Dennis Gates: The Best Fit For Boston College
We are now entering week two of the Boston College men's coaching search, and a new name has trickled to the top. Cleveland State head coach Dennis Gates. At first you look at the name and it doesn't pop, it doesn't have the wowness factor of Kevin Willard or John Beilein, and it doesn't have the familiarity of Michigan assistant Howard Eisley. But Gates is the best and most realistic option moving forward. Here is why.
First off, as we have mentioned on multiple episodes of Locked on Boston College there are desirable candidates and there are realistic candidates. John Beilein of course would be a fantastic get for the Eagles, but be realistic here. The man is in his 60's, why would he come to Chestnut Hill to rebuild a program that has been comatose for almost fifteen years. Yes, you can offer him money, and probably a lot of it, but so can a lot of programs. It makes zero sense for Beilein to move to a new program that will take him years to fix, all the while risking his legacy which already took a hit with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
And Beilein isn't the only candidate which you have to ask the question "Why would he even want this job?". Kevin Willard of Seton Hall, makes a salary already double what Jim Christian reportedly made, has loads of institutional support and a practice facility on the way. Plus Seton Hall as a program is in much better shape that BC. Why would he ever leave his job for BC? Again, makes no sense. Ed Cooley of Providence? Pretty much the same, but add in a sprinkle of a personal vendetta against the Eagles for their treatment of his mentor Al Skinner. Tommy Amaker is never going to happen. Porter Moser, is at a Top 25 school, and can pick and choose his spot if he decides to leave Loyola Chicago, which reportedly needs to be in the midwest. Again, I ask, why would he choose Boston College?
And then there is Howard Eisley. For a moment take off the maroon and gold sunglasses and look at his candidacy from a neutral perspective. He is just an assistant at Michigan, a school which he started working at just a few years ago, and has no head coaching experience. If he wasn't a Boston College graduate would you still be clamoring for him?
That leaves a handful of candidates to still consider. Most of these names are obtainable. John Becker of Vermont, Micah Shrewsberry of Purdue, Mark Schmidt of St. Bonaventure and Dennis Gates of Cleveland State.
What should Boston College be looking for in a head coach. Someone with experience running a program. That eliminates Shrewsberry. They also should be looking for someone with experience recruiting at an ACC level program. That eliminates Schmidt and Becker. That leaves you with Dennis Gates, who has turned around Cleveland State, into the premier Horizon League program, and who was Leonard Hamilton's key recruiter at Florida State. He's only 41 so he has the youth factor, he's energetic, and has won.
Gates doesn't have the "wow" factor that some of the other names have in this search. But winning cures all of that. He should be relatively familiar with the program, as he is married to one of the ADs, Jocelyn Gates. If Boston College brings him, surrounds him with experienced assistants who can recruit, addresses the facilities issue, Dennis Gates could be the best fit to lead Boston College basketball back into relevancy in the ACC.
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Coaching Candidate: Dennis Gates of Cleveland State
Coaching Candidate: Micah Shrewsberry of Purdue
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