Kent State University President interview - some interesting words on Geno Ford

[Beninator]

just post it, he's not the only one you have intrigued!

+1 🎯

[KSUFan]

The recruiting advantages of JUCO??™s and transfers were clearer to Coach Ford than they were to me. Two were great, most were in a range from average to disappointments. It was far easier to figure out why someone was a transfer than why they were highly recruited in the first place. As for JUCO??™s, get ready to understand that for the two years you have them, it takes one year to adjust to the DI game. So, even if the kid is great, or is great for half of one season, he??™s with you for a productive year. Meanwhile, the prep kid from the neighboring community you passed on so the two year guy gets a chair lights it up at another program, including great March performances.

Recruiting is both art and science, and easy to get wrong. In my opinion, your head coach is more interesting in a quick fix of a two year player (maybe great for one year) than developing talent for a longer term solution. Just strikes me as a strategy of winning for a season or two before contract is up, but I could be wrong. At any rate, we watched some games where the long term solutions we passed over for a two year special just lit us up.

Just the view from the stands.

[bradleybraves1]

...Maybe he hated his boss, the school or both. Maybe he didn??™t think he had the resources to win.

I just love how we have Bradley "fans" here who want you to dish more dirt about OUR Coach KSU. smh He!l, we don't even know who you really are and what your motive is. Maybe you should focus on the problems you have at KSU. Just over one week ago your KSU faculty gave your clown of a President a vote of "no confidence"! -- http://kent.patch.com/articles/trust...onfidence-vote -- No wonder Geno (and your other coaches) wanted to get the he!l out of there as quickly as possible. Your last two coaches, Geno and Christian, basically said that Kent State could be a basketball power if they chose to but that they were so committed to football that they gave basketball second citizen status.

It should be interesting to see which of our Bradley fans align with you over the loyalty to BU and OUR Coach Gen Ford! I think tornado said it best in his post above and I wholeheartedly second his opinion. As far as I'm concerned you're nothing but a flamer that's come here to stir up trouble... GO HOME!!!!!!!!!!

[shaunguth]

I agree with you that Dr. Lefton??™s energy might better placed. However, don??™t expect that to happen anytime soon. In business, I often encourage others not to worry about those who left, but the ones who stay. You??™re right that he might be well served to do the same.

Only Geno knows why he did what he did. Maybe he just wanted to go when he won a post season game, as it took him four years to do it, and who knows when he??™d get there again? Maybe he hated his boss, the school or both. Maybe he didn??™t think he had the resources to win. But as a professional at anything at any level, who says they love where they are then secretly lobbies to leave? Who asks a team for loyalty then runs out the door with his pants on fire and sends them a Tweet that he??™s gone? Those players never did anything but play hard for Coach Ford. In my opinion, Dr. Lefton is not the only who shows questionable character.

There is a big difference in ???permission to talk??? and ???permission to be released???. If Geno had the later, why doesn??™t he have an agreement signed by the AD that shows his release? Professional ball players and coaches know they have to have releases from contracts before they sign a new one. Seems to me good business people don??™t rely on ???he said??? reports for such important matters. If I were a betting person, it??™s going to court.

Yeah, we have a crappy gym. No argument from me. Bradley pays $750 K a year for a coach who couldn??™t even win the weak MAC once in four tries, even though he inherited the best program in the league. So, who is worse off, the program that doesn??™t have any money or the one that overspends?

As for attendance, see how it goes after a few years of ???turn around??? under Coach Ford. He??™s never ???turned around??? a program. As a HC, he??™s never won a DI title game and only been in one once. Maybe it will turn out differently for Bradley. But, so far doesn??™t look so good.

Anyone else reading some of this and thinking isu and Jankovich?

[shaunguth]

The recruiting advantages of JUCO’s and transfers were clearer to Coach Ford than they were to me. Two were great, most were in a range from average to disappointments. It was far easier to figure out why someone was a transfer than why they were highly recruited in the first place. As for JUCO’s, get ready to understand that for the two years you have them, it takes one year to adjust to the DI game. So, even if the kid is great, or is great for half of one season, he’s with you for a productive year. Meanwhile, the prep kid from the neighboring community you passed on so the two year guy gets a chair lights it up at another program, including great March performances.

Recruiting is both art and science, and easy to get wrong. In my opinion, your head coach is more interesting in a quick fix of a two year player (maybe great for one year) than developing talent for a longer term solution. Just strikes me as a strategy of winning for a season or two before contract is up, but I could be wrong. At any rate, we watched some games where the long term solutions we passed over for a two year special just lit us up.

Just the view from the stands.

Interesting view, since I'm quite happy with the mix of recruits to this point. Six recruits: 3 high-schoolers, 2 transfers (each with 3 years remaining), and 1 juco. Hardly seems like he's going for a quick fix.

[KSUFan]

Your last two coaches, Geno and Christian, basically said that Kent State could be a basketball power if they chose to but that they were so committed to football that they gave basketball second citizen status.

Now, that??™s actually funny. Ignorant, but funny. Jim Christian never said anything like this. He left KSU for TCU where basketball is actually a third class citizen after football and baseball. Have you thought of comedy?

I??™d be happy to leave. Just responding to a thread posted by a Bradley fan following our President. Besides, it seems there is enough conflict here over Bradley basketball by regular members that no one needs to add more. People sure of themselves are seldom so sensitive.

Good luck next year.

[lefty]

Recruitingis a crap shoot for all colleges...especially mids....transfers, high schoolers,etc.

I support Geno and the staff that with their experience they know what they are doing.....we'll see how it goes....

[lefty]

Your last two coaches, Geno and Christian, basically said that Kent State could be a basketball power if they chose to but that they were so committed to football that they gave basketball second citizen status.

Now, that??™s actually funny. Ignorant, but funny. Jim Christian never said anything like this. He left KSU for TCU where basketball is actually a third class citizen after football and baseball. Have you thought of comedy?

I??™d be happy to leave. Just responding to a thread posted by a Bradley fan following our President. Besides, it seems there is enough conflict here over Bradley basketball by regular members that no one needs to add more. People sure of themselves are seldom so sensitive.

Good luck next year.

I would think the President and KSU fans would be happy that somebody wants your coaches.....if Geno does well here and gets a call from a BCS then good for him AND BU......I think that's better than firing coaches

[shaunguth]

I would think the President and KSU fans would be happy that somebody wants your coaches.....if Geno does well here and gets a call from a BCS then good for him AND BU......I think that's better than firing coaches

As long as they fail wherever they go.

[AZ BU Fan]

GF ought to be applauded for taking the open BU job...after all, no one typically wants to be the guy who replaces a ledgend...

Thinking about it, perhaps that is why former KSU Coaches have failed when they take new jobs after some level of success at KSU.... They are walking into programs which have struggled mightly, or, may have been replacing guys who had been ledgends at their universities..

[Beninator]

Interesting view, since I'm quite happy with the mix of recruits to this point. Six recruits: 3 high-schoolers, 2 transfers (each with 3 years remaining), and 1 juco. Hardly seems like he's going for a quick fix.

I pretty much agree with your assessment here Shaunguth. The only thing that I am not thrilled about is having two transfers sitting out this year.

[Old Coach]

I pretty much agree with your assessment here Shaunguth. The only thing that I am not thrilled about is having two transfers sitting out this year.

I hate to have to wait too, but I've heard great things about Grier.

[shaunguth]

I pretty much agree with your assessment here Shaunguth. The only thing that I am not thrilled about is having two transfers sitting out this year.

I would love to have 2 more contributors this season as well, but I'm also glad they are 3-year transfers, which means they will be here 4 years.

I just found it extremely odd that anyone would say "your head coach is more interesting in a quick fix of a two year player (maybe great for one year) than developing talent for a longer term solution". That statement doesn't even make sense! Actually, I forgot about Hodges, so there's only one 2-year player in Geno's first seven recruits. I'm not quite sure how that translates into "a quick fix of a two year player".

[bradleyfan20]

For the sake of accuracy...

In fairness, I??™ll just post the publicly known details. Even though Coach Ford lived next door to the AD - literally, next door - he left Kent on a Sunday under contract with us, signed at Bradley, then told his team he was leaving via Twitter. His old boss, our AD, got a message to check Bradley??™s web site. The question of whether Coach Ford had permission to sign with Bradley that Sunday night or whether he was still under contract with us is in dispute.

A) Coach Ford has never been on Twitter. Doesn't have an account and called his assistant coaches on that Sunday evening to get the team together for a meeting to tell his team at Kent. B) Bradley released it on their website without Coach Ford's knowledge right after he met with the players in Peoria, not giving him a chance to call the Kent guys before it hit the airwaves.

Claiming Coach Ford Tweeted that he was leaving and that the Kent administration didn't know he was was going to be taking the job is just plain inaccurate. You can be mad at him for leaving, but don't change the facts of what happened. I know he wished he would have had an opportunity to address his Kent team, but the way you describe it is wrong.

[bradleyfan20]

Again, for the sake of accuracy

Only Geno knows why he did what he did. Maybe he just wanted to go when he won a post season game, as it took him four years to do it, and who knows when he??™d get there again?

Who asks a team for loyalty then runs out the door with his pants on fire and sends them a Tweet that he??™s gone?

Bradley pays $750 K a year for a coach who couldn??™t even win the weak MAC once in four tries, even though he inherited the best program in the league. So, who is worse off, the program that doesn??™t have any money or the one that overspends?

As for attendance, see how it goes after a few years of ???turn around??? under Coach Ford. He??™s never ???turned around??? a program. As a HC, he??™s never won a DI title game and only been in one once. Maybe it will turn out differently for Bradley. But, so far doesn??™t look so good.

Obviously you don't like Coach Ford. Which is your right. I get it, your mad he left Kent. But, once again, be mad at him with accurate facts. He was the head coach at Kent for THREE seasons, not four. He won a post season game vs Tulsa in the NIT in his second season and then lost at Illinois. He won two post season games in his third and final season, beating St. Mary's and Fairfield on the road in the NIT before losing at Colorado in the quarterfinals.

I just addressed the Tweet issue...if I am wrong, show me the link to the tweet, because it doesn't exist.

Not only did he win the Mac, he won it twice in three years. You say he never won in four. His teams were the first since Ball State 20 years prior to repeat as MAC Champions. He beat Akron for the MAC Championship at home in his final home game at Kent for a Championship! So he DID win multiple championships!

Again, hate him, dislike him, love him, loathe him, be indifferent...but just be accurate.