I was a little underwhelmed by his press conference. From never having coached or built a collegiate BB program, to then set the standard he expects UA BB to achieve (before his 6-year contract is done per his comment to BB) to be the same standard built (over 30 years by one of the best BB coaches at any level, Coach K) at Duke, was, IMO, a bit too much for him to promise or for anyone (of sound mind) to expect at his opening press conference. Hells bells, get us in serious conversations for competing for a SEC title or making it in to the Elite Eight. Let there be no misunderstanding, I hope he gets UA to the Final Four. However, I will only be disappointed if we don't make it to the Final Four under CAJ because CAJ made it sound like it's a foregone conclusion that he will get us there (otherwise, as he said himself, he would have just stayed at ESPN).
I appreciated him recognizing Coaches Newton & Sanderson in attendance, but then to say he was taking the program to places it has never been before, seemed like an unintended shot at the accomplishments of those two fine coaches. I attended the UA from 1975 - 1979 during which Newton & Sanderson had really good teams with fantastic Alabama raised players. If, when his UA coaching career is completed, CAJ is mentioned in the same breath as Coaches Newton & Sanderson, then I would be very happy with what CAJ was able accomplish. You may recall that Coach Newton was elected to the HOF in 2000 and recognized in 2015 as an SEC Legend for his UA coaching career.
In spite of my aforementioned comments about his press conference, I am nonetheless impressed with CAJ and wish him and our team all the luck in the world. It would be awesome for him to be looked back on as the best UA BB coach in UA history. However, for the time being, I'm excited & pumped about his hiring and look forward to an exciting 2015/2016 season without any unreasonable pie-in-the-sky first year expectations.
RTR!!!
I appreciated him recognizing Coaches Newton & Sanderson in attendance, but then to say he was taking the program to places it has never been before, seemed like an unintended shot at the accomplishments of those two fine coaches. I attended the UA from 1975 - 1979 during which Newton & Sanderson had really good teams with fantastic Alabama raised players. If, when his UA coaching career is completed, CAJ is mentioned in the same breath as Coaches Newton & Sanderson, then I would be very happy with what CAJ was able accomplish. You may recall that Coach Newton was elected to the HOF in 2000 and recognized in 2015 as an SEC Legend for his UA coaching career.
In spite of my aforementioned comments about his press conference, I am nonetheless impressed with CAJ and wish him and our team all the luck in the world. It would be awesome for him to be looked back on as the best UA BB coach in UA history. However, for the time being, I'm excited & pumped about his hiring and look forward to an exciting 2015/2016 season without any unreasonable pie-in-the-sky first year expectations.
RTR!!!
