversation a year from now (in June) then we have serious issues. (assuming this season goes as most expect it might).

 

[Walter]

Would it be worse to keep Hewitt for one more year or fire him, pay the buyout, and then not get the right guy? It all depends on getting the right guy. If Edwards needs a year to get the right guy than I am okay with waiting to see what Hewitt can do with his guys this season. Ultimately the future of our basketball program will be determined by Edwards getting the right guy. Can he do that? It is always a crap shoot when hiring a new coach. How many "can't miss" hires at top schools did not work out? It is more of an art than science. Who would have thought Smart would have been so successful? Who would have thought Gillen would have been such a failure?

 

[Pablo]

I really can't see President Cabrera firing Hewitt before the completion of the 2014-15 season.

 

[gmutom]

Would it be worse to keep Hewitt for one more year or fire him, pay the buyout, and then not get the right guy? It all depends on getting the right guy.

This is the most valid point made so far. I'm not saying there aren't qualified coaches out there, but bringing in the wrong coach just for the sake of making a quick change would be an even bigger disaster (yes, Jim and GS, even bigger than Hewitt).

Just to be clear about my comments a few days ago, the only reason I would suggest Edwards make a change imminently is if he is 100-percent certain right now that Hewitt is not his man. If he thinks Hewitt deserves another year or has any uncertainly whatsoever, then it makes no sense to blow things up.

What I don't envy about Edwards' situation is what can he possibly see next season that will convince him that Hewitt deserves to stay through the five years? We aren't an NCAAT or even an NIT team, so there has to be some litmus test and sign of progression.

 

[wijg]

What I don't envy about Edwards' situation is what can he possibly see next season that will convince him that Hewitt deserves to stay through the five years? We aren't an NCAAT or even an NIT team, so there has to be some litmus test and sign of progression.

This is the part that worries me. How much progression is enough. We were so bad last year, it will be pretty easy to show some progress. And if people on here are right about next year being a step back for the A10, that makes it easy to improve our record without actually getting much better. What if he goes 50% in conference next year. Is that enough to keep him?

 

[gmujim92]

What I don't envy about Edwards' situation is what can he possibly see next season that will convince him that Hewitt deserves to stay through the five years? We aren't an NCAAT or even an NIT team, so there has to be some litmus test and sign of progression.

No way Hewitt goes into the 2015-16 season as HC without a contract extension. JMU did it to Brady and is still paying for it. I can't believe Edwards would make the same mistake.

That's why I suggested that Hewitt will be a lame duck this season.

He doesn't simply have to do enough to convince a guy who didn't hire him to let him serve out the final year of his contract. For all practical purposes, the fifth year of that deal might as well not exist.

Hewitt has to take a team that finished at the bottom of the A-10, then lost its top 2 scorers and one of its most effective bigs, and win enough to warrant the new AD giving him a 2-3 year extension.

Who thinks he can do that? I certainly don't.

If Edwards needs time to make a new hire, it would be fairer to Hewitt and everyone to fire him now and get either Kreider or Houston to stay on for the 2014-15 season as interim coach.

Otherwise, we're just leaving Hewitt twisting in the wind.

 

[gmujim92]

This is the part that worries me. How much progression is enough. We were so bad last year, it will be pretty easy to show some progress. And if people on here are right about next year being a step back for the A10, that makes it easy to improve our record without actually getting much better. What if he goes 50% in conference next year. Is that enough to keep him?

Is a .500 record in the A-10 -- and no meaningful postseason -- enough to warrant a contract extension?

Is that the standard at which our program now operates?

I certainly hope not.

 

[wijg]

Is a .500 record in the A-10 -- and no meaningful postseason -- enough to warrant a contract extension?

Is that the standard at which our program now operates?

I certainly hope not.

I am in agreement with you. I am just pointing out what I believe to be the folly of the wait and see approach. We know he isn't going to make the tourney with out a miracle happening. Most would probably agree that 50/50 in A10 is not enough either. The odds of him achieving enough to keep his job is so low, so why wait?

I agree with Walter's point about making sure you get the right person, but I am not convinced that there is any candidate that we might be interested in that would be available at the end of the season that would not be available now. We might even be in a better position in that we might be the only one competing for them if we do it now. Obviously, if Edwards does not know who that is yet, then fine. But he has 24 more days to figure that out and see if the person is available now. Hasn't he been looking at coaches pretty recently anyways? I would be very surprised if he doesn't already have a short list.

And to the point about coaches being a crap shoot, that is very true. That is why you have to cut ties as soon as you know it is not the right fit and try to find the right one as quickly as possible. When you find the right one, you need to keep them.

 

[gmujim92]

I am in agreement with you. I am just pointing out what I believe to be the folly of the wait and see approach. We know he isn't going to make the tourney with out a miracle happening. Most would probably agree that 50/50 in A10 is not enough either. The odds of him achieving enough to keep his job is so low, so why wait?

I agree with Walter's point about making sure you get the right person, but I am not convinced that there is any candidate that we might be interested in that would be available at the end of the season that would not be available now. We might even be in a better position in that we might be the only one competing for them if we do it now. Obviously, if Edwards does not know who that is yet, then fine. But he has 24 more days to figure that out and see if the person is available now. Hasn't he been looking at coaches pretty recently anyways? I would be very surprised if he doesn't already have a short list.

And to the point about coaches being a crap shoot, that is very true. That is why you have to cut ties as soon as you know it is not the right fit and try to find the right one as quickly as possible. When you find the right one, you need to keep them.

Couldn't agree with this post more. Bravo.

 

[masonjoe]

This is the part that worries me. How much progression is enough. We were so bad last year, it will be pretty easy to show some progress. And if people on here are right about next year being a step back for the A10, that makes it easy to improve our record without actually getting much better. What if he goes 50% in conference next year. Is that enough to keep him?

Can't imagine that would be the thinking under the new administration.

 

[Patriotfan49]

Im all for parting ways with Hewitt, but at this juncture it is a bit risky, just depends. If we dont have favorable responses to looking around, it may be best to ride this year out. That gives us a year in with the new recruits which could mean they stay as opposed to Hewitt being let go now, and there will be more availability in the coaching pool. Id assume at this point, it would be a bit more difficult to pluck an assistant or coach at the moment.

Right now, we all know what Hewitt is and isnt and hopefully he isnt in the long term plans, or even in the plans after next year. But firing him for the sake of firing him right now, and not having an ideal candidate that sets us up for the best possible situation, is not smart either.

However, if a list is already in place or in place relatively soon....and we are able to poach somebody of quality, Id be for it. I was pleased to see that we used a search firm to locate ideal candidates for the AD, and I think that is a smart way to go when looking for our next coach as well. IMO its not about Hewitt at all, its more about the talent available to bring in.

But I am a HUGE proponent of when you know something isnt going to work, no matter how soon......you cut bait on it and work to fix it. Only letting it linger, and hoping the turd in the punch bowl becomes Patron........is for fools, and teams with delusional hope.