Thursday, April 30, 2015

Jalone Friday headed to Abliene Christian


And another one bites the dust.  Jalone Friday, who was probably the top tanked player in the Chris Jans recruiting class will not be attending BGSU.  He will, instead, enroll at Abilene Christian, which is in the Southland conference, one of the lowest ranked conferences in Division I.

This leaves BG with 9 currently returning players and 2 incoming recruits.

Now, the roster is

Gomez
Tisdale
Parker
Denny
Joseph
Busuttil
Fox
Worrell
Mayleben

Incoming
Wiggins
Hluchoweckyj

That's 9 scholarship players, with 4 to give, if so desired.

Sentinel Confirms Austin and Dickerson Departure



And there it is, confirmed.  The JUCO teammates who came up with Coach Jans are returning to Texas...they both played hard for BG in what was a good season, and I wish them nothing but the best  These are the only two confirmed departures at this time that I am aware of, but there is no reason to think the situation is completely stabilized.  Keep your fingers crossed.

Currently the roster is

Gomez
Tisdale
Parker
Denny
Joseph
Busuttil
Fox
Worrell
Mayleben

Incoming
Friday
Wiggins
Hluchoweckyj

That's 10 scholarship players, with 3 to give, if so desired.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Wiggins In, Austin Out


As reported last week, the Huger era has its first recruit as Demajeo Wiggins signed a letter of intent today at Springfield HS.  We talked a little bit about what he had accomplished with Springfield, and here is a little more from the BGSU release.

Wiggins averaged 12.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game for the Blue Devils to earn All-Northern Lakes League First-Team honors. He was named to the Division I All-District Second-Team and All-Ohio Honorable Mention accolades. Wiggins was also tabbed the Blue Devils' Defensive Player of the Year.

A member of the Ohio Basketball Club AAU program, coached by Michael Duncan, Barry Egan and Dennis Barba, Wiggins played with Carlton Bragg (Kansas signee), Devon Andrews (Kent State signee) and Peter Barba (Columbia University signee).

Wiggins chose Bowling Green over Toledo, IPFW, Tennessee State, Bethune-Cookman, Oakland and Illinois State.

On the outgoing front, there are a lot of rumors out there about the BG transfer situation...the only thing I have seen with external validation is Jovan Austin, who has retweeted posts about his transferring and having his release, so I am assuming that is confirmed.



Beyond that, I have not seen anything else outside verbalcommits.com on any of these issues.

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Sentinel on Transfer Rumors


We are all getting a lot of information on transfer rumors.  The site verbalcommits.com has noted three and others are bouncing around.  We have not reported them here because I don't believe something just because I saw it on the Internet.  Might be true, just need something more.  So, Thomas Schmeltz of the Sentinel had the above.  We remain in a watch, wait and hope mode.  If the worst happens, the fallout from that night on the town by Chris Jans will be one of the most impactful single events in our program's history...if not the most impactful.  Let us hope for the best.

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Huger Era Has First Verbal



The first verbal of the Huger era is now on board.  The young man is Demajeo Wiggins.  Despite what you have seen on twitter, he is from Springfield HS in Lucas County, not Springfield OH.  He is 6'8" and about 200 pounds, which is size we can certainly use next year.  He scored 12.3 points per game, playing for a Springfield team that went to the Districts and is coached by Stan Joplin.  Rivals says he had interest only from BG and UT and did not rate him.

He was second-team all-District and honorable mention all-state.

Obviously, a lot is in flux with our program right now.  With just the Orr scholarship and the Jamir Andrew scholarship, BG has at least 2 to give.  Let's hope that is all there is, but there could be more.

Welcome to the Falcons, Demajeo.

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Jamir Andrews says he has release


So this was on twitter Monday...Jamir Andrews says he has been released from his letter of intent at BGSU and is looking for a new home.  This is the first confirmed player-based fall out from the Chris Jans situation.  Others have been rumored and speculated on, but is the only one that has any kind of confirmation.

Obviously, we were excited about having Jamir come to BG, but he needs to have his heart in it.  Wish him only the best....

Monday, April 20, 2015

Quick MBB Update

Not a huge amount to report...and nothing you couldn't see on Twitter.  Michael Huger is in a private jet shooting around the country...he saw Jamir Andrews and Malik Hluchoweckyj (that we know of).  Both players had signed in the early period.  I am going to guess he has visited Jalone Friday as well.

Andrews was reported on one site as having opened up his recruiting, but BG says all players and signees had a "freedom to contact" other schools.  I have heard nothing else to suggest how these things will play out.  I'm confident in Huger's ability to convince them that BG is still the right place...but in the end, it is their life and they have to be sold on it.  Love to see everyone (current and future) stay in place.  Next year appears to be enough of a struggle as it is.

Saturday, April 18, 2015

"Bring Everybody Back" Huger Presser is a layup

Michael Huger introduced himself to the Falcon Nation Friday and he certainly won the day.  Which is day one.  There are a lot of other days that need to be won after that, and he won't be a success as BG's Coach until he is a success as BG's Coach, but I think he did communicate some things that were important to the program.

Here's the most important thing, and it was kind of an underlying thing.  When Michael Huger played basketball at Bowling Green, the sport was a community event.  When I went to games, I saw everyone there...my (at that time former) professors, community leaders.  When BG had a home game, it was what people did.  They went to the game.

That in no way is true now.  Sometime in there, the community got disconnected from the men's basketball program.  I don't know when.  There was still a connection after WVU, for a couple years and then it kind of melted away and has never come back.  The product on the floor has not helped.  In the 13 seasons since WVU, BG has had 10 losing seasons and only 1 20-win season and that was last year.  And the crowds you saw last year, even for big games, show that it will take more than one good year to get people back.  (There are other things...I think tickets are too expensive at the Stroh, but that's another post).

Coach Huger talked about community quite a bit.  He talked about starting the Junior Falcon program, which my son played in.  He talked about getting the players active in the community and being active in the community himself.  He said he wants to "bring everybody back."  Three words, but very powerful.  Someone has to rekindle the connection between the program and the fan base--on campus, students, and in BG--to generate the excitement needed to build long-term success.

Success?  Right.  So, Huger said exactly what every Falcon fan expects him to say about success.  The goal is to win the MAC Championship and get to the NCAA tournament.  He noted that BG has not been since 1968.  "That's a long time," he noted.

It is.

So, we all agree on what success is.  Will he get us there?  Only time will tell.

I thought, however, that his passion and enthusiasm for this job and this university came through.  He was very nervous when he started...which is fine, just means it is important to him.  He warmed to the occasion and once he got rolling, he presented himself as an authentic, genuine, funny, and very likable person.  Four of his teammates were present.  He told stories about how he would organize reunions and play at Anderson with the guys from his team.

He had a couple funny stories.  When he was recruited out of NYC, he told his friends he was going to Bowling Green.  They would say, sure, they knew where that was.  He said, YOU DO?  And they were like, yeah, it is the last stop on the 6-line.

He also said being back at BG brought back memories, like "walking in the snow."

He also talked about the interviewing process.  He was really funny here.  Every time he went a couple days without hearing from BG, he would think "I'm out."  And then another call would come in.  Then the cycle would start again, until he got a call with the offer and he woke his wife up to give her the news.

Here's another interesting thing.  He was asked if he ever "envisioned" himself coaching BG.  You expect to hear something like "oh no, I never even dreamed of that," of "it was a dream but you don't expect it to happen."

Instead, he looked right at the questioner and said, "Yes, yes I did envision it."  That was a really cool moment.  It was a goal for him and he worked toward it.

He says he will play an upbeat and fun style of basketball.  If true, that will be a big switch.  It also might come at the right time, as I think and hope college basketball is transitioning toward shorter shot clocks and a reduction of physical play that can help restore beauty to the college game.  Anyway, he says he wants to play upbeat basketball, and that would be good.

The other thing that was interesting was that he told Jordan Strack of WTOL that Anthony Stacey would be on his coaching staff .  So that will be interesting to watch for.  Stacey has been a successful HS Coach and was hired at UT before he left somewhat abruptly.  I have no idea what that was about, but Stacey has shown he can coach.



Honestly, it was a heartwarming day.  I was moved.  I love the University and Michael Huger spoke with genuine affection about his feelings.

I know he doesn't even have a long record as an assistant and I know that he will need more than love of BG to win the MAC.  He has to coach us past people with long track records of success.  One last reminder though.  Resumes aren't everything.  Some people have it and some people don't.  Long-time assistants at big programs might never be good head coaches and someone with a lesser resume might be a natural head coach.

I'm not saying that's Huger because I don't know.  In fact, it is unknowable.  It will happen or it will not.

Our AD is under some pressure here.  He has identified men's basketball as a priority.  He has one shipwreck under his belt.  The safest choice for him (you could argue) would have been a resume hire from a big program.  He took a risk with someone who on paper isn't as qualified.  I'm going to think that he did it for a reason.

Time will tell.  You cannot hide from the results.

In the meantime, it was a day to feel good about being a Falcon.  Looking forward to watching this unfold.

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Confirmed: Huger hired to Coach MBB at BG



This will be a very popular choice inside the Falcon nation...and frankly something that was needed given the anxiety that has been experienced within the program over the last couple of days.  This will be a very popular choice.  Of course, over time it is more important that he be a successful choice, but for now, I think it will calm the waters.  As a younger Coach, I think you will see Huger settle the team down and keep the guys around for next year.  Now, as my son pointed out, all the Michigan people were happy to get Brady Hoke, too, so you have to actually do the job on the court.

Huger was a truly outstanding player at Bowling Green.  He was 1st and 2nd team All-MAC...led the team in assists twice.  Was a team captain and was team MVP in 1993.  My feeling always is that if you make all-MAC, you belong on the short list of the best players in our program.

Of course, Huger played for Jim Larranaga while at BG.  He's from NYC, where Larranaga had good recruiting ties.

After college, Huger was a very successful professional player abroad. He played professional basketball in Europe, spending time in Finland (1992-94), two years in Holland (1994-96) and nine in Belgium (1996-2005). He was selected Dutch League MVP in 1996 after averaging 25.3 points and 5.8 assists, and went on to earn First Team All-Belgium honors in 2000 and 2004 after leading his clubs to Belgium Cup championships in both seasons.

Huger began his coaching career at Longwood University (Va.) where he spent two seasons.

Then, he joined Coach Larranaga at George Mason. In four seasons at George Mason, Huger helped lead the Patriots to the postseason every year -including NCAA berths in 2008 and 2011--including, of course, their magic run to the Final Four.  (We regret the error).

Then, he went to Miami with Larranage, where he coached four seasons. He was the team’s defensive coordinator and the Canes were nationally ranked No. 39 in scoring defense (60.6) and No. 48 in field goal percentage defense (40.0).

So, on the plus side, he has high quality coaching experience in successful programs.  He is a BG grad and someone who will feel strongly about succeeding here.  On the down side, he has no head coaching experience.

No candidate has everything.  For now, I think he settles things down and can get about the business of first fixing the damage that has been done and then second continuing the program's upward trajectory.

Welcome back, Michael.  We're behind you.

Jeff Goodman says its Huger

Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN)
Bowling Green is expected -- barring 11th-hour breakdown -- to hire Miami assistant and ex-BG star Michael Huger, sources told ESPN.

Download the Twitter app


Sent from my iPhone

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Nick Johnson charged with assault, suspended from football team--UPDATED







So, a big news day...and not a good news day...for BG athletics.  Here, the Sentinel reports what you can see above...Nick Johnson played CB for BG as a true freshman and played his way into the starting lineup after a few games.  He was an INT machine, leading the conference with five.  Given the existing BG defensive struggles, his loss--if that is what happens--would make a difficult job harder.

All allegations are just allegations.  However, if true they are serious and there is no way Johnson can play football for Bowling Green.

For those who are interested, Johnson committed to BG under Coach Clawson and remained in the class once Coach Babers took over.

Update:  The Blade has further reporting on this, including a less-than-stellar track record for Johnson in on-campus incidents since February.  This does put a further spin on the story.  Clearly, this appears to be a troubled situation with a documented history of incidents and I wonder if BG didn't let things go a little far.  Either way, it has to be acted upon.

The Blade article also discusses the recent spate of incidents with BG football players and the legal system.  As I have said before, we don't want to be a school that wins at all costs.  At the same time, while not in any way condoning those who have chosen to poorly represent BGSU, I do point your attention to the vast majority of our student athletes who are competing and graduating and making us proud.


Monday, April 13, 2015

BG MBB Signee Re-Opens his Recruiting--UPDATED


The first recruiting implication of the Jans firing occurred sometime Monday, when Jamir Andrews, a JUCO transfer from Sheridan College in Wyoming announced that he was re-opening his recruitment.  Signing opens up on Wednesday.

Andrews had actually signed (it was more than a commit), so I am assuming he asked to be released from his NLI and he was.

This post is being written on Monday night, BG has an interim Coach and the AD working on this.  It is natural for players to want to look around and in general I don't blame them.  I'd like to think that you pick a school for a lot of reasons--and I guess you do--but the Coach is a really big one and we have to be honest, if it wasn't for basketball Jamir Andrews isn't going to college at BG.

With signing opening Wednesday, Andrews will have to get to work.  BG had one slot open and now has two.

Here is what I wrote when he committed.

I have not seen anything public about the other two signees.

UPDATE:

I have some additional information on how BG is handling this situation.  Obviously it is difficult, because you want the young men to come to BG but you don't want to be the heavy hand. And you don't want someone here who isn't committed to being here.

To that end, BG has given Jamir a "Permission to Contact" release, which gives him the opportunity to talk with other schools, something a student-athlete who has signed an NLI would not typically have the freedom to do. Once we have a new coach and he has the opportunity to meet and talk with him, if Jamir feels that he wants out of his NLI at that time, BG will address it then.

I think BG fans should be comforted to know that while we are in this "in between" period, BG has a process in place for returning players and NLI signers to explore opportunities and yet still give the new Coach a chance to share his vision before anything final is done.  No one wanted to be in this situation and you just have to make the best of the situation that actually exists.

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Richaun Holmes Excels in Portsmouth


The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament has concluded and Richaun Holmes certainly made Bowling Green proud with his performance.  As you can see, he played his way onto the all-tournament team, which is a great performance for him in this showcase and should do great things for his pro career.

How well did Richaun do?  (Note that minutes were very balanced for players because it is a show case, so Holmes generated these numbers in a little over a half).

Game 1:  22 points on 10 of 15 shooting, 7 rebounds and 6 blocked shots.  In 26 minutes.
Game 2:  11 points on 5 of 9 shooting and 12 rebounds.  2 blocks, in 25 minutes.
Game 3:  11 points on 4 of 7 shooting, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks and 5 steals, in 26 minutes.

Pretty good!  Congrats to Richaun, we are very proud.  You are a Falcon forever.

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Spring Game News--lie detector edition

So, the Spring Game was today.  Circumstances prevented me from making it down there, but a couple observations based on reports.

The biggest news was that Clayton Nicholas has transferred to Abilene Christian.  Nicholas originally went to Texas Tech, transferred to BG, sat out last year per NCAA rules and then did not beat out Matt Johnson for the starting job.  At that point, as Coach said, his future was to compete with Knapke for the backup job, and Nicholas has apparently decided not to do that.  By transferring outside the FBS, he does not have to sit out and can play next fall.  The implications for BG are non-existent as long as Matt Johnson is playing effectively, but it means that if Johnson goes down then BG's backup situation is exactly the same as it was last year when he went down.

Also, Andre Givens has left the program.  Apparently he is staying in school.  Givens was a big-time HS player who has had issues at the college level.  He did contribute at BG when Greene and Coppet were injured.  He had 38 carries for 157 yards against Kent State last season--the carry total being the 4th highest in BG history.  He averaged 5.2 yards per carry in his BG career and scored 12 times, including 8 last year.  If I had to guess, I'd say that with Domer and Wilson on board that he was probably not going to get much action.

Speaking of RBs.  I know nothing makes BG fans more excited than getting a transfer from a P5 school, but when thinking of Domer and Wilson, it is important to note what Coach said today, which is that none of his running backs come close to Travis Greene right now.  (Greene did not play in the Spring game)

Another slow your roll moment is with the kicking.  Yes, Tate missed some kicks.  The team has been indoors for most of the spring, so he just isn't sharp yet.  Coach says his level of concern is "zero" and he can "pass a thousand lie detector tests on that."  I would agree, for what it is worth.

Coach said it was a give and take scrimmage.  Essentially, the offense struggled with long fields and succeeded with short fields.  It was a situational scrimmage, so those were all set up.  Coach feels like the whole spring has been give and take.  No offer to take a lie detector.  (I kid, I kid).

The team did give up 9 sacks, but those were quick-whistle scrimmage sacks and might not have been real sacks under game conditions.  At least I hope not.

Overall, coach said it was a clean day and no one got injured, which are two things you are looking for, no doubt about it.

Austin Valdez had a big day on defense, as did Nate Locke, Malik Brown, Shannon Smith, etc.  On offense, Moore, Dieter and Patric Hannon each scored twice.  Donavan Wilson had 79 yards on 14 carries.

Friday, April 10, 2015

Jans Issues Apology

CHRIS JANS STATEMENT

On March 21st I made a mistake for which I sincerely
apologize. After our final loss of the season I went to a bar to be
amongst friends, became intoxicated and proceeded to act in a
manner which was inappropriate. I have tried to instill in every
student I’ve coached the importance of taking responsibility for
one’s actions, and that is what I am trying to do now.

I have been completely forthcoming and honest with the Bowling
Green State University administration during this process. I
immediately made efforts to apologize to those offended that
evening including the woman who approached me that night to
chastise me for my conduct. Although I have already apologized to
my wife, my family, my players and coaches, I want to now publicly
apologize to everyone else, including any one in the BGSU
community who may have been affected by this matter - I am truly
sorry.

Finally, I want to thank BGSU for giving me the opportunity to be
its head basketball coach. I plan to use the future months and
years to improve myself as an individual and to show them that
their faith in me as a coach, and a person, was not unwarranted.

Tuesday, April 07, 2015

Falcons Select Starting QB

Good to his word, Coach Babers announced who his starting QB will be heading into the Fall.

And that QB is Matt Johnson.  This is about a 0% surprise.  You've seen Johnson start for a year and Knapke start for  year, so you know what you have there, and Nicholas hasn't really played anywhere after HS....you saw Callaway last year, too, and Morgan isn't here yet.

So, Johnson is the guy.  We only saw him play Falcon Fast for one game, but he's certainly the guy who has the best track record and the best chance of helping the team win.  Let's not forget how good he was in the championship season...as we think about WKU, and then the whole "theft" issue with Burbrink.

If I had to guess, I'd say that Knapke and Nicholas will be back ups.  Despite all the talk about Callaway sacrificing his redshirt year last year, I would expect him to join Morgan in red-shirting for the season.

(FYI the last time we had a big QB announcement, it was that Schilz would start over Johnson and that lasted about five plays, so you know....stay tuned and all)

Monday, April 06, 2015

Malik Brown: One last note on the Saturday scrimmage

From the Blade, here's a report on Saturday's football scrimmage.  I already noted the Bryan Thomas news--which is really good--and the Georgia Tech transfer. The other news from the scrimmage is that Malik Brown picked up a couple of sacks.

Malik Brown, if you recall, is the transfer from Tennessee who was declared eligible early in last season, causing a mini-eruption of excitement within the Falcon Nation.  He played here and there but didn't make any real contributions, so it is good to see him getting involved this year.

The defense can certainly use it.  With Brown, Thomas and Colvin back on the line, the team can look to them to help solidify a team facing heavy graduation losses and a new system.  Losses were especially heavy in the backfield, which would be greatly helped if BG was generating a pass rush without blitzing, and those guys listed above would be key in that effort.

One other note on Brown.  I think we all expected him to jump right in and contribute.  As we get more and more transfers, it is worth tempering the short-term expectations of guys who have been sitting out and have not played competitively, sometimes for years...and who we only have HS resumes to work off.  Doesn't mean they won't turn into players, just might take a little longer than anticipated.

Sunday, April 05, 2015

Happy Easter to the Falcon Nation



Happy Easter to the Falcon Nation.  Regardless of your religious faith, we can all unite around the idea of a new beginning.  One happens every day.

Saturday, April 04, 2015

Thomas Gets 6th Year, BG adds RB Transfer from Georgia Tech







Spring football continues.  John Wagner has a couple news items from the scrimmage today.  The biggest news is above...BG will have a key element of last year's defense back for a 6th season, and that is DE Bryan Thomas.  This is huge.  BG's defense was hit heavily by graduation losses and getting Thomas back will help a lot.  He led the team with 8 sacks and the MAC with 5 fumbles forced last year and was 3rd team All-MAC.  BG can absolutely, 100% use him and we are thrilled to have him back.

The second is the news that Donovan Wilson transferred from Georgia Tech and will be eligible to play this fall.  In fact, the Georgia Tech blogosphere reported he was coming to Bowling Green back in August, so presumably he "sat out" this year already.

Wilson is originally from Dublin, Ohio, where he went to Jerome HS.  Here is Georgia Tech's HS bio for him....
High School: Jerome HS... a four-year football starter for Coach Mark Hundley... served one year as a team captain... also played three seasons of basketball... rated as a three-star recruit by Rivals... named All-Central Ohio three times... a three-time all-conference, three-time all-district and three-time all-metro selection... named all-state as a senior in 2012... rushed for 2,068 yards and 26 touchdowns as a senior... owns every rushing record at Jerome HS, including 62 carries for 425 yards rushing and seven touchdowns in a game versus Westerville South... finished his prep career with 4,796 yards rushing and 59 touchdowns... made the academic honor roll.

His father played in the NBA.  It does not appear that he ever played for Tech.  Obviously, you don't know what he is bringing to the table now, but if we had signed him out of HS we would have been doing handsprings.

BG continues to build RB depth.  In addition to Travis Greene, Fred Coppet and Andre Givens, they have added Illinois transfer former enrollee Matt Domer as well as Wilson. (Domer technically is not a transfer. We regret the error).

Beyond that, they also have a RB who has never been mentioned as part of a recruiting class, which is Brian Jennings II.  Notably, his bio says he played one season at Eastern Illinois.  As a FR, he was a special teams player who had 7 carries in a reserve RB role for Coach Babers.

Finally, there was one RB in the FR class...CJ Lamar of Florida.

Greene and Coppet have been effective but injured frequently, so seeking depth (beyond Givens) was critical and BG has brought in some guys who have nice credentials and who were considered as players by high level programs (in the case of Domer and Wilson).  Obviously, that still has to show itself out on the field, something I look forward to watching.

Friday, April 03, 2015

Quick football news in the Jans carnage

Dino Babers and the BGSU football continue to work their way through the Spring.  A little tidbit of news was that Coach has announced that he wants to have his starting QB named before the end of the Spring.  As readers know, my position is that battle is between Johnson and Nicholas, despite any talk of a 3-way battle.

One mop-up note from last week...there have been a couple position changes. Nilijah Ballew was moved from S to LB, where there were big losses.  And backup QB Nolan Dieter has moved to S, which seems like a little bit of a surprise.

The goal is not having good players standing on the sideline.

Thursday, April 02, 2015

The Jans Papers

OK, kids.  So the media has run down the Jans documents, which will allow everyone to understand for themselves what caused Jans to have his position terminated.   I'm glad these things are out because they will let people decide how they feel about the dismissal based on actual facts, and not the rumors that have been bolting around all day.

The termination letter is attached here.  It is pretty clear.

Essentially, while at the bar, Coach Jans was seen lowering a woman's head to his crotch.  He also patted a woman on the buttocks and the letter says he asked her to walk away so he could "enjoy her assets."  He was confronted by a woman who was in the bar who was a student-athlete at another college.  He called her a bitch and then was confronted by some table companions.  An altercation broke out and some other members of the basketball program had to separate Jans from the people who had confronted him.

Again, you can read it yourself.

One of the "table companions" was Ron Tiller, a BGSU alum.  He emailed AD Chris Kingston with his concerns--the thread of which can be seen here.  Interestingly, Tiller did not want to see Jans fired.  The second-to-last email is Kingston asking to call Tiller, this morning after the decision was made.  The last email is Tiller apparently responding following the conversation.

A few things.  First, you do have to view this in terms of what time it occurred.  Back in the day, BG had a hockey coach who was known to have a few too many beers and get relatively wild.  Things were just different.  Again, you might or might not think that firing was appropriate, but I don't think you can justify that because this kind of thing was accepted in the 1970s.

The second issue is the issue is that it impacts women.  There have been high-profile issues in athletics with women, and I don't think that helped the case at all.  He appears to know at least one of the women involved and does not know the second one at all.  Not sure if that matters or not but it seems like it does.

We also don't know the history of this issue---whether there had been other discussions or concerns raised in the past.  Also, this is not the first controversial issue between an athletic department employee and alcohol.  Not going to go into details, but it isn't the first time.

The final element is just the ability for something like this to get higher amounts of publicity.  Mr. Tiller mentions specifically that he considered taking the story "national."  If it goes national and you then are forced to act (hello Roger Goddell) the whole university takes a hit and looks like it condoned the activity until it was forced to do the right thing.  Heard of Deadspin ever?

For all those reasons, I think this on balance was a difficult thing to do but the right thing to do.  It is 100% clear that Jans violated the letter of his contract.  I think the definition of what is acceptable has changed a lot over time, and things that were ok a little while ago are liable to get someone fired.

I highly doubt Kingston did it lightly.  He hired Jans and had seen success right from the beginning.  He can't have wanted to do this.  So, for better or for worse, I'm sure he felt it was the only viable choice available to him.

Jans Fired for "Public Conduct"






So, there could not be anything more surprising than seeing this over my lunch hour.  Things were in good shape, the program was healthy and moving ahead with a new direction and now that's all starting over.

The tweets above show--from journalists, by the way--what is known right now about what happened.  Obviously, I don't know anything more than that, but my first reaction was that it had to bad, and this is confirmed.  But don't worry, we will see the video soon enough.

The University reported public conduct. For the record, there's no buy out in this situation unless he was offered one, since this is a termination for cause.  Such an issue is often litigated, but that's how it is supposed to work.

I'm completely shocked and, assuming that the video is as serious as described above--all by people who have not seen it themselves, to be fair--than I am very disappointed in Chris Jans.  A lot of was invested in him and this is a huge blow to a lot of people's hopes and desires.

Implied above is something I will reinforce...I support the administration for upholding the idea that our players AND our coaches have to be good representatives of the University at all times.  We do not want to be a place that lets coaches and athletes run over their bosses...see OSU, Syracuse, etc.

More as more is learned.

Holy shit

JWagnerBlade (@jwagnerblade)
BGSU has just fired men's basketball coach Chris Jans. More coming.

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Wednesday, April 01, 2015

Blade: Holmes invited to Portsmouth Invitational

From the Blade today, Richaun Holmes is headed to the Portsmouth Invitational, which is a huge honor and opportunity for him.  He wants to play professionally and he will.  This is the showcase for him to show what he can do.  I would assume the scouting includes not just the NBA but also overseas leagues.  Check the story out for more info on Richaun, but he's healthy again, which is good news.  He was a warrior for BG and I wish him nothing but the best of luck.  He will continue to make us proud.