Boston College Fires Al Skinner, Lavin to St. John’s [Updated 3 pm]

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Boston College basketball coach Al Skinner has been fired, according to sources at Boston College. A press conference is scheduled for noon today.

We will have much more later. For the moment, Eagle in Atlanta has put together his initial list of potential candidates (faster than Lee Fowler was able to find a single telephone number four years ago). Some interesting thoughts & names there.

The rising mid-major stars: This group seems to be where Gene is headed. I don’t love the idea. Plenty of mid-major coaches have not transitioned to the next level. But, who knows, we may find the next super star.

In other coaching search news, it appears ESPN’s Steve Lavin will take the job at St. John’s. According to multiple news outlets, including Lavin’s own ESPN, the talks between St. John’s and Lavin’s folks heated up last night and into the early part of today. Here’s a report from FanHouse.

UTEP made a coaching move today, hiring former USC head coach Tim Floyd. Floyd left USC after the OJ Mayo allegations last year. Here’s a story.

Lastly, in what could potentially be the biggest offseason move of them all, Tom Izzo and Tubby Smith have both been rumored to be in the sights of the University of Oregon. Either coach would be a splash and would get people in Eugene excited. Izzo told ESPN he hasn’t been contacted about the job and is happy in East Lansing, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened. Same goes with Smith. Pittsburgh’s Jamie Dixon is also in the mix to lead the Ducks. Phil Knight’s checkbook must be burning a hole in his pocket. Read more about Oregon’s coaching search here.

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64 Responses to Boston College Fires Al Skinner, Lavin to St. John’s [Updated 3 pm]

  1. Wolfy__79 03/30/2010 at 1:37 PM #

    but i can’t see him coming from a hc position down to an assitant?? well, for an unproven coach. but sid is very charismatic… i think it would be a hell of a pickup.

    bc is garbage, of all the teams that joined the ACC they are the worst. i’d kick them and miami to the curve immediately if it were up to me. the clemson job might not be a destination job, but beats bc by a mile. the miami job is more attractive to me than clemson though, the athletes and location take the cake there.

    bc’s culture with coaches looks a little tarnished to me, they failed to pay the one of the best coaches in their history to keep him (TOB), terminated his successor and fire a winning basketball coach… all in no more than five years. add on top of that the crap location with a bunch of northern &&&&’s for a fanbase?? they suck. again, best of luck coach skinner!

  2. StateFans 03/30/2010 at 1:46 PM #

    Does anyone out there have any work done highlighting Skinner’s records and accomplishments?

    It would be particularly interesting to compare what Skinner did compared to that of HWSNBN?

    If you want to put something together or write something, please feel free and we will run it on the blog.

  3. triadwolf 03/30/2010 at 1:48 PM #

    Not the “Fired” thread I was hoping to see this week. Oh well, patience is a virtue I’m told.

  4. choppack1 03/30/2010 at 1:48 PM #

    Skinner is a system coach. His team runs the tightest flex in college basketball…unless Sid is moving to a flex, I’m not sure how well this hire would work out. Still, I imagine he’s 100 times better than Monte Towe.

    How would you feel if you were ECU – you could have had Skinner, instead you’re saddled w/ Lebo.

  5. Wolfy__79 03/30/2010 at 2:01 PM #

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Skinner

  6. PoppaJohn 03/30/2010 at 2:07 PM #

    I’m with Triadwolf – where’s the good news we’ve heard rumored???

    As to hiring Skinner, I was listening to DGlenn during lunch and he said that behind Roy, K, and Williams, Skinner has the best NCAAT record in the ACC. Meaning, he’s going to get a head coaching job somewhere and wouldn’t settle for working for a guy he has proved he can out coach.

  7. VaWolf82 03/30/2010 at 2:09 PM #

    Skinner was 3-1 against Herb during his NCAAT years at State. There’s some stuff about BC (versus Herb, RPI Top 50, and Sagarin Top 30) through 2006 in my final two Herb columns:

    http://www.statefansnation.com/index.php/archives/2006/03/29/rpi-and-the-acc-2/

    http://www.statefansnation.com/index.php/archives/2006/04/15/final-myths-and-stats/

    The key area that I didn’t include over those years were the overall record, conference record, and NCAAT results.

  8. SuperStuff 03/30/2010 at 2:13 PM #

    I like Al Skinner and even though his team was down this year I think he has been able to get the most out his players. He just didn’t have enough of them to run that flex offense properly this year. I agree Skinner should be a head coach. Not sure why St. Johns didn’t hire him.

  9. bradleyb123 03/30/2010 at 2:40 PM #

    I agree Skinner should be a head coach. Not sure why St. Johns didn’t hire him.

    Maybe they figured he’d get fired just for interviewing, so they just waited for that. Now they can come along and hire him on the cheap!

  10. SaccoV 03/30/2010 at 2:43 PM #

    My beer belly tells me that Skinner might be the sleeper for the Ducks job. He would fit it like a glove.

  11. Clarksa 03/30/2010 at 3:36 PM #

    Some stats from Patrick Stevens D1SCOURSE blog:

    http://d1scourse.typepad.com/blog/2010/03/patience-devalued-the-tale-of-al-skinner.html

    Let’s take a peek, for a moment, at the men who were coaching a power conference team for at least the 10th straight year this past season. See a trend?

    34: Jim Boeheim, Syracuse (won title in 2003)

    30: Mike Krzyzewski, Duke (won title in 1991, 1992 and 2001)

    24: Jim Calhoun, Connecticut (won title in 1999 and 2004)

    21: Gary Williams, Maryland (won title in 2002)

    15: Tom Izzo, Michigan State (won title in 2000)

    14: Billy Donovan, Florida (won title in 2006 and 2007)
    14: Herb Sendek, NC State/ASU

    13: Al Skinner, Boston College (FIRED)
    13: Ernie Kent, Oregon (FIRED)

    12: Rick Stansbury, Mississippi State
    12: Rick Barnes, Texas (reached Final Four in 2003)

    11: Kevin Stallings, Vanderbilt

    10: Paul Hewitt, Georgia Tech (reached Final Four in 2004)
    10: Bill Carmody, Northwestern
    10: Mike Brey, Notre Dame

    ————————————————–

    Of course I added one…and even mentioned it in the comments…but he only wanted to focus on coaches who had been at the same school for more than 10 years.

  12. rtpack24 03/30/2010 at 3:41 PM #

    Skinner knew he was getting fired and asked BC to hold off until he interviewed for the St Johns job. So he did not get fired for interviewing with them. He will get a head job soon. He is very well respected it the coaching community.

  13. LKNpackfan 03/30/2010 at 3:51 PM #

    Izzo’d have Nike lining his pockets at Oregon but if he’s looking to move out of East Lansing he could do MUCH better.

  14. BJD95 03/30/2010 at 4:09 PM #

    They passed on Skinner and hired LAVIN? Must be some strong stuff they’re smoking over at St. John’s. Good Lord.

  15. PoppaJohn 03/30/2010 at 4:31 PM #

    This article on ESPN says that St John’s “… could have as many as 10 returning seniors …”

    No wonder they fired the coach!! At first you think, “hey, tons of experience and leadership.” Then you remember, “Oh yeah, they were lousy and then they have to bring in 10 freshmen!!! Yikes!!”

    http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=5041205&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines

  16. JeremyH 03/30/2010 at 4:57 PM #

    good luck Steve Lavin, you’re a douche.

  17. ncsu_kappa 03/30/2010 at 4:58 PM #

    When referring to GT how come people don’t refer to it as reaching the tournament final vs. the final four. I guess its your either the champion or you reached the final four.

    I agree I ran the conference numbers a while back and as far as ACC wins (it may have been avg conf finish or wins I can’t remember), over Sendek’s final five years I think it was this order 1. Duke, 2. MD or NC State (it was close) 4. Wake 5. BC then 6 was UNC. BC had a really good run when they joined the ACC. They might have been four. I didn’t save the file so I just compiled the #’s and deleted it so my memory could be off by a little bit. They haven’t been consistently good since that time so they are probably worse.

    At this point I would love to have Skinner join our staff HC or otherwise but we got burned last time we reached into the BC well. I think that think is jinxed.

  18. Wolfy__79 03/30/2010 at 5:50 PM #

    so if lavin is such a great coach, why has he been on the market for so long? he’s what 45 years old and hasn’t coached since 03? so he was in his thirties when ucla canned him.. i guess the kushy espn job spoils were just too nice to leave. another “expert” that talks the talk is jay bilas, but i don’t remember any great runs as a college coach from him?? i think if he’s such an accomplished analyst he should atleast try the coaching hat on… or shut the hell up, that would be one alternative.

  19. whope90 03/30/2010 at 6:05 PM #

    This is a major blunder by Boston College. Skinner’s record at BC was 247-165 (60%) and 106-106 combined conference record big east/acc!!! In 14 years of coaching at BC he took them to the NCAA’s seven times and One nit!

    His style of play was Big East physical and power and pound the boards and play tough defense. He was in a tough spot but he did not back down from UNC nor Duke and i wonder what the adm is thinking at BC?? They will not make a splash when they do not pay a coach, have good facilities, nor have the fan support! In fact, you could say that BC is a pro sports town and there is not room for a college team to draw support. Unless John C is leaving Kentucky and taking his paid players with him to BC, BC will be
    last next year,unless EL Sid really screws up!!!

  20. whope90 03/30/2010 at 6:07 PM #

    No offense to my state brothers here, but did Coach K do a good to great job at Duke this year or what? In the Final Four with a slow/non-athletic team with basically a white roster and played above their heads! Hummm maybe Sidney Lowe could watch and learn???

  21. wolfmanmat 03/30/2010 at 6:33 PM #

    ^Lavin has been on the market for so long because he has passed on a couple other jobs…for example, NC State.

  22. ncsu_kappa 03/30/2010 at 6:39 PM #

    Not putting losses on one person but if Scott Wood played half as good as he did in high school we would have had a different season. We didn’t need his FSU production out of him but a little more consistency would have done wonders for T. Smith, Howell, and the other perimeter shooters.

    I’m really not throwing him under the bus… I think I take Lowe’s approach. I realize the kid’s got tremendous talent. However, he would have to be the first to agree that we didn’t see it consistently this year. A little less reckless with the cheap fouls and more consistency on offense and he has the room to be one of the ACC’s most improved players next year.

  23. JeremyH 03/30/2010 at 7:13 PM #

    kappa: guards that can beat a defender and get in the lane is what we lacked. Wood was probably still adjusting to the college game and three point line (which without fanfare was deeper this past year).

    interesting you mentioned high school also, we can talk until we are blue in the face about the potential of the incoming recruits, but there is nothing substantial to say until Nov/Dec ’10 when they begin playing at the college level.

  24. 61Packer 03/30/2010 at 7:25 PM #

    BC’s biggest problem is that they’re in the wrong conference. Why in the world would you want to be in a difficult conference where the closest opponent out of 11 other teams is over 500 miles away, and then most of the remaining opponents are hundreds of miles even farther away? BC isn’t an ACC school, it’s a outpost, and outposts never build great rivalries, which are the heart and soul of college sports. Air travel makes it easier for the revenue sports teams, but non-revenue sports teams might as well live in a travel trailer. BC’s trading in the Big East for the ACC would be like NC State trading in the ACC for the Big Ten.

    DeFillippo may be trying to treat an ailment, but firing a decent coach, Skinner, isn’t the solution. No coach who takes this job will improve on Skinner’s record since he’s been in the ACC.

    BC should do us all a favor and go back to the Big East. Maybe the Big Ten can start the ball rolling by adding Pitt, creating an opening for BC to move back to the Big East. Then, the ACC would have to move quickly to replace the Eagles. How about Florida or West Virginia?

  25. ADVENTUROO 03/30/2010 at 8:45 PM #

    I am NOT one to make snap judgements….but I remember sitting in the Tampa Arena in 2007. I had on my headphones listening to the Audio that was being fed to the “in house” FM station. Wouldn’t you know it….they chose Woody and UNX folks….OK….so I am captive if I want a play-by-play. Since Woody never gives the score and I had a scoreboard, it might not be TOO bad….

    Turned out….it was HILARIOUS…..The engineer who set up the board made ONE little mistake. He plugged in the LINE OUT connection to the FM System. Usually, what you get is the BROADCAST Out. Line OUT is the OPEN, LIVE MIKES….and Broadcast is the same as you hear on the radio. THUS, during the timeout’s I was listening to Woody and Jones and Eric. Now that my friends, was a treat. You heard them rag Woody about not being technically competent. You also heard Eric complain that the chairs were so short and the seating was so tight, that he was getting cramps.

    But the absolute BEST commentary was when Eric made a comment about the NEW ACC and our expansion team. He went on about how all the teams except BC came off the bus in sport jackets or ties or at least Polio Shirts….but BC, his exact words were, “they look they are auditioning for a new Nike Commercial where they are trying to corner the “HOOD” sneaker market….and need the HOODIEST HOODS they can find….” He kept on and Jones and Woody joined in.

    OK…just three folks opinion…but it stuck. BC does look like a misplaced team….they definitely don’t match the ACC mold…

    BUT, Al Skinner always seemed live a savvy coach to me. He usually gets the best with what he has. I do remember in 2006, when BC got annhilated in the Tourney….we stayed for that game and there were probably 10 BC fans in the house.

    SO….BC is a bad fit….but Skinner is a better coach than some who are still employed in the ACC. HE WILL overcome this.

    BTW….WHEN, oh WHEN, will be have some news on our AD…

    PLEASE, PLEASE be sooner…rather than later.

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