Kroogs leaving Lehigh…huge loss

[jimk72Participant]

Just saw this on his twitter account. Will be assistant coach for the Pistons D league team. Huge loss, particularly at this time of year. Hopefully Doc had an idea this was coming, and has people in mind.

[toddcuddParticipant]

Saw a couple of cryptic sad tweets from players over the past day or so, so I’ve been expecting some kind of bad news. But certainly didn’t expect this.
I guess we shouldn’t be shocked. Coach Kroogs seems to be very well connected and liked around the basketball world. The toughest part, to me, is that I think the players really, really liked him too. At least in my mind, he was the heir apparent, should Doc ever decide to move on.

[RichHParticipant]

Best of luck to Kroogs. Good for him,very hard on us. Of the staff he seemed most intgral to our recruiting and really bondd with players.

[TMHParticipant]

Unfortunately Lehigh is a stepping stone to bigger things. Congratulations to Coach Kroogs.
My sincere hope is that his replacement comes with big man skills.

[RichHParticipant]

Geez ,I hope so.

[toddcuddParticipant]

No, not a bit of agreement. Yes, we need a big-man coach, but not in Kroog’s spot.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 10 months ago by  toddcudd. Reason: obnoxious

[RichHParticipant]

Where then todd? I realize Doc hasn’t ever had one but seems that we should have one. Kroogs had a very special niche here. Home grown guy who loved Lehigh,Bball and was a phenominal recruiter. D ont find many like him. How about a coach for bigs who can recruit.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 10 months ago by  RichH.

[toddcuddParticipant]

I think we need an Assistant Head Coach, who like Kroogs is a “players guy”. Makes kids want to go harder, push their own limits.
Then separately, you need a “bigs” coach. Very specific role – TK Sr. come to mind – who teaches the big guys how to work. Not more than a few weeks ago, I thought Daryrl Dawkins was a logical candidate.

[RichHParticipant]

Dont disagree at all. Just think a Kroogs 2 is not an easy or quick find. Practical option is a bigs coach. Of course ,I already know Doc ain’t never hiring one. So I hope you get your wish todd.

[StablerBumParticipant]

Very sad to see Kroogs go. Seemed to have a great rapport with the guys and really excel both on the recruiting trail and with skill development on campus. That said, when you have success – you’re talent will get poached. Timing is unfortunate though.

Kroogs was very active on social media interacting with platers and fans. That doesn’t necessarily mean he was the linchpin to the staff. Antoni Wyche has been the associate head coach for a number of years – just because he doesn’t post about what he is up to doesn’t mean anything about his performance.

Also, Kyle Griffin has already brought in Brandon Alston and Pat Andree and looks like an excellent recruiter. Maybe he can fill some of Kroogs shoes on that front.

When the time does come to replace Reed (or an assistant), I love that there are a bunch of guys with LU connections out there:

– Logie killing it as a D3 head coach
– Kroogs in the D-League
– Mitch Gilfillan with extensive assistant experience in the MAC conference including being the youngest full time assistant when promoted at Ball State
– Kyle Neptune with experience at Niagara, Hofstra, and Villanova
– Harry Mora former Video Coordinator now at Desales has stayed close to the program

I’d love to get Gilfillan or Neptune on the staff, although probably too close to the start of the season for this year. Maybe someone like Harry Mora would be available ASAP however.

[lehigh90Participant]

What do you think our budget is for all of the assistants combined? It can’t be much. I wouldn’t think a D League Asst gets much either. Where is Reed at this point, $200K?

[Bison137Participant]

The majority of D League assistants reportedly are on the low side of $50K. But then so are many PL assistants.

[jimk72Participant]

As many have mentioned, official news about 15′-16′ has been almost non-existent. So in this information vacuum I’m wondering if Kroogs impending departure (is he still around?) has slowed down recruiting? Maybe even cost us a commitment? There seems to be no activity on this front, except prospects going elsewhere. Does anyone have a handle on this?

[RichHParticipant]

Kriogs moved on. SB or todd may have some idea wheher this is impacting recruiting.

[toddcuddParticipant]

From social media, it looks to me like Coach Kroogs is on the job in his new role already. I really have no info to share on recruiting; I’m only seeing the same things you are, jimk – commitments elsewhere. But then again, I have no clue as to how promising any of the guys on our watch list were. The biggest loss, for us, with Kroogs leaving might be social media info sharing! We need some eyes and ears close to the program.
I don’t have any reason to believe that his departure has impacted recruiting, but who knows? I believe that he was very important to the team “feel” once guys were on board, but I’m guessing that ACs probably don’t have a huge impact on prospect decisions.
The one prospect that I’m starved for info on is Henry Welsh. But his recruiting seems a bit TK-like; not much info in the ethersphere. We did catch rumors of a Lehigh visit, but I’ve heard nothing since then. In my book, we still need a shooting guard and 1 more big.
The last 2-guard on VC’s list for us is Dejan Vasiljevic from Australia, and his profile seems to be picking up. Fran Fraschilla recently shouted him out on a short-list of international prospects. Which is probably not great news for us.

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