Wow. I really thought I'd be writing this as a joke post, but I never thought it would actually happen. After one season, a 9-22 7th place finish in the Patriot League, Holy Cross has fired Head Coach Sean Kearney.
The statement from Holy Cross Athletic Director Richard M. Regan, Jr. is as follows: "This was a very difficult decision," said Regan. "This is also an affirmation of how important basketball is at Holy Cross. At the end of the day, after assessing the results and evaluating what our prospects were for the future, we felt this was a move we had to make. We have an obligation to our student-athletes to deliver the best possible experience for them while they are at Holy Cross. Sean is a quality person, something that is beyond question, which makes this decision that much harder."
Awesome. Well, like we said in our letter to you, Coach, now that you're gone, you don't have to deal with the cultural blight that is Worcester, MA.
More on this developing story. The CROSSPORTS thread on this topic is here.
Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!
It severely depresses me that over 10% of Coach Kearney's wins came against AU.
ReplyDeleteWow, the arrogance of Holy Cross. One losing season like this might be enough to drop a coach in a BCS conference, but the Patriot League?
ReplyDeleteHas something actually happened in the PL that makes CJ McCollum look HUMBLE!?
I don't think this is arrogant. I think this is actually a ballsy move. If you read the comments over at CROSSPORTS, the insiders talk about there being a mutiny on the team. Players threatened to transfer. Toward the end of the season they wouldn't play his defense (they switched back to a zone and were successful). This is a good move for Holy Cross; NOT firing Kearney from a team where he lost control and wasn't respected would've been cowardly, and I would've lambasted them for that.
ReplyDeleteAll of what is on CROSSPORTS in speculation - often from people who don't have a clue. Thus far there is no evidence of a mutiny. And it certainly is NOT true that players wouldn't play his defense.
ReplyDeleteWasn't the 09-10 HC team basically the same team that lost to American in the 09 PL final? I think the 08-09 HC team lost 2 seniors (Alex Van Der Baan and a PG forgot his name). From what I had understood, both had been bigger contributors earlier in their careers until falling victim to significant injuries.
ReplyDeleteThe 09-10 HC team seemed to return almost all of its rotation and I think Cavataio was a transfer addition. I thought they would run away and hide with the league, or at the very least battle Lehigh for the title. On paper, Hall/Beinert, McCollum/Evans, and Carrington/*eisters were great matchups. Holy Cross by far was the biggest disappointment of the year. Was it fair that Kearney got canned after one year? Maybe not. But that team was much better than 9-22.
Even as a casual observer, I was shocked at what I saw from Holy Cross this season. I don't think it was going to get any better.
ReplyDeleteThe 09-10 team lost three players from the year before:
ReplyDelete- PG Pat Doherty, who was the only real PG on the roster. Even when playing hurt, he was the key to their PL season.
- Wing Colin Cunningham, who was one of their top scorers and also their assists leader.
- PF Alex Vanderbaan, who had a series of injuries but was still an important member of the team.