Hey, this blog also covers men’s basketball!
Obviously, the departure of the women’s basketball team’s winningest coach in program history has sucked up much of the oxygen this offseason. However, I’d be remiss to not mention the changes we’ve seen in the men’s coaching staff. I attempt to delve into these changes and the factors that led to them, before postulating what it could mean for the Eagles’ future.
(Quick programming note: this was originally going to be one post, but the length necessitated a split. Hence the “Pt. 1” above. Pt. 2 to come shortly.)
So, I play ultimate frisbee (which is a different thing than disc golf). As with many sports, while on the field, I find myself making all sorts of decisions. Many of these don’t draw notice from my teammates or spectators (who, to be honest, are also my teammates). Of the decisions that others do notice are two types of decisions I would call “gut decisions” and “business decisions”.
This past spring, a local club team hosted a series of skills clinics with pickup games following instruction. These were a way to warm up for the season and showcase your skills before tryouts. I felt a lot of pressure to perform, as I knew I had a slim shot of making this team. During pickup, while on offense, I made a cut and got open. The person with the disc threw towards, but not really to, me. I thought that he threw the disc to a spot where my defender couldn’t get it, and laid out sideways to make the grab.
There were cheers from the sideline and slaps on the back after the point ended. None was better than the thrower, who came up and said “Fantastic catch! I was not at all throwing to you.” Now, I hadn’t exactly taken the time to survey the field and my surroundings before making the catch. I just knew I could do something positive, and I leapt fully into it. It was a gut decision.
Gut decisions are those decisions that make you feel good to witness. It’s the basketball player diving onto the floor after a loose ball. It’s a person reflexively helping out a stranger who drops a bag they’re carrying. And yes, sometimes it’s diving to take a catch away from your teammate.
Now, sports fans might think they’re familiar with business decisions. Maybe you’ve heard an announcer refer to a “business” decision when a basketball player declines to contest a dunk that was 100% going in. Or maybe it’s a scrambling quarterback who ducks out of bounds rather than take on a charging linebacker. Business decisions may get a bad rap, but that’s more the result of sports talk radio-types than fans watching games.
Business decisions are maybe not as flashy as gut decisions, but are good decisions nonetheless. They’re decisions where someone watching them goes “You know what, you can’t blame them for doing that. In fact, I’d probably do the same thing in that scenario”. To me, it is more appropriately applied to decisions where one is averting risk that probably isn’t really worth the potential reward. They’re a sign of wisdom. See also: veteran move.
Departures & Decisions
Two coaches from the Eagles’ 2021-22 campaign found other gigs this year: Associate Head Coach Scott Greenman and Assistant Coach Dallas Cameron.
Coach Cameron, who had filled the spot vacated by Matt Wolff’s departure in 2021, was at AU for one season before getting an opportunity to coach at his alma mater. Stephen F. Austin announced the hire in May. A short tenure at AU coupled with being able to coach for a team he used to captain makes this move a no-brainer. This was a gut decision. He saw the opportunity to take on a new role, return to a school he called home for years, and he jumped at it. And like many gut decisions, it makes you feel good to see a coach return to his alma mater.
Coach Greenman’s departure, on the other hand, isn’t so straightforward.
The Chattanooga Mocs announced Scott Greenman as part of new coach Dan Earl’s staff. There’s no “top assistant” or “associate head coach” named, which makes it seem like Coach Greenman took a step down for this job. He’s a relative newcomer on staff, having no direct tie to Earl or Chattanooga. There is some connection there – Greenman coached at Princeton with Coach Earl’s brother Brian – but it pales in comparison to the connection Coach Greenman has to the DC area and AU head coach Mike Brennan.
As an assistant, Brennan coached Greenman at Princeton from 2002 to 2006. Greenman then coached at Princeton from 2007 to 2010, before rejoining Brennan at Georgetown in 2010 as assistant director of basketball operations. Head Coach John Thompson III promoted Greenman to director of basketball operations that next year, and he served in that role until 2013. Mike Brennan then was hired as head coach of American, and brought Greenman with him from Georgetown. Coach Greenman has been here ever since, and was promoted to associate head coach this past September.
So, that seems not great. Leaving a coach you’ve known and worked closely with for the better part of twenty years is no small deal. While it’s possible Scott just needed a change of scenery, I’m not sure that’s it. He had worked in DC for twelve years. He lived in Falls Church with his wife and three kids. I think Coach Greenman made a business decision.
To my eye, Greenman assessed the situation in Tenleytown: repeated seasons with a losing record, no postseason berths since the beginning of the HC’s tenure, and a contract coming up on its last year. It would be reasonable for Greenman to think that his career is better served finding a new starting place now – even if it means taking a step down in title and responsibility – than to serve as associate head coach in a regime that may be at its end. I really don’t think you can fault him for this decision, and I’d likely do something similar in his shoes.
As to what this means for Coach Brennan and the Eagles going forward? Well, we can’t draw those conclusions until we examine who stepped in to fill these holes in the staff. These roles were each filled in about a month, and Part 2 will take a look these new additions to Coach Brennan’s staff.