FIFY ....

Agreed. Share that Meigs Co. Gold, and SE Ohio Shine you're enjoying!

That's exactly the point I was trying to make. Hunter without Trent = TOS. I supported both but was not upset when either left.

Larry had one more year on his deal when they fired him. They actually bought out his contract! He was making about 150k, if I recall. I've stated my position about buyouts and I think it's wrong and a waste of money.

In Larry's case, he deserved to finish out his contract. The AD couldn't take the chance that he might have a big year and not be able to fire him. I blame President Glidden for allowing it to happen. When Grunkenmeyer hit the three in the MAC tourney to beat us after he transferred to Miami, they exchanged glances in the box and it was over. I'm not saying Larry would have led us to the promised land had he not been fired, but he did deserve to finish out his contract. Since when do we buy out contracts? It still galls me to think about it.

Unless there is an announced retirement, you will have better luck finding a unicorn humping a mermaid than a total lame duck contract year in college hoops. when there's one year left, your choice is generally to extend or fire. Coaches can't recruit in that scenario anyway. I would bet dollars to donuts that we paid very little to buy Larry out. He was employed as an assistant at NC State the very next season. His salary there was probably comparable to being a head coach at Ohio back then. I believe that salary would have reduced any buyout amt.

Larry Hunter will always be a wonderful part of Bobcat history! Watching Ohio win the preseason NIT with Gary Trent and Gino Ford back in the day was one of the most exciting runs in Bobcat history, which was only second in excitement in my opinion to their Sweet 16 run under Groce. My recollection is that Larry's teams were both tough and physical and could usually hold their own on any given day. I remember being frustrated that they could never seem to spread the floor like other teams could. Other than that, Larry was a class act. Like all Division one Coaches, even those in the MAC, know, you are only as good as your last season and even your last game; therefore, the decision was made to go in a different direction. What would the Bobcats have been like if Hunter had been allowed to stay, it is hard to know, because so much has changed since that time. Still, don't disrespect the man, he bleeds green and white like the rest of us.

Deciduous. " A camel humping a mermaid?" Priceless!!
BTW, why the heck is anyone acknowledging the title if this thread? If any Cat fans still aren't supportive of what Coach Phillips is building, they simply do not appreciate good basketball. Agreed brother?

Congrats to Mr. Campbell! This is not scientific, but I think we've had more players win that award than any other MAC school,

And for some reason I have been regretting the demise of The Onion for my reliable daily dose of great online humor - BA thread drifts are as good as it gets on the interwebs!

Deciduous......mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. Sometimes, after ten Bud Lights, camels and unicorns become interchangeable! LOL

The other things I remember most about that camp. Robert Tatum was a really, really nice guy to everybody. There was an instructor nicknamed "Wolfman" (to this day, I still have no idea what role he played in the athletic department), the stifling summer heat, and Dr. Pizza before lights out.

I fell in love with the campus that week and knew that's where I would go to school.

Monroe said:

"I'm not at all commenting on whether Hunter should or should not have been kept...only remarking that there was a core group who would not entertain any debate on the issue."



Monroe, this is probably because he was from Athens County. I am not sure most students who come to Athens realize what it is like to have someone from your community do well. I am not from Athens, but from a small working class town in the northern half of the state. When on the rare occasion you do have someone who becomes a stellar athlete or a success of any kind it generates a great amount of pride and you will defend the individual at pretty much all cost. Coach Hunter played for the Plains High School right before the merger that would end up being the new building called Athens High (now in the Plains.)

Nothing like people coming from big cities, especially the East Coast disparaging Athens. I remember all too well a few students in my dorm and classes mock Athens and the people associated with the university. Thankfully they transferred up the road to Columbus, but that only makes people in Athens or any small town defend their native sons and daughters all the more.

Just imagine how the locals felt when they heard that Coach Hunter, who could have taken Kansas State's offer and moved to Power Conference school, was fired even though he was always winning close to 20 games a year. Then to add gasoline to the fire, the locals hear after a couple of years that the new coach's wife can't wait to leave Athens (I have no idea if this was true or not, but it certainly was the scuttlebutt among the athletic community.) Perhaps this is why people are very defensive concerning Coach Hunter and even Coach Solich (a Cleveland kid who still is fondly remembered as a gusty Parma Holy Name football kid.)

I get it...a little.

See, the problem then becomes that you are hiring or keeping your coach because of sentimental reasons, not necessarily 'quality coaching' reasons.

Someone loves Solich? Great; follow him, enjoy him. But don't judge him as OHIO coach based on your affinity; judge him reasonably objectively.