I always find it funny that the very things most people bash Mooney for, are the same things that JW probably did quite well. 1) Rebounding - never a real issue with JW teams. 2) Defense - this was JW's calling card, play tough man to man defense and try to keep the game in the 50-60 range. 3) Recruiting - JW was pushing the UR limits with recruiting. So much so - this is the real reason both sides decided it was time to part ways when the Depaul job opened up. 4) Scheduling - we seem to worry every year about the schedule and will it be enough with Mooney. Not the case with JW - I believe in the 2004 NCAA year, we played a top 10-15 OOC schedule.
JW's fault was offense, where he basically relied on one player to carry the load (UNCW - Blizzard, and he rode Skrocki on the 2004 team), but when you play tough defense and have big guys who can rebound (Moliva, Steenberge, etc) - you can get by with this strategy. I never agreed with the argument that JW left the cupboard bare - I think the athletics and school administration played a part in that as well. And I think that was the first sign that UR was not committed to athletics and basketball. Not to mention - at the time of hiring Mooney, he was essentially an Air Force assistant. He only was head coach 1 year at AF going 18-12 and many people will remember in Chris's early days at UR - I believe he was still learning how to be a head coach.
As I have said before - I think CM has turned into a fine head coach and he has had success at UR. He is exactly the person you want as the face of the program, he recruits good kids and good students, and he is good to the community. But at some point - you got to win games and you got to dance in the tourney. I don't even think a Princeton grad would argue that.
