Forum › Forum › Lehigh Sports › Lehigh Men’s Basketball › Patriot League Transfers
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RichH 9 years, 7 months ago.
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March 29, 2015 at 1:11 pm #19124
In this transfer heavy environment called NCAA basketball, the Patriot League is usually a haven in the storm.
I just noticed that Mitchell Hahn is leaving Holy Cross and McLeay and Azzinaro are leaving Bucknell.
March 29, 2015 at 11:13 pm #19125Thought Azzinaro was the rising PG there. Surprising. BU also losing a bench PF to transfer.
March 30, 2015 at 6:32 pm #19144Absolutely no confirmation on this – take it with a grain of salt. Rumors on the interwebs re: Paulsen to George Mason.
March 30, 2015 at 6:35 pm #19145Geez, more like a ton of salt. Why would he make a sideways move? GMU not that much of a step up if any at all.
March 30, 2015 at 6:45 pm #19147Quote: Thought Azzinaro was the rising PG there. Surprising. BU also losing a bench PF to transfer.
Bucknell’s starting PG the second half of the year was freshman Steven Brown. Azzinaro was not ever going to start, barring injury, but it is still a loss due to his ability to hit the three. As for McLeay, he had fallen out of the rotation and was likely to stay there next year.
As for Paulsen, the GMU job is certainly not much of a step up but they are an A10 team now. The bigger issue is that they were paying Paul Hewitt $750,000 per annum. Bucknell pays Paulsen about $200,000.
March 30, 2015 at 6:59 pm #19149Pretty big step up in salary, A10, and final four appearance. I think the ability to recruit talent that can make deep runs in NCAA is much greater at GMU. I do not see any PL team ever winning more than one game maybe two in tournament. Not a slam, tons of respect for the league. However academic standards, facilities, money, etc..all play major factors in why IMHO recruiting talent is very difficult in PL.
March 30, 2015 at 7:12 pm #19150Perhaps a bit more serious than first blush. Sports Illustrated picked up the story:
I think your point is solid, pafan. A10 is higher profile, has more money to spend, etc. I think that recruiting the talent is harder in the PL – but not impossible. I’m still convinced that the academic standards could be a plus, rather than an obstacle; Duke/Stanford model. Target athletes who prioritize the educational opportunities.
March 30, 2015 at 7:13 pm #19151I don’t think Bucknell to GMU is a sideways move. It is a step up for sure. Money is huge compared to what he is making, and I think he could recruit better players without as much concern for academic criteria. But, he strikes me as the type of guy who likes the smaller situation. Williams and Bucknell are very different than a large university like GMU, without much of a community atmosphere. Jumping to a school of 30,000 students, over 20,000 undergrads (I assume a lot of commuters) in the close suburbs of a major city doesn’t strike me as his kind of place. I hope I am wrong, as I think he is the best coach in the PL, and not sure it is close.
March 30, 2015 at 8:54 pm #19154Shows what I know :):).
Just reported that he signed with GMU.March 30, 2015 at 10:00 pm #19158Wow. I’m seeing that now too; sounds like it’s done. I’m actually sorry to see him go. I agree with 90 – he’s a damn good coach, and I think he was good for the PL. I’m still impressed with what Brennan had done at AU, but Paulsen was certainly one of the best.
I also agree that this is a nice step for a coach. A10 is pretty big-time hoops, and with the demise of the old Big East, the buzz VCU has generated – it’s a great place to be, I think. If he turns a struggling GMU around, he’s a rising star.On the upside – maybe we’ll have an A10 coach willing to schedule PL teams??
March 30, 2015 at 10:10 pm #19160OK, one more upside:
Bucknell was my original 2015-16 preseason favorite in the Patriot League. With Dave Paulsen going to George Mason, I'm flipping to Lehigh.
— Jeff (BPredict) (@BPredict) March 30, 2015
March 30, 2015 at 10:24 pm #19161This makes total sense to me despite paulsen leaving a talented young team in BU. If he stayed and win one or two more rings with this team his next move was this type of move anyway, see Hewitt from Siena. So fact he can make a move now to this team, conference and salary is a no Brainer.
Sad day for league as he was best coach in league in my opinion. Now the interesting part is who from his staff follows him and does he take any recruits or kids from BU with him.
Regarding reed, why would he jump to a liberty type job when if he wins one post CJ he could be in line for something much bigger. With so much talent in Bethlehem he be crazy to leave now before winning more rings with this core. IMO reed can’t get a job like Paulson got right now, not even close.needs to win post CJ and a 500ish(haven’t looked that up just a guess) record without CJ isn’t getting that done.
March 30, 2015 at 10:38 pm #19162I agree that Reed is not a hot commodity nationally, but that could be more reason he is itnerested in Liberty. They spent 1.8 mill on hoops in 2013 compared to 1.3 at Lehigh – so you’re probably talking about a pretty sizable raise. Also, by all indications Liberty is actively seeking to move up to FBS which would likely include an additional increase in athletic spending. Liberty is a very young school but is very well supported with large athletic aspirations. Could be that Reed thinks it is a program he can help take to the next level.
Also, Lehigh never leaks coaches salaries so it’s hard to say what kind of a deal Reed is on and if he saw an extension/raise during the CJ era. Maybe this is nothing more than a play for leverage.
March 30, 2015 at 10:45 pm #19163I hear ya SBum, my thoughts are if I put myself in his shoes I bet on myself and my young team that I can win 2 rings and get a bigger pay day or a bigger job then Liberty. That’s all I am saying, guess it’s what I would do. But I also would use anything possible to gain leverage per your point!
March 31, 2015 at 3:29 am #19186Well, I was wrong on Paulsen, proving one again that money talks in these situations. I think it weakens Bucknell, at least in the short run. Guy could really coach and solid recruiter, winner everywhere he went.
I wouldn’t think Reed would be moving on to Liberty, but again, money talks. I have to think he is making sub $200K currently, and probably gets a bump to $500k+ at Liberty. To pardon the pun, that school has more money than God (or maybe more money than sense). But, it’s a basketball backwater for sure.
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