At 9:09 PM -0500 2/27/97, Greg Ambrose wrote:
> As I recall, the only rookie mentioned in preseason reviews of UNH was
> Matile.  Parker and Grant Standbrook both cited him when commenting on UNH.
> As for the rest of the frosh who are playing - Souza, Shipulski, Sadowski,
> Enders and Filipowicz - I do not recall them be regarded as impact players.
 
The defensemen were definitely considered to be players who could step in
and help UNH right away.  UNH's freshman class as a whole was considered by
most to be extremely good.
 
> Certainly not like Poti, Bellefeuille (sp) or Farkas.   In fact, Umile was
> unsure of the ability of these guys to step in and play.  The indication I
> got when I spoke to him before the season was that he had high hopes but
> expected them to take a while to adjust to the college game.  The fact that
> they adjusted quickly has to be, in part, a credit to the coaching staff.
 
Most coaches would say what Umile said unless they had players like Maine
had in 1993.  It's the right thing to do.
 
But all you need for an example is Jayson Philbin.  UNH passed on giving
him what he hoped for because they felt he could not adjust quickly enough
and was not as good as most, if not all, of the other players they
recruited.  Merrimack stepped in and gave him what he wanted, and he was
the school's most heralded recruit in many years, even though he may take a
year or two to become an impact player.  That is the difference in the type
of players that the two schools can get.  Merrimack relies more on players
who are not thought of highly by other schools and who may take longer to
come around.
 
> >Do you also think that Merrimack, for example, had an equal chance to
> >get the same players that UNH got?  That it was only a superior job of
> >recruiting that enabled UNH to wind up with those players?
>
> The ability to recruit, for the most part, is based on the perception the
> recruit has of the school (both academically and athletically), the quality
> of the program and the perceived ability of the coach.  I think you would
> agree that success breeds success and, I guess, failure breeds failure.
> Ron Anderson has been Merrimack's coach for 10+ years, this will be the
> first time he has achieved home ice in the playoffs.
 
*Maybe*. :-)
 
> His lack of success,
> on ice, certainly is perceived by potential recruits.  This is not a flame
> on Mr. Anderson, I understand he is a solid guy, stresses the right things
> with his players and is a credit to the game.  However, he has not been
> successful when it comes to wins and losses, hence he does not attract the
> top recruits.
 
That's part of it, but as we have gone over many times here, perhaps a
bigger factor is the quality of the facility that the teams play in.  That
cannot be discounted.  It's hard to get the type of kids that the better
teams get when they see your building.  Thus it is hard to build that
winning tradition.
 
> >> I don't want to talk this issue to death but the bottom line is that
> >> Umile's competition for this award - Anderson and Pooley, I guess - have
> >> not even led their teams to .500 records this year.
> >
> >?? Providence is 12-10-1, and Merrimack is 10-10-2.  Both *are* at
> >or over .500.  Why do you keep saying they are not?
>
> I was speaking of overall records.
 
Although, the HE awards are based on performance in league games.
 
> >That is that historically, the award tends to go to the coach who his
> >peers believe has exceeded expectations more than any other.  Not
> >every year, but more often than not.  This is not reflected in the
> >statistics you display, but it most certainly has been the case.
>
> >For example, as you say, from 1986 to 1995, the winner finished 1st
> >or 2nd 7 of 10 times.  But *more* than 7 of 10 times, the winner also
> >exceeded expectations rather significantly.  In fact, from 1987 to
> >1996, *every year*, I would say it was the overriding factor that
> >determined the winner of the award.  I believe the same was true in
> >1986 with BU, but I cannot recall that far back.
>
> I don't thin you can back this up but, even if it's true, hasn't Umile
> exceeded expectations this year.  Did anybody think that UNH was a final
> four candidate?
 
But the final four hasn't even been played yet.  We don't know who will
make it.  Many people think UNH will make it and they might, but given that
the HE awards will be decided after this weekend, it is hard to use
potential to decide this award.
 
> I can't imagine that Jack Parker or Shawn Walsh exceeded
> expectations in the years they won (perhaps Parker in '92).  The records
> are too similar from year to year to assume that.  But I do notice that in
> years where a team has made a comeback, the coach has been rewarded.
> That's why Umile should win.
 
Umile will definitely have exceeded expectations if UNH finishes first.
Maybe even if they finish second.  All I'm saying is that in the comparison
of expectations, there are others who seem to measure up to what he has
done.
 
My comment about "every year" ended up replacing what began as a synopsis
of why I felt this was true in each year.  I realized that I was listing
every winner and decided to spare everyone the nitty gritty. :-)
 
> The bottom line in this whole debate is that Mike is a Merrimack guy, I'm a
> UNH guy.  He knows his coach, I know my coach.  He wants his guy to get
> some recognition, I want my guy to get some recognition.
 
I think you might have misinterpreted my motive.  It wasn't to tout
Anderson for the award, it was to show that there is no clear-cut winner.
I'll admit to being biased only in that I would like to see Anderson get
the recognition.  But I don't have a problem with someone else winning.  It
is too close of a race.
 
> They're both good
> people, maybe they should be co-winners.  We'll see.
 
And this is all I was trying to say.  But I would not list only these two
as co-winners...there are another two or three guys who also belong in
there and could win.
 
---                                                                   ---
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