A Coaching Resume

[UR Fan 2]

All time winningest coach at UR

6, 20 win seasons

2 NCAA tournies (2 wins)

Likely makes 6 NCAA tournies but I shall remind you (admissions turns down JJ Avila, He earned first-team All-Mountain West honors) AD Vassallo (Va Tech loved him) and the kid who wanted to transfer in as a graduate student but instead went to Xavier and led them to the Elite 8) Plus you have the NCAA tourney we were likely gonna make in early 2020 before Covid hit

3 NITs (we were winning NIT games last year w/o our starters)

3 more CBI tournies including the UVA game (known as the worst officiated game in basketball history.....I was there)

Leads our program w integrity

I know the board loves to hate on Mooney, but, the resume doesn't suck....

 

[spiderman]

3 ... 2 ... 1 ...

 

[8legs1dream]

dont we already have a sip the koolaid thread?

 

[Eight Legger]

"Likely makes 6 NCAA tournies"

🤣🤣🤣

 

[GKiller]

"Likely makes 6 NCAA tournies"

🤣🤣🤣

Gotta appreciate the effort w that line. Mooney gets more participation trophies than anyone. Maybe the Lee monument is now in his backyard.

UR Fan 2 yes our admissions dept has hurt us. But love how u count AD Vassallo for Moon. He was an Ol' Jer guy. It happened b4 Mooney was even here. He would have never played for Mooney. No chance. But in this alternate universe had he been at UR when Moon arrived he was a sure fire transfer, and those early teams were so bad he wasn't turning them into a NCAA team anyway.

Stick with the other 2

 

[97spiderfan]

I love the tagline Mooney, the resume doesn't suck. Yeah, that pretty much sums up this guy. Kind of like when you bring your new girlfriend or boyfriend home to meet the parents, and you ask what they think of them, and they are like, well if you like them that is all that matters.

 

[kneepadmckinney]

Thank god. New content.

 

[Gospiders06]

What about the record vs VCU. Bring up the resume. Our sweet 16 run is overshadowed by a final four run.

 

[Gallipoli]

All time winningest coach at UR

6, 20 win seasons

2 NCAA tournies (2 wins)

Likely makes 6 NCAA tournies but I shall remind you (admissions turns down JJ Avila, He earned first-team All-Mountain West honors) AD Vassallo (Va Tech loved him) and the kid who wanted to transfer in as a graduate student but instead went to Xavier and led them to the Elite 8) Plus you have the NCAA tourney we were likely gonna make in early 2020 before Covid hit

3 NITs (we were winning NIT games last year w/o our starters)

3 more CBI tournies including the UVA game (known as the worst officiated game in basketball history.....I was there)

Leads our program w integrity

I know the board loves to hate on Mooney, but, the resume doesn't suck....

The future is bright.

 

[spider23]

Mediocrity at its best. How much did Quealls pay you to post this thread?

 

[spider23]

I don't think Mooney is a terrible coach. I think most years he is top half or slightly better than the other coaches in the A10. He just has a bunch of weaknesses that he either doesn't work on, can't fix, or too set in his ways to fix. Yes, think admin has hurt him a bit in recruiting. We were told by a poster on this board that knows Queally directly that that has been fixed. So no excuses on that front now. As long as Hard/Queally are in charge, we better hope admin's restrictions on recruiting have been the problem, because they A) have no desire to replace Mooney and B) if they did, I would have a very small amount of faith they find and land a top coach.

 

[PhillySpider]

Likely makes 6 NCAA tournies but I shall remind you (admissions turns down JJ Avila, He earned first-team All-Mountain West honors) AD Vassallo (Va Tech loved him) and the kid who wanted to transfer in as a graduate student but instead went to Xavier and led them to the Elite 8) Plus you have the NCAA tourney we were likely gonna make in early 2020 before Covid hit

And herein is what frustrates me with the Mooney still being here. Admin and fans alike give him credit for things that he theoretically could/might have done. And ignore a lot of what he hasn't actually done (like have ZERO zero regular season conference titles in his entire UR career or be competitive with our arch rival).

Had these guys come here, I don't think its a given at all (in fact, I think its highly unlikely) that (a) these guys turn into the same players they were at their other schools or (b) Mooney necessarily takes any of those teams to an NCAA.

Player development under Moon man is spotty. Some successes, but also a lot of guys who didn't develop into what we thought they'd be. And many a team that didn't develop like we thought!

And even more alarming - - - we just give him credit for 4 NCAA's he didn't earn even though he actually has made 2 in 16 years. And none without arguably the greatest player we have ever had AND the only NBA draft pick we have had in Mooney era on the same team. And yes Mooney gets credit for them and the NCAA's they took us too, but if we speculate about all the NCAA's we'd make with guys we just missed on, I'd argue his number would be zero if either KA or Harp hadn't been here. But that's speculation and pointless - - - they did come and Moon gets credit. The others didn't come and Moon shouldn't get any credit for imaginary achievements! Given his actual achievements in NCAA appearances of two total, (over 10 years ago) and none without KA and HArp, I'd argue that almost no roster is a safe bet to make the dance with him at the helm.

Its really simple if you ask me - - - Mooney isn't a horrible coach by any stretch, but he isn't a great or even good coach. He's average to slightly above. That isn't even really a question to me anymore. The question is are we happy with what we have been for the last 16 seasons or do we want to be better (recognizing we could hire someone worse in trying). To me its simply yes. I think we can be and should want to be better and there is no evidence that Mooney will do that on a macro level. Might he have a season or two that are good - - - yes, but I see no reason to think he can elevate the program overall - - - he's had 16 seasons and his best was 10 years ago!

 

[KE Spider]

All time winningest coach at UR

6, 20 win seasons

2 NCAA tournies (2 wins)

Likely makes 6 NCAA tournies but I shall remind you (admissions turns down JJ Avila, He earned first-team All-Mountain West honors) AD Vassallo (Va Tech loved him) and the kid who wanted to transfer in as a graduate student but instead went to Xavier and led them to the Elite 8) Plus you have the NCAA tourney we were likely gonna make in early 2020 before Covid hit

3 NITs (we were winning NIT games last year w/o our starters)

3 more CBI tournies including the UVA game (known as the worst officiated game in basketball history.....I was there)

Leads our program w integrity

I know the board loves to hate on Mooney, but, the resume doesn't suck....

Just follow the data:

16 seasons at UR
288 wins (record) - 231 losses (record too)
55.5% Winning Percentage
18 wins -14.4 losses per season on average
0 A - 10 regular season championships
1 A-10 Tournament Championship
2 NCAA Trips (last in 2011)
3 NITs
3 CBIs
At a cost approaching $20 million

Speaks for itself.

 

[Long Island Spiders]

Just follow the data:

16 seasons at UR
288 wins (record) - 231 losses (record too)
55.5% Winning Percentage
18 wins -14.4 losses per season on average
0 A - 10 regular season championships
1 A-10 Tournament Championship
2 NCAA Trips (last in 2011)
3 NITs
3 CBIs
At a cost approaching $20 million

Speaks for itself.

I think the fact that 4 out of 5 seniors returning, especially compared to other programs, is a testament to the quality of the coach and culture.

 

[MrTbone]

I think the fact that 4 out of 5 seniors returning, especially compared to other programs, is a testament to the quality of the coach and culture.

Loyalty is a credible trait and one which CM seems to have fair quality in. I don’t think it has much to do with wins and losses and overall program success.

These are old arguments. We’re gluttons for punishment all the way around. Time to win, end of debate.

 

[Long Island Spiders]

Loyalty is a credible trait and one which CM seems to have fair quality in. I don’t think it has much to do with wins and losses and overall program success.

These are old arguments. We’re gluttons for punishment all the way around. Time to win, end of debate.

I get your point but I think it’s flawed and outdated. Building a program with a strong and loyal culture will pay dividends in the future, especially as transferring to different programs becomes more common. And there’s no better testament to the quality of the culture than 4 of 5 seniors returning.

We are never going to recruit the top rated players nor sell students on NIL upside, so continuing to build and maintain this culture is paramount. Given this fact we are always going to have up and down years and our best chance at success is based on experience and excelling as a team.

This is why we are all very excited to start this season as I think it has the potential to be a special one for the team and us. The 2020 and 2021 teams had the same potential — we saw this early in the season last year — but COVID lockdowns and injuries trampled this hope.

Anyway, I’ll choose to remain positive in this offseason and be happy that we get to watch these 5th and 6th year seniors for another year rather than quote stats that suggests we aren’t trending in right direction.

 

[whampas]

I get your point but I think it’s flawed and outdated. Building a program with a strong and loyal culture will pay dividends in the future, especially as transferring to different programs becomes more common. And there’s no better testament to the quality of the culture than 4 of 5 seniors returning.

We are never going to recruit the top rated players nor sell students on NIL upside, so continuing to build and maintain this culture is paramount. Given this fact we are always going to have up and down years and our best chance at success is based on experience and excelling as a team.

This is why we are all very excited to start this season as I think it has the potential to be a special one for the team and us. The 2020 and 2021 teams had the same potential — we saw this early in the season last year — but COVID lockdowns and injuries trampled this hope.

Anyway, I’ll choose to remain positive in this offseason and be happy that we get to watch these 5th and 6th year seniors for another year rather than quote stats that suggests we aren’t trending in right direction.

One can only hope that Covid or its likeness hangs around so we can maintain 5th and 6th year players and have an outside chance at dancing. I'd prefer a couple of 2 year NBA lottery picks to get us over that hump.

 

[SFspidur]

How long do we have to wait for said dividends of the culture?

 

[Long Island Spiders]

Depends on how you define success.

I think the reality is we should view success as competing every year for an NCAA tournament birth. We’ve seen that the past two years with this team and also had a lot of exciting and good moments during the TJ Cline era. And I think most of us remember how fun it was to watch Kevin Anderson (legend!), Dan Geriot, Brothers, etc.

What would be amazing, and pure icing, is a Cinderella-like run that we’ve seen over the past decade from teams like Davidson, George Mason, Butler and most recently Loyola Chicago.

I think this team, more than any in the past decade, has the best chance to do both of these things, including making a deep run in March. We only have this potential given Mooney and others were able to build an environment to get these seniors to return.

Let’s go!

 

[Long Island Spiders]

One can only hope that Covid or its likeness hangs around so we can maintain 5th and 6th year players and have an outside chance at dancing. I'd prefer a couple of 2 year NBA lottery picks to get us over that hump.

There’s no option for a thumbs down so putting it in text directly. Boooo this comment.

 

[spiderman]

I understand some of you wishing we could turn back the clock. but since we didn't let Mooney go after the 2017-18 or 2018-19 seasons, there's nothing about the current team or the past 2 teams to warrant letting him go now. we're in a really good place. try to enjoy this season.

 

[97spiderfan]

I get your point but I think it’s flawed and outdated. Building a program with a strong and loyal culture will pay dividends in the future, especially as transferring to different programs becomes more common. And there’s no better testament to the quality of the culture than 4 of 5 seniors returning.

We are never going to recruit the top rated players nor sell students on NIL upside, so continuing to build and maintain this culture is paramount. Given this fact we are always going to have up and down years and our best chance at success is based on experience and excelling as a team.

This is why we are all very excited to start this season as I think it has the potential to be a special one for the team and us. The 2020 and 2021 teams had the same potential — we saw this early in the season last year — but COVID lockdowns and injuries trampled this hope.

Anyway, I’ll choose to remain positive in this offseason and be happy that we get to watch these 5th and 6th year seniors for another year rather than quote stats that suggests we aren’t trending in right direction.

Mooney has certainly developed a culture of loyalty from his players, which is an admirable trait for our program. and for any head coach. However, his job is to win and go to the NCAA. Period, end of story. There are lots of coaches whose players like them, our loyal to them AND also win and take their teams to the NCAA. I'd like one of those to be our coach someday. Just look down at Broad Street, the players like Mike Rhoades and he takes them to the NCAA. Man, what a concept.

 

[97spiderfan]

I understand some of you wishing we could turn back the clock. but since we didn't let Mooney go after the 2017-18 or 2018-19 seasons, there's nothing about the current team or the past 2 teams to warrant letting him go now. we're in a really good place. try to enjoy this season.

Well, I would say if he screws this season up as bad as he screwed last one up, he might be in some trouble. Top 25 team in early December to not making the NCAA's. Yes, we are in a good place this year, this team should make the tournament. We said the same thing last year though too and we all saw how that turned out, so I'm going to enjoy the season but I always with Mooney have a healthy dose of reality based on his past performance.

 

[8legs1dream]

Depends on how you define success.

 

[Long Island Spiders]

I understand some of you wishing we could turn back the clock. but since we didn't let Mooney go after the 2017-18 or 2018-19 seasons, there's nothing about the current team or the past 2 teams to warrant letting him go now. we're in a really good place. try to enjoy this season.

This is a much more concise way to say what I tried. Thank you.

 

[Long Island Spiders]

Well, I would say if he screws this season up as bad as he screwed last one up, he might be in some trouble. Top 25 team in early December to not making the NCAA's. Yes, we are in a good place this year, this team should make the tournament. We said the same thing last year though too and we all saw how that turned out, so I'm going to enjoy the season but I always with Mooney have a healthy dose of reality based on his past performance.

Two responses here.
1. It’s ridiculous to not think covid pauses completely influenced the season. The team was literally quarantining in hotel rooms instead of practicing and staying in condition. And then players got hurt and the A10 tourney was moved up.

2. It’s I who is allergic to your bullshit!

 

[spider23]

I understand some of you wishing we could turn back the clock. but since we didn't let Mooney go after the 2017-18 or 2018-19 seasons, there's nothing about the current team or the past 2 teams to warrant letting him go now. we're in a really good place. try to enjoy this season.

I am already getting that pit that Mooney will screw this season up. Hopefully not. If he does we will hear plenty of excuses because I am sure (not hoping for) that we will have injuries to point to - as do 300+ D1 schools every year. When the going gets tough, Mooney produces 5 point losses. I am really hopeful with this roster, and lack of pre season hype that we do have that year. But like 97 points out, everything was supposed to be in our favor in the covid year last season, but that fell apart.

 

[spiderman]

we didn't successfully navigated that covid pause. maybe that's on the coach, but it's tough to spend 10 days without getting in a gym and come back as if nothing happened. I think it would be a quicker recovery for a defensive centered team than one that relies heavily on it's offensive efficienacy.

 

[97spiderfan]

Every team last year played under the same Covid cloud. We had a senior laden team, so if anything, one would think, having a bunch of experienced players would have helped us to navigate it better. But that is not what happened. You can blame it on bad luck, unfortunate circumstances, or poor planning and execution by Mooney and company.

All I know is that our program seems to be afflicted this past decade with a lot of bad luck and unfortunate circumstances and to me when that becomes a consistent pattern, you have to look at leadership, as to why it is consistent.

We have had something bad happen to us literally every single year for the past decade now, at some point, one is no longer surprised when it happens. So, yeah, I temper all of my expectations about this year, based on past experiences. I hope this team and Mooney proves me wrong this year.

 

[spiderman]

Every team last year played under the same Covid cloud.

not every team dealt with a 10 day shutdown ... with players in isolation not allowed access to the gym. we lost 4 of 6 d1 games coming out of that.

maybe last year is all Mooney's fault. I don't know. but that was a good team in a tough, weird year.

 

[GKiller]

not every team dealt with a 10 day shutdown ... with players in isolation not allowed access to the gym. we lost 4 of 6 d1 games coming out of that.

maybe last year is all Mooney's fault. I don't know. but that was a good team in a tough, weird year.

it should have been good. Or great. We made NIT so I guess u can call it above average. Relative to ability & expectations it was imo the most underachieving team in Richmond bball history. I’m very hard pressed to call that a good team. It was not a good year which is really what matters.

 

[Long Island Spiders]

Every team last year played under the same Covid cloud. We had a senior laden team, so if anything, one would think, having a bunch of experienced players would have helped us to navigate it better. But that is not what happened. You can blame it on bad luck, unfortunate circumstances, or poor planning and execution by Mooney and company.

All I know is that our program seems to be afflicted this past decade with a lot of bad luck and unfortunate circumstances and to me when that becomes a consistent pattern, you have to look at leadership, as to why it is consistent.

We have had something bad happen to us literally every single year for the past decade now, at some point, one is no longer surprised when it happens. So, yeah, I temper all of my expectations about this year, based on past experiences. I hope this team and Mooney proves me wrong this year.

Every team had 3 covid pauses? And every team had the ridiculous policy that the players had to isolate in a hotel room during each pause? Curious…

not every team dealt with a 10 day shutdown ... with players in isolation not allowed access to the gym. we lost 4 of 6 d1 games coming out of that.

maybe last year is all Mooney's fault. I don't know. but that was a good team in a tough, weird year.

Completely agree. It not only was the number but how we managed the shutdowns that were different than “every team”. Can you name one team that was impacted more by covid pauses than us (other than VCU)?

 

[SFspidur]

To successfully manage COVID last year, you had to either take it seriously or be lucky. We did neither.

 

[Long Island Spiders]

To successfully manage COVID last year, you had to either take it seriously or be lucky. We did neither.

Not sure how you can make that judgment that it wasn’t taken seriously.

 

[SFspidur]

Just based on what I've heard from around the Robins Center.

 

[PhillySpider]

I'd be all for giving Mooney (or any coach) the benefit of the doubt for a disappointing season under last years conditions IF (IF and ONLY IF) that coach was either (a) new on the job or (b) had a track record that indicates its certainly likely that the circumstances were likely the probable cause of the disappointment. Mooney meets neither criteria. In addition, we have previously given him the benefit of the doubt repeatedly for other things and we consistently do not get the results that we keep giving him credit for based on some excuse. We cite coulda/woulda/shoulda years, admissions decisions, injuries, Covid, bad luck, etc. etc. and give credit for fictional achievements that in reality were not achieved. Then when the question comes up again after another disappointment, we cite these fictional achievements as if they are facts and say they justify giving him another pass on underachieving again.

There have been a lot of stuff thrown out here, but the two FACTS that to me trump all are simple - Zero league championships (ever) and zero NCAA bids in the last 10 years. These are the two ways (perhaps along with measuring against VCU) that we measure success of our program. I get that he's a good guy etc. and that (some) players are loyal and that's a good thing (although I think we are giving too much credit here yet again!) but we play to win (at least the way we support the program, I think that's the only way to think about it) and those are the facts. Again, if the last two were the first two on the job or the two that came after 2010 and 2011, I'd be in line to give the benefit of the doubt, but these come after many years of underachieving and disappointment and excuses!

 

[Long Island Spiders]

I'd be all for giving Mooney (or any coach) the benefit of the doubt for a disappointing season under last years conditions IF (IF and ONLY IF) that coach was either (a) new on the job or (b) had a track record that indicates its certainly likely that the circumstances were likely the probable cause of the disappointment. Mooney meets neither criteria. In addition, we have previously given him the benefit of the doubt repeatedly for other things and we consistently do not get the results that we keep giving him credit for based on some excuse. We cite coulda/woulda/shoulda years, admissions decisions, injuries, Covid, bad luck, etc. etc. and give credit for fictional achievements that in reality were not achieved. Then when the question comes up again after another disappointment, we cite these fictional achievements as if they are facts and say they justify giving him another pass on underachieving again.

There have been a lot of stuff thrown out here, but the two FACTS that to me trump all are simple - Zero league championships (ever) and zero NCAA bids in the last 10 years. These are the two ways (perhaps along with measuring against VCU) that we measure success of our program. I get that he's a good guy etc. and that (some) players are loyal and that's a good thing (although I think we are giving too much credit here yet again!) but we play to win (at least the way we support the program, I think that's the only way to think about it) and those are the facts. Again, if the last two were the first two on the job or the two that came after 2010 and 2011, I'd be in line to give the benefit of the doubt, but these come after many years of underachieving and disappointment and excuses!

Well at least I now know who paid for the fire Mooney billboard on 95 a couple years ago…. And we “woulda” made the tourney in 2020.

In brighter news, my Johnnie-O sully Richmond pullover just came in and highly recommend. Much better quality and fit than the peter millar pullovers!

 

[PhillySpider]

Just based on what I've heard from around the Robins Center.

I can add that what I heard from on campus sources (plural) was the same! I will add that to me it goes a bit to accountability. I don't think he does a great job with consistent accountability on the court (see some other posts for explanation) and the "stuff" I heard is that he wasn't doing a ton too hold people accountable to Covid standards either - - - rather helping in bending.

Now I will say that I have no first hand facts to back that up, only rumor and the dreaded "what I heard" and thus I have not condemned him for it and won't now. But I also refuse to then let it pass that we coulda/woulda/shoulda been great last year except for Covid. Its an excuse - - - we weren't great and to the extent its an excuse, we shouldn't just assume he was some innocent bystander while everything happened.

 

[PhillySpider]

Well at least I now know who paid for the fire Mooney billboard on 95 a couple years ago…. And we “woulda” made the tourney in 2020.

In brighter news, my Johnnie-O sully Richmond pullover just came in and highly recommend. Much better quality and fit than the peter millar pullovers!

Actually opposed the billboard (although not the firing).

 

[whampas]

There’s no option for a thumbs down so putting it in text directly. Boooo this comment.

Exactly the way I feel about your post. The only difference is mine was wrapped in sarcasm while you believe the crap you're peddling.